Guest blog from Tracy Griffen
My first encounter with Macsween haggis was when I moved from Australia in 1997, before I started in the fitness industry. I was working at the Gilded Balloon, an Edinburgh Fringe Festival venue, where haggis was on the menu. After the festival, there was a large catering stick of Macsween's vegetarian haggis to spare, which I claimed. I spent the next fortnight experimenting with haggis. Mind you, this anitpodean cook had never used haggis before so I wasn't bound by tradition. I mastered haggis burgers (slice a round of haggis, and heat in a heavy bottomed fry pan with a tiny bit of vegetable oil, serve on a wholemeal bun with salad). From that moment on, I became a dedicated Macsween haggis fan. As a vegetarian, I found it filling and it gave me fuel to deal with the Scottish weather, and energy to ride my bike up hills and over cobbles.
By the end of last millennium (that's 1999), I found myself living on North Bridge in Edinburgh. I was training to start in the fitness biz, and living on a tight budget. Vegetarian haggis on a baked potato from the very fine Baked Potato Shop on Cockburn Street was my emergency dinner stand-by. I would eat half for dinner and save half for my lunch, as it was so filling.
Fast-forward fourteen years and vegetarian haggis is still a favourite stand-by. I'm a big believer in eating oats for health, and oatmeal is the primary ingredient in vegetarian haggis. Add to that the kidney beans, lentils and seeds also in veggie haggis and you have a low GI, slow burning fuel for fitness. There's not many vegetarian healthy 'fast foods' that can fill my tummy after a busy day of fitness, which is why I will always be a Macsween vegetarian haggis fan.
Tracy Griffen is an Edinburgh-based Personal Trainer and author of the Healthy Living Yearbook, containing 75 easy healthy recipes. You can get your copy for only £9.99 (with free UK delivery) from www.healthylivingyearbook.com
Follow Tracy on Twitter @tracygriffen and Facebook/griffenfitness
If you are a haggis lover like Tracy, join the club:
