# Vegetarian boxed lunch is a LIE! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [July 17, 2003, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259 "2003-07-17T23:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![lezlers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/258eb7/32.png) [@lezlers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lezlers)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/101 "2003-07-18T16:08:38Z")
**lawoot** , please don’t think of vegans that way. That’s like saying you think of all Christians like the some of the loony fundies on this board. And **carrot** , yeah it gets grainy when you freeze it. We’re probably talking about the same thing. I only freeze it for a couple of recipies because the texture works better (enchaladas) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/102 "2003-07-18T16:08:52Z")
Kabbes I actually like it when the tofu is still smooth but warm in the middle. I find that if the slices are thin, or if the cubes are fairly small (no bigger than half inch) then the tofu is usually nicely cooked and hot on the inside. You can also try broiling or baking the tofu. The latter, especially, tends to cook the tofu right through, rather than simply searing the outside and leaving the inside slippery. Try 20-30 minutes at 350-400F, depending on what works best for you. It’s especially nice if you bake it in a soy sauce/honey/balsamic vinegar/ginger/garlic marinade. Go [here](http://www.fatfree.com/recipes/tofu/) for some good recipe suggestions (warning: two or three annoying pop-ups). If you’re talking about the sort of honeycomb texture that you get with some take-out tofu, i believe that this effect comes from deep frying. I don’t mind tofu this way, but don’t eat it very often because of the amount of fat it adds to the meal, and the hassle of deep frying at home. ---
**Author:** ![Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df788c/32.png) [@Horrifying\_Howler\_Monkey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horrifying_Howler_Monkey)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/103 "2003-07-18T16:14:45Z")
> [@](#): > > Anyway not to go against the grain, but I think that the original post does have something to say in its favour. Suppose I prepare a vegetarian sandwich. Why not skip the egg and dairy products altogether and make it vegan? Because some of us vegetarians are not vegans? I like mayo, I like cheese, and I don’t want to end up having to eat some tofu substitute. That is exactly what happened at the cafeteria at the University I went to. All vegetarian dishes became vegan. On pizza day one used to be able to get a vegetarian pizza, which was like a non-vegetarian pizza, but without meat. Neat. Then they decided that vegan did in fact equal vegtarian, so there was naught a veggie pizza to be found withought fake cheese. ---
**Author:** ![lokij](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5e9695/32.png) [@lokij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lokij)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/104 "2003-07-18T16:17:04Z")
I’ll eat anything that stands still long enough for me to put it in my mouth. If it fights back, more the better. Anyways, I AM a bit perplexed at the logic behind one not eating eggs because it equals killing a prechicken but happily drinking milk which produces veal as a byproduct. Anybody care to enlighten me? Is there some kind of special milk that you drink that avoids this part of the dairy industry? Mmmmmmm Veal. ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/105 "2003-07-18T16:22:42Z")
**lezlers** - tea substitutes just don’t cut it I’m afraid. I’m English. Tea is my one answer to any problem life might throw at me. That aside, I’ve found my groove in the detox now, although it still gets tedious after about the 6-week mark. That’s why I don’t normally manage to see it through the full three months. Thank the lord for wheat-free yeast-free bread and hummus. And dried figs. pan ---
**Author:** ![kabbes](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e99b99/32.png) [@kabbes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kabbes)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/106 "2003-07-18T16:24:29Z")
::looks above him:: oh look - another tosser! Amazing how these threads attract them, isn’t it? (p.s. it seems OTT to keep thanking people for things, but I’m still reading the use-of-tofu advice, honestly) cheers pan ---
**Author:** ![carrot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de0a6/32.png) [@carrot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrot)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/107 "2003-07-18T16:28:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lezlers \* > \*\*And **carrot** , yeah it gets grainy when you freeze it. We’re probably talking about the same thing. I only freeze it for a couple of recipies because the texture works better (enchaladas) \*\* Most likely. I used it once as a ground beef substitute in a recipe (I believe it was marinated in vegetarian Worcestershire sauce), and it performed admirably. And **kabbes** , I must second **mhendo** ’s suggestion of thin slices and/or small pieces. The more heat you manage to work into the tofu itself, I find, the firmer it gets. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Tiger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6de8d8/32.png) [@Mama\_Tiger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Tiger)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/108 "2003-07-18T16:34:28Z")
[slight hijack] I have two questions for the vegans here, since there seem to be so many. 1. I had a coworker who was vegan, and I was talking with her one day about her dietary choices – just honest curiosity – and asked her why she didn’t eat dairy. She proceeded to explain to me at length that dairy causes mucus and mucus causes diseases. Uh, right. I said thank you and left it at that. Is that an honest vegan theory, or was she just a nutcase? (My vote was for the latter, but I’m happy to be shown the depths of my ignorance.) 