Vegetarianism / was Boston Brown Bread.

[Guest guest]

Hi Sherry - you're so right, of course :-) The number of times we've all had to

cope, in

restaurants (and of course at other dining tables than our own), with something

that is

touted as vegetarian until one inquires and finds that there's 'just a little

chicken stock, of

course' in the soup, sauce, etc. A relative of mine offered spaghetti sauce -

cooked with

tomatoes, herbs, onions, and <gasp> 'without any meat', but 'just' flavoured

with the fat

from salted dead pig. We ate out instead!

 

Btw, I just love your implied description of a non-vegetarian restaurant: a

place where one

goes to dine on corpse parts :-)

 

Talk again soonest!

 

Best love, Pat

 

> Well, it's your choice, but be aware. If you do that, it's no more

> vegetarian than eating a dead chicken or hamburger. The definition

> of being vegetarian is to consume no dead animal products, and once a

> substance is contaminated with dead animal parts, it's no longer

> vegetarian and the person who eats it is not a vegetarian by

> definition. My sympathy to you -- my DH is not vegetarian either,

> but dead animals are not allowed into the house. If he wants to eat

> corpse parts, he dines at a restaurant.

[Guest guest]

Reading posts like Jan's make me feel not so " alone " out there. I

had so many questions like that when I started out and I STILL have

loads of questions. I remember being at my brothers wedding 3 years

ago when I had just completely cut out all beef and pork in my

attempt to " go vegetarian " and I asked my B-I-L if his 4 year old

vegetarian daughter could have just the pasta in a shrimp and pasta

dish. Now I look back and think, " What was I thinking??? "

Jan, it comes with time. My husband eats meat also and I invested

in these inexpensive Pyrex or Anchor Hocking, small glass dishes with

glass lids. Often, I will make the same thing for me as I make for my

husband but I will do all of the veggies first and split them in

between the two dishes. To mine (I always do mine first to avoid meat

contamination) I'll add veggie both (often instant) and tofu or soy

meat of some type and to his I add the browned animal (yucky) and

cook them in the oven for 45 mins or so. I find that works for me.

Might be something to try.

My New Year's resolution is to move on in my quest for veganism

and cut out all dairy. This has been pretty rough already. Not so

rough when I eat at home but, for example, we had a visit with my SIL

last evening. She put on a beautiful spread and I know that she

really went out of her way to have something vegetarian for me. For

me she made Welsh cakes and sliced cheddar. I bowed out of eating the

cheddar (full fat cheese makes me sick since I had my gallbladder

removed) but I did have a welsh cake and BOY could you taste the

butter!!!!!!!!!

DOES IT GET ANY EASIER???????

Stef

[Guest guest]

Stef,

 

Yes it does get easier, and support like this thread helps a lot. Yes,

you will get tired of telling people, " not only do I not eat anything

from dead animals, I don't eat anything from animals at all! " So now

instead of having to say, " no I don't eat fish either (etc.) " you get to

remind people that you don't eat dairy.

 

I have been a vegan for a long time. People still ask these strange

questions. I actually had a nutritionist ask me, " where do you get your

protein? " I think you will get used to it. As far as giving up dairy,

it gets real easy. Going past the cheese section at the store changes

from longing to loathing very quickly, I think..

 

Graham

 

 

steffdav46 wrote:

 

> Reading posts like Jan's make me feel not so " alone " out there. I

>had so many questions like that when I started out and I STILL have

>loads of questions. I remember being at my brothers wedding 3 years

>ago when I had just completely cut out all beef and pork in my

>attempt to " go vegetarian " and I asked my B-I-L if his 4 year old

>vegetarian daughter could have just the pasta in a shrimp and pasta

>dish. Now I look back and think, " What was I thinking??? "

> Jan, it comes with time. My husband eats meat also and I invested

>in these inexpensive Pyrex or Anchor Hocking, small glass dishes with

>glass lids. Often, I will make the same thing for me as I make for my

>husband but I will do all of the veggies first and split them in

>between the two dishes. To mine (I always do mine first to avoid meat

>contamination) I'll add veggie both (often instant) and tofu or soy

>meat of some type and to his I add the browned animal (yucky) and

>cook them in the oven for 45 mins or so. I find that works for me.

>Might be something to try.

> My New Year's resolution is to move on in my quest for veganism

>and cut out all dairy. This has been pretty rough already. Not so

>rough when I eat at home but, for example, we had a visit with my SIL

>last evening. She put on a beautiful spread and I know that she

>really went out of her way to have something vegetarian for me. For

>me she made Welsh cakes and sliced cheddar. I bowed out of eating the

>cheddar (full fat cheese makes me sick since I had my gallbladder

>removed) but I did have a welsh cake and BOY could you taste the

>butter!!!!!!!!!

> DOES IT GET ANY EASIER???????

> Stef

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Graham wrote:

 

>Going past the cheese section at the store changes

>from longing to loathing very quickly, I think..

