The recipe I looked at for Hummus said to remove the husk which probably takes out a lot of the chewy texture.
We had a recent thread in which this behavior was vilified (and rightfully so), but how prevalent is it, really? A vegetarian who does not engage in this behavior won’t even ping your radar, so the only ones you notice are the ones that do. And veggies notice the omnivores that get all up in their face, demanding justification for their choices, or try to secretly slip meat into their meals and laugh at them later.
I’ll bet you worked with more vegetarians that did not make a big production out of it. So why is this one example the one everyone always picks?
Mr. Neville and I are probably about 80% vegetarian. We keep kosher strictly enough that we won’t eat non-kosher meat (though we will eat in a non-kosher restaurant), so that means we eat vegetarian or kosher fish pretty much any time we go out to eat. We don’t normally do more than 2 or 3 meat meals in a week at home.
Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who are clueless about what it means for something to be vegetarian. Mr. Neville has asked a deli clerk to recommend something vegetarian for him, and been recommended an Indian chicken salad “because Indian food has a lot of vegetarian stuff”.
And then there are different levels of strictness. Some vegetarians don’t seem to worry about things like chicken stock, some do. Some vegetarians are willing to eat something they’ve picked the meat off/out of, some aren’t. If you’re on the stricter end of things (no meat stock, nothing cooked but not served with meat), as we are since we keep kosher, you kind of have to be a pain about it.
I think this is the way I’m leaning. It’s the flesh itself that is bothering me. I have no problem with other products such as dairy, eggs, or even stock. I imagine eating at fast food restaurants is going to be interesting though.
Sub Shops, Pizza/Italian, most Asian, Mexican and Indian places ALL have lots of options for non-meat eaters like myself, and depending on how particular you are, you can always ask about a Mexican place using chicken stock in the rice, or lard in beans for example…
Burger Places or Steakhouses are about the only restaurants it gets really tough at, and even most of those have SOMETHING (baked potato, salad bar, seafood options) to keep you from starving to death.
Matthew (who has virtually NO veg. inclined friends, family or even well wishers in my circle, yet has not eaten any meat for 14+ years, despite eating out several times a week)
In short, you will find it easier than you thought, and soon, it will be second nature (if thats what you would like)----Happy Eating!!!
I think the best example of the obnoxious vegetarian was played by Angela in “The Office,” while attending the Indian Diwali celebration. When asking the servers about any vegetarian dishes on the buffet, they told her that it was all vegetarian. Her response was to turn her nose up and say, “I’ll just have bread.” People who want to be pissed off will find a way.
That might not be an entirely bad thing, from a health perspective.
I don’t eat at standard American fast food restaurants any more since I started keeping kosher. There are foods I miss sometimes, but those kinds of things aren’t really among them. I’d generally rather have pizza or ethnic food than a burger and fries, anyway.
I can’t speak for all obnoxious vegetarians (since I’m neither, currently 
) but you have to realize that people — sometimes well-meaning, frequently not — often insist that “just this once” you eat meat, or say “have some fish!” (as if it’s a plant), or ask “why on earth do you want to do THAT??” like you’ve announced you’ve decided to move to Mars. I’ve sat at family meals with my former in-laws, happily eating everything but the Thanksgiving turkey and seen them whispering and looking in my direction (“YOU KNOW SHE DOESN’T EAT MEAT OH MY GOD WHY?”) Like that.
I don’t believe I have ever been anything but polite when this sort of thing comes up, but you have to realize what you’re up against: a mainstream that often thinks you’re loopy, or purposely giving up meat just to piss them off.
If you are going Vegan, be sure to bone up on Vitamin B12. I have a deficiency (for other reasons) and on the sites I frequent, vegans are always warned about this.
Fun fact:
Vegetarian Society: Vitamin B12
I suppose all you really need to fulfill your RDA is one cup, and couple of adventurous girls.
:eek: OK, that is an interesting fact. Would that be considered vegan?
Only if it is consentual
Well, it’s an animal by-product, so I’d say that Human excrement would be in the same category as cow’s milk or cheese or something. Sadly, I’m a little nauseous now that I’ve thought about it.
I have absolutely no moral opposition to eating meat - there’s a reason we are where we are on the food chain. That said, boyfriend is a recovering vegetarian. If it wern’t for the cost, we’d be eating fish 4 nights a week, but as it is, we only indulge once per week.
I used to just adore steak, but it just makes me really, really sleepy when I have it. I grew up on chicken 3 nights a week, fish 1-2, and steak/seafood the others.
I also find something strange - that tons of vegetables simply don’t “pair” well with meat. I make a lot of healthy one-pot/skillet dishes, and I don’t like my veggies tasting like meat.
I should shount out the Eating Wellcookbooks and magazines - their vegetarian dishes for people who aren’t real vegetarians. They have cookbooks of all sorts - quick meals, dinners for two, etc. The disclaimer is that they’re not cheap recipes - they’ll call for shallots, shiitake mushrooms, recommend organic veggies and natural meats, etc. It’s up my alley, but if cost control is a big concern for you, it’s not great.
Yay! Come to the dark side, we have veggie pizza!
I’ve never eaten very much meat, maybe an ounce or so in stir fries, and perhaps the occasional hunk now and then. Once I started grocery shopping for myself I found it was a lot easier and cheaper to purchase just non-meat items. I’m pseudo-vegetarian for a variety of reasons, but mainly environmental for the reasons Renee laid out. Nowadays, I never buy meat for myself, but I will on occasion order some at a restaurant, or will eat some if I’m in a group setting and sticking to my guns will create unnecessary fuss.