2. One day as I walked past this same coworker’s desk, I saw her eating lunch. It was a liquid virulently fluorescent green goo in a bowl. Does ANYONE have any idea what might have been in it? It looked like something my dog threw up after eating week-old garbage, although I’m sure it was far more nutritious. And no, I’m not mocking vegans, I just was completely mystified by what it might be! But because of conversation (1) above, I decided to pass on by and reserve my curiosity for myself. But now I’m sharing it with you guys. 😃 [/slight hijack] I think the OP is an idiot, too, to suggest that people assume dairy is okay but eggs are not for vegetarian OR vegan or anything else. Deli workers are not hired for their telepathic skills. And if you want a free lunch that meets your dietary requirements, either ask for it specifically or fix it yourself. My dad taught in India for several years back in the '50s, and had a fellow teacher who taught science. One of his students was a Jain, who was so upset by seeing microorganisms in water and food through the microscope in class that he broke the lens. He didn’t want to know that with every drink or bite he took, he might be killing life, however microscopic. So clearly there are levels of dietary strictness that go far beyond what even the strictest vegans can come up with. ---
**Author:** ![Nametag](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nametag/32/406_2.png) [@Nametag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nametag)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/109 "2003-07-18T16:40:03Z")
This thread made me really hungry, so I went and made a chicken ‘n’ swiss omelet; I cooked it in the greasy pan from last night’s cheeseburgers. I am a terrible person. ---
**Author:** ![Antimanics](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/71c47a/32.png) [@Antimanics](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antimanics)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/110 "2003-07-18T17:13:28Z")
I just wanted to chime in about how much this thread reminds me of that _If you operate a restaurant in America, speak Greek (incorrectly)_ thread. I’m also kind of amused that someone with a beef about killing animals would take a username from a murderer. What’s it going to be then, eh? ---
**Author:** ![prisoner6655321](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/5f8ce5/32.png) [@prisoner6655321](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/prisoner6655321)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/111 "2003-07-18T17:27:11Z")
Am I going to have to reply over an over and over and over again that I am actually not a militant fundamentalist or martyr vegan? I only posted here to blow off some steam. I’m also a vegetarian for health reasons. I am a Christian and God gave us permission to eat animals. But he didn’t tell us we HAD to eat animals. So the veal thing doesn’t really bother me. BTW. Not all cheese has rennet in it. Actually very little cheese you find in the average American grocery store has rennet. You do have to make sure, but generally the common cheeses that a deli will use do not have it. Also, as I said very near the beginnning of this too long thread, I’m not as picky as I used to be. Some cheeses I just don’t know about. I can’t ask the deli person cause I’m sure he won’t know. So I bite the bullet and eat it anyway, or more likely if it’s suspicious then I’ll ask them to not include that cheese. But if the cheese I do include does have rennet it’s kind of okay. A little rennet isn’t going to kill me. It’s just not worth the aggravation. But keeping eggs out of my meals is a lot easier. People usually know if their ingredients have eggs in them. **Mama Tiger** Point number one is true. It’s not vegan nonsense. When you have a cold or flu and you remove dairy from your immediate diet you will notice that you don’t have as much mucus. I do eat dairy, but not when I am sick. It’s not because it causes disease. I don’t know about that. I just don’t like to he hacking up phlegm all the time when I’m sick. Number two. It might have been split pea soup. Some people make it non-vegetarian with pork or chicken or what-not. You can probably find some in your grocery store. It’s really not that uncommon. ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 6:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/112 "2003-07-18T18:02:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lokij \* > \*\* Anyways, I AM a bit perplexed at the logic behind one not eating eggs because it equals killing a prechicken but happily drinking milk which produces veal as a byproduct. Anybody care to enlighten me? Is there some kind of special milk that you drink that avoids this part of the dairy industry? \*\* If by “produces veal as a byproduct,” you mean that veal calves are fed milk, you are right, but your argument is moronic. If i understand you correctly, you suggest that the OP shouldn’t drink milk because it is also fed to veal calves. By this logic, neither should vegetarians eat any grain or soy products, because those products are also fed to livestock in order to produce meat. Look, i think we need to recognize that every single one of us lives with certain contradictions in our lives, and vegetarians and vegans are no different. Let me use myself as an example. My vegetarianism stems from a few different concerns: 1. the health effects of eating meat, especially modern feedlot-produced meat which often comes from less-than-healthy animals pumped full of antibiotics etc. 2. the way that animals are treated under modern “farming” techniques 3. the global politics of meat production, in which so much of the earth’s protein is fed to animals in order to provide meat for western societies, while so much of the world’s population suffers from protein deficiencies. Each one of these positions subjects me to possible accusations of inconsistency or hypocrisy, for example: 1. while one of my reasons for not eating meat relates to health issues, i still happily scarf down chocolate, chips, alcohol, and a bunch of other unhealthy stuff. 