>

>

>

I went completely without dairy (and a few other things, including soy)

for several months while my son was a baby because he was sensitive to

the [cow] proteins in my milk. It did NOT get any easier for me. Cheese

was one of the things I missed the most. Yogurt was a close second. I

could never be a vegan, even though I see the moral reasons for doing

so. I also found it very hard to create a diet given the limitations I

had. Dairy ingredients (especially whey) are added to all kinds of

foods. I think that a lot of non-vegan people would have trouble making

vegan dishes (as per Stef's example). JMO.

 

Suzanne

[Guest guest]

Suzanne wrote:

 

> It did NOT get any easier for me. Cheese

> was one of the things I missed the most. Yogurt was a close second. I

> could never be a vegan, even though I see the moral reasons for doing

> so. I also found it very hard to create a diet given the limitations I

> had. Dairy ingredients (especially whey) are added to all kinds of

> foods. I think that a lot of non-vegan people would have trouble making

> vegan dishes (as per Stef's example). JMO.

 

I find it very easy indeed to prepare vegan dishes - lots of recipes out there -

and they

taste really really great, I assure anyone who wants to 'go vegan' :-) I still

call myseslf

'ovo-lacto vegetarian' (because when away from home I don't always inquire as

closely as I

should about whether or not 'vegetarian' on a menu also means 'vegan') but I

have been

cooking vegan meals at home for some considerable time now. That means the

preparation of both lunch and dinner, since my dh and I are retired. (Yes, yes,

it's okay, he

eats as I do and yes he too takes his turn in the kitchen LOL)

 

It's true that whey or casein, as two examples, are frequently found in foods

that are

vegetarian. But we can all read (or we wouldn't be on this list) and one can

watch out for

such ingredients in prepared food or, alternatively, do as many of us do and

avoid

prepared foods altogether *unless* they are marked as suitable for vegans. Your

own

preparations are tastier as well as healthier anyway.

 

I feel very sorry for those who cannot do without a certain 'taste' such as

cheese -

although since there are so many different cheeses around the world, all tasting

different

and from different kinds of milk (cow, sheep, goat), I wonder what that 'taste'

is that could

be common to all of them and therefore missed. Personally, I found that when I

missed

cheese and other dairy I missed the *convenience* of being able to follow old

habits. I

said, of course, that I missed the taste and thought I meant it. It was the same

with eggs.

It's easy to whip up a cheese omelette, for e.g., and it takes a bit of a

re-think to get past

the ultimate convenience foods provided by cows and chickens. But scrambled tofu

is

delightful and no danger of breaking the 'package' it comes in LOL and yoghurt

is easily

replaced by silken soy, if that texture is important.

 

So my advice to anyone who wants to become vegan is simple: try it. Don't let

anyone bully

you into it (unless for urgent health reasons) and don't let anyone put you off

it. Take a

look at our Files and ask questions - we'll help here.

 

Of course <putting on moderator hat>, this is a vegetarian list, not just a

vegan list, so no

pressure one way or another. There are all kinds of vegetarians here -

ovo-lacto, lacto,

vegans, fruitarians, raw foodists, etc etc. We try to be both supportive and

respectful of

each other's choices. <removes hat, smoothes hair>

 

Lunch today was a Thai-style stir-fry with, of course, minimum oil, lots of good

vegetables, and served with rice. No difficulty to prepare that! And oh yes, it

was of

course completely vegan.

 

Best love, Pat

[Guest guest]

> I hope that it isn't a problem continuing this thread, Pat. I know

> that it's not " exactly " about " slimming "

 

It's still about being vegetarian - as we are :-) No prob at all!

 

>. . . Graham wrote about . . . made me

> think about something that happened to me at the beginning of last

> month. I had to have surgery on my thyroid and was in the hospital

> for 1 night and two days. The nurses seemed to have the most

> difficult time understanding that I would need a vegetarian meal.

 

As you say later, it's amazing that such nurses have never run across a

vegetarian patient.

Now when we lived in Sydney, Australia, everyone we knew, vegetarian or

otherwise, tried

to get a doctor who would book them into the Seventh Day Adventist Hospital -

and it was

hard to book! - because they had the best food LOL I wonder if all those nurses

thought

that there were ALL those vegetarians in Sydney!

 

Hospitals are a terrible problem for vegetarians - worse for vegans, of course.

And the

older I get the more grateful I am for good health - the frame isn't what is

used to be, but

the inner workings are just fine :-)

 

Thanks for that story, Steff - and you too, Graham for yours -

 

Best love, Pat

[Guest guest]

I'm working on food allergies and becoming a vegetarian at the same

time.

 

So far the only thing I really miss is yogurt. (I'd kill for a big

cup of strawberry yogurt.) I thought I would miss milk chocolate a

lot more than I do. I thought for sure I was really addicted to

it. What a surprise to find out that I could live without it.

(11/16/05 last day for dairy and eggs)

 

It's hard going out to eat. A lot of places don't understand about

the food allergies and look at me really weird when I want to know

what is in everything and what they cook it in. My family doesn't

understand about vegetarisim and gets offended if I don't want to

eat what they do. They like their meat. It's easier to eat at home

for now.

