Vegetarian and/or vegan members of BYC!

[Mattemma]

I am not a vegetarian,but a lot of my diet is. I recently got a juicer and have been making a lot of veggie drinks.Kids prefer the fruit,but I get some veggies in.My favorite dishes are international non-meat ones. Only thing I can get growing in my kitchen is sprouts,so I do a variety of those. Can find some decent food prices,but summer farmers market is the best time. Each year I dig up more of my lawn to plant food.Just wish we had a longer growing season. I like agave and maple syrup.Don't like stevia but have used it.

 

[Mrs.Doolittle]

Hi, it's good to hear from fellow veggies/semi-veggies. I,ve been an animal lover since I was a very small child. I feel I've always had an affinity with animals. As soon as I first knew that meat was dead animals I stopped eating it - I must have been about 3 or 4 years old. I have to admit I'm not totally veggie because, to my shame, I eat prawns (shrimps) & sometimes a bit of fish, but I know I'm a hypocrite & I shouldn't eat it. I feel so bad. I hang my head in shame. I eat loads of pasta, rice, veg, cheese, & things like nut cutlets, bean burgers, Quorn sausages etc. I don't know if Quorn is available in the USA, it's a myco-protein, made into things like burgers, sausages, chunks, minced (ground) beef substitute etc. Not that you really need a substitute for meat, it's just sometimes easier to cook a veggie & a meat version of the same meal, e.g. lasagne, side by side. I've got some fantastic vegetarian cookery books too.

I also feel that humans & animals are equals - we are all living beings with our own lives to lead, likes & dislikes, & feelings. I don't see animals as just "a cat", "a chicken", "a dog", a cow" or whatever - I see them as individuals who happen to be in the form of a chicken, cat, dog, guinea-pig or whatever. Throughout my life I've had so many wonderful furry & feathery friends - each an individual in their own right & all very special little friends to me. I don't really like the term "pets" because I don't see them as that - they're friends, companions, part of the family. I can't understand people who say they like dogs but not cats - why not? It's the individual character that counts not the way they look. I'm not too keen on amimals being shown either - I don't really care about looks & I don't think vanity is high on a chicken's list of characteristics! That's not to say I can't appreciate a beautiful animal, it's just that I don't really like the owners taking the credit! Sorry! Anyway, I suppose it doesn't matter as long as they genuinely love their animals for who they are & don't treat it as an ego trip.

It upsets me going round the supermarket seeing shelves full of chickens & other meat. All those poor little souls who have probably had an awful life, & I can't even bear to say the word - death. I can't bear it. I have to buy meat for my husband but I hate it, & I can't touch it when I'm cooking - I use a knife & fork to cut it up & feel horribly guilty - I get him to do it when possible.

I just love animals so much.

Friends think I'm strange because they don't know anyone else like me! Look forward to reading posts from other like-minded people.

 

[Davaroo]

1. How long have you been vegetarian?

I'm not. I used to be a non meat eater, what we referred to as a "lacto-ovo vegetarian" (which means I ate dairy and egg products). Today that regimen has some sort of newfangled name, I think.
I don't think that ever really qualified me as a vegetarian, but Ill go with it.

2. Why did you choose to go vegetarian?

For health and philosophic reasons. All the worlds healthiest people have low meat intake and high concentrations of fermented foods and grains. I tried to emulate that. Philosophically, I grew up in California and it was cool to wear tye-dye, smoke weed and proclaim oneself a caring, socially conscious vegetarian type human earth inhabitant. Ever see those hippies on the old news films and documentaries from the 60's and 70'? That was me. Peace, baby!

3. Has raising and caring for poultry changed your opinion of farm animals, or helped affirm your vegetarian lifestyle?
No change at all. I also grew up on a farm in WI. Livestock are just that - human food in whatever form they take.
We are the top of the food chain. It doesn't mean we must eat them, but it is their lot in life should we choose to.

4. What are some of your favorite foods?

Non meat foods, I presume?

Tofu
Indian non meat items
Rice with fried egg and veggies
Falafel
Tabouli
Humus
Home-made breads
Cheese
Nuts
Wine
Beer

 

[Emzyyy]

Today for dinner I had a spinach salad with shredded cheese, garlic croutons, boiled egg, thousand island dressing. Some cooked asparagus with melted cheese on top. Some pomegranete juice

(wonderful stuff that is!), and some pistatios for my "desert". And it was yum. :

 

[Wifezilla]

All the worlds healthiest people have low meat intake and high concentrations of fermented foods and grains. I tried to emulate that.

Agree on the fermentation. Totally disagree on the meat intake. Some of the healthiest people include people who eat A LOT of pork and populations who rely mostly on meat or meat and fish.

Meat isn't what causes health problems per se...it is the amount of refined foods (including refined meat products), sugars, starches and improperly prepared grains and legumes that are way more likely to determine health.

You can be a very healthy vegetarian or a very healthy (mostly) carnivore. You can also be a VERY UNHEALTHY vegetarian by eating a lot of grains without soaking, sprouting or fermenting, beans that haven't been properly soaked to eliminate phytic acid, and not getting enough healthy natural fats to help you absorb all the nutrients from your greens.​

 

[JP33]

Quote:
Agree on the fermentation. Totally disagree on the meat intake. Some of the healthiest people include people who eat A LOT of pork and populations who rely mostly on meat or meat and fish.

Meat isn't what causes health problems per se...it is the amount of refined foods (including refined meat products), sugars, starches and improperly prepared grains and legumes that are way more likely to determine health.

You can be a very healthy vegetarian or a very healthy (mostly) carnivore. You can also be a VERY UNHEALTHY vegetarian by eating a lot of grains without soaking, sprouting or fermenting, beans that haven't been properly soaked to eliminate phytic acid, and not getting enough healthy natural fats to help you absorb all the nutrients from your greens.

Amen to that! I hear you and agree fully!


...JP

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
Agree on the fermentation. Totally disagree on the meat intake. Some of the healthiest people include people who eat A LOT of pork and populations who rely mostly on meat or meat and fish.

Meat isn't what causes health problems per se...it is the amount of refined foods (including refined meat products), sugars, starches and improperly prepared grains and legumes that are way more likely to determine health.

You can be a very healthy vegetarian or a very healthy (mostly) carnivore. You can also be a VERY UNHEALTHY vegetarian by eating a lot of grains without soaking, sprouting or fermenting, beans that haven't been properly soaked to eliminate phytic acid, and not getting enough healthy natural fats to help you absorb all the nutrients from your greens.

You know what I meant!

BACKSTORY: Im from California originally and grew up meditating under pyramids, wearing tie dye and eating tofu.
I prefer to believe that low meat intake is a good thing - I know you fee that was your undoing in the past.
But I'll wager you are a case among many.

I am convinced that animal protein is a vital part of our diet - I'm not convinced that the way we do it is in our better interests.

 

[Wifezilla]

I am sure we are in 100% percent agreement on CAFOs : shudder :

 

[Davaroo]

Quote:
CAFO's?

 

[Wifezilla]

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation

http://www.cooklocal.com/?p=1011