2. while i hate the way animals are treated under modern factory farming techniques, i still consume eggs and dairy products, and the animals that produce these products often have the worst lives of any farm animals. 3. despite being concerned about global hunger, i still eat more than i need to, and sometimes waste food by forgetting about it and letting it go off in my fridge. I recognize these contradictions, and the fact that i do is the reason that i don’t preach to other people about what they should eat. I’d like to cut down on eating junk food, but i like it. I could give up milk and eggs easily enough if i put my mind to it, but giving up cheese would be reeeeaaaally hard. And i could probably be more conscious of what i eat and what i waste. I don’t beat myself up about these things, because i think everyone lives with similar tensions in one part of their life or another. For some, it’s their jobs that cause them concern, for others, it might be their religion, for others their politics. For me, in this instance, it’s my diet. ---
**Author:** ![Fin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fin_man)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/113 "2003-07-18T18:12:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\* > > \ > > 1. while one of my reasons for not eating meat relates to health issues, i still happily scarf down chocolate, chips, alcohol, and a bunch of other unhealthy stuff. > > \ > \*\* and from **mhendo’s** sig: > [@](#): > > God was my co-pilot, but we crashed in the Andes and i had to eat him. Oh, the irony. BTW, as for the food going bad, I just bought a FoodSaver vacuum pack machine. Food lasts longer. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/114 "2003-07-18T18:43:16Z")
So, despite not being a vegetarian, I had a vegetarian pizza for lunch. Real cheese - but they put carrots on the darn thing! Carrots! On a pizza! Veggie pizza is supposed to be olives and peppers and onions and mushrooms - and maybe some spinich. Broccoli if you are really out there. But not carrots. The nerve of some people. (My guess for the neon green goo - seaweed salad) ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/115 "2003-07-18T18:58:45Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fin\_man \* > \*\*and from **mhendo’s** sig: > > > [@](#): > > > > God was my copilot, but we crashed in the Andes and i had to eat him > > Oh, the irony. \*\* And he tastes like chicken, y’know! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Fin\_man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/51bf81/32.png) [@Fin\_man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fin_man)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/116 "2003-07-18T19:08:47Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > > [@](#): > > > > > > God was my copilot, but we crashed in the Andes and i had to eat him > > > > Oh, the irony. > > And he tastes like chicken, y’know! > > 😃 \*\* But he’s so high in cholesterol. Am I going to hell now? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/117 "2003-07-18T19:29:47Z")
**mama tiger, Prisoner** , there are **no** good medical studies which show that dairy consumption increases mucous. tTis urban legend has been repeated so often that waaay too many people consider it fact, but it is not. Even if it did, mucous doesn’t cause disease anyway. Not your own, at least. Someone with TB who’s phlegmmy should be avoided. QtM, MD ---
**Author:** ![whiterabbit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/cab0a1/32.png) [@whiterabbit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whiterabbit)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/118 "2003-07-18T19:41:59Z")
We (\*\*Mama Tiger[/b is my mom) figured that she had the whole cause and effect thing mixed up with the mucus. And I have never noticed a difference when I have a cold whether I have dairy or not. Split pea soup is not virulently green. My guess is that it was some sort of algae goo. I have heard of such things. Possibly seaweed, as was pointed out above. Either way, eww. I’m a picky eater, though an omnivore. So I don’t even eat sandwiches I don’t make myself. I ask questions at restaurants if I have the tiniest qualm about what might be in a dish. If I were cooking for a friend who said they were vegetarian, with no further information, I would assume that dairy and eggs were all right. If they said they were vegan, then I know what that means, and I’d make sure they could eat what I cooked. There is no need to be an asshole about any particular special dietary requirements up front. Preachiness about the health benefits and how animals suffer counts as assholery in my book, unless I asked you about why you don’t eat what you don’t eat. ---
**Author:** ![Gulo\_gulo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bcef8e/32.png) [@Gulo\_gulo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gulo_gulo)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/119 "2003-07-18T21:14:48Z")
My guess on **Mama Tiger** ’s green goo is spirulina. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [July 18, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259/120 "2003-07-18T21:32:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by prisoner6655321 \* > \*\* You know I don’t eat meat. You should KNOW that it includes eggs, stupid. If you don’t know, then assume I mean no eggs. Eggs don’t grow on plants, dumb-ass! So I don’t eat them!!! \*\* So you’re just another asshole who thinks the whole world should just conform to your wishes. Marc [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/vegetarian-boxed-lunch-is-a-lie/189259.md?page=7)