 

I really want to do this though to be healthier. Once I get all of

the dairy, eggs, corn, and meat out of my system I think my asthma

will be a lot better. A lot of my meds have lactose for binders, so

I need to get off of them too.

 

I really appreciate all of the advice I've been reading here on the

message board.

 

Jan )

 

 

, " Pat " <veggiehound>

wrote:

>

> Suzanne wrote:

>

> > It did NOT get any easier for me. Cheese

> > was one of the things I missed the most. Yogurt was a close

second. I

> > could never be a vegan, even though I see the moral reasons for

doing

> > so. I also found it very hard to create a diet given the

limitations I

> > had. Dairy ingredients (especially whey) are added to all kinds

of

> > foods. I think that a lot of non-vegan people would have trouble

making

> > vegan dishes (as per Stef's example). JMO.

>

> I find it very easy indeed to prepare vegan dishes - lots of

recipes out there - and they

> taste really really great, I assure anyone who wants to 'go

vegan' :-) I still call myseslf

> 'ovo-lacto vegetarian' (because when away from home I don't always

inquire as closely as I

> should about whether or not 'vegetarian' on a menu also

means 'vegan') but I have been

> cooking vegan meals at home for some considerable time now. That

means the

> preparation of both lunch and dinner, since my dh and I are

retired. (Yes, yes, it's okay, he

> eats as I do and yes he too takes his turn in the kitchen LOL)

>

> It's true that whey or casein, as two examples, are frequently

found in foods that are

> vegetarian. But we can all read (or we wouldn't be on this list)

and one can watch out for

> such ingredients in prepared food or, alternatively, do as many of

us do and avoid

> prepared foods altogether *unless* they are marked as suitable for

vegans. Your own

> preparations are tastier as well as healthier anyway.

>

> I feel very sorry for those who cannot do without a

certain 'taste' such as cheese -

> although since there are so many different cheeses around the

world, all tasting different

> and from different kinds of milk (cow, sheep, goat), I wonder what

that 'taste' is that could

> be common to all of them and therefore missed. Personally, I found

that when I missed

> cheese and other dairy I missed the *convenience* of being able to

follow old habits. I

> said, of course, that I missed the taste and thought I meant it.

It was the same with eggs.

> It's easy to whip up a cheese omelette, for e.g., and it takes a

bit of a re-think to get past

> the ultimate convenience foods provided by cows and chickens. But

scrambled tofu is

> delightful and no danger of breaking the 'package' it comes in LOL

and yoghurt is easily

> replaced by silken soy, if that texture is important.

>

> So my advice to anyone who wants to become vegan is simple: try

it. Don't let anyone bully

> you into it (unless for urgent health reasons) and don't let

anyone put you off it. Take a

> look at our Files and ask questions - we'll help here.

>

> Of course <putting on moderator hat>, this is a vegetarian list,

not just a vegan list, so no

> pressure one way or another. There are all kinds of vegetarians

here - ovo-lacto, lacto,

> vegans, fruitarians, raw foodists, etc etc. We try to be both

supportive and respectful of

> each other's choices. <removes hat, smoothes hair>

>

> Lunch today was a Thai-style stir-fry with, of course, minimum

oil, lots of good

> vegetables, and served with rice. No difficulty to prepare that!

And oh yes, it was of

> course completely vegan.

>

> Best love, Pat

>

[Guest guest]

On Jan 5, 2006, at 2:50 PM, Pat wrote:

>

> I feel very sorry for those who cannot do without a certain 'taste'

> such as cheese -

> although since there are so many different cheeses around the world,

> all tasting different

> and from different kinds of milk (cow, sheep, goat), I wonder what

> that 'taste' is that could

> be common to all of them and therefore missed. Personally, I found

> that when I missed

> cheese and other dairy I missed the *convenience* of being able to

> follow old habits. I

> said, of course, that I missed the taste and thought I meant it. It

> was the same with eggs.

> It's easy to whip up a cheese omelette, for e.g., and it takes a bit

> of a re-think to get past

> the ultimate convenience foods provided by cows and chickens. But

> scrambled tofu is

> delightful and no danger of breaking the 'package' it comes in LOL and

> yoghurt is easily

> replaced by silken soy, if that texture is important.

 

I tried giving up cheese years ago and found it very difficult. My

husband (who is not a vegetarian) is lactose intolerant so really

shouldn't be eating cheese at all, but has difficulty stopping himself

from eating it. Man do we love the taste of cheese. Sure they don't all

taste the same, but I love most of them.

 

One book that I found helpful was the Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by

Joanne Stepaniak. I haven't tried every recipe in the book, but I've

tried a few and they're pretty good. My husband hates fake dairy

products but liked some of the recipes I tried. One he even liked

enough to recommend it to a friend who'd come over.

 

I prepare stuff from the book sometimes, but I still also eat cheese. I

don't know if I'll ever be able to get myself to give it up.

 

Haras the Wonder Frog

Princess of the Sandwiches

 

] " We used to say if a frog had side pockets,

] he'd carry a handgun. " - Dan Rather