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Scott Mc · Has ideas

I know there are a lot of people out there who are vegetarians. As a hard core omnivore, I am always curious...what made you decide to become a vegetarian (don't like the taste, think its inhumane, health concerns), how long have you been a vegetarian, and to what extent are you a vegetarian (just red meat, also fish and chicken, no dairy products...I don't know what the technical terms are for these are -- if somebody could share that too, that would be cool)..

Also, is it appropriate to say that someone "is a vegetarian", or do you say "has a vegetarian diet", or does it not matter?

leslie e · Newbie

from my limited understanding, a vegetarian doesn't eat meat. a vegan is someone who doesn't eat meat or dairy products.

there are times when i have thought i might prefer to be a vegetarian because i get grossed out by cleaning chickens and/or turkeys as well as the hard to chew parts that occasionally make it into the ground beef (is that bone? - ewww.....)

but then i realize i don't have a vast collection of recipes on hand for cooking vegetarian dishes. and i really like variety. so the meat is usually included in my meals.

and who can pass up a deep fried turkey? not in this lifetime!!! bring it on!

Indie · Has ideas

I'm an almost vegetarian (I eat chicken once every couple of months--shh, don't tell anyone). I was a real vegetarian for a while, but its so hard in our culture. Even McDonald's french fries are seasoned with meat. For a while I also didn't eat dairy, but that was because Madeira was sensitive to the dairy protein that made its way into my breastmilk when I ate dairy. Dairy is also sneaked into all sorts of foods that you wouldn't think would have it. I found that I feel better when I limit my dairy intake.

I never liked to eat fish. In high school I started eating smaller portions of meat for health reasons. My mom freaked out because she was raised in the school that all meals should revolve around meat. When I was in college I worked in the school cafeteria and saw the meat in the walk in cooler. It was so disgusting that I quit eating meat in the cafeteria (which was where I got most of my food). I found that when I went back to eating meat the taste was pretty gross. By the time that I got pregnant I was only eating chicken. I had really bad morning sickness all day, every day for all but a few days of my pregnancy. For some reason I would throw up everytime I smelled or saw chicken so I stopped eating meat. Then I read studies that said vegetarians have much lower levels of pesticides in their breastmilk than meat eaters. This is because toxins are stored in the fat. So I didn't go back to eating meat. My husband is a wonderful cook and makes all sorts of great things without meat.

I think that God originally intended for us to be vegetarians. Compare Gen. 1:29 to Gen. 9:3. It seems that meat-eating (and the killing that it necessitates) are a symptom of our broken relationship with God. I do question whether we have evolved to need meat since then. It is hard to tell since much of the "science" is done by special interests who either want us to eat meat (the industry) or are completely opposed to it (PETA).

Another reason to be a vegetarian is what kind of footprint we want to leave on the earth. It takes a lot more resources to raise cattle than to raise non-meat and non-dairy foods. As Americans we are already taking more than our fair share of everything. Industrial animal farms also create more polution than vegetable farms.

The industrial farms in our era are, for the most part, very cruel to animals. Many of God's laws indicate that we should treat his creatures humanely. Many modern farms also use a lot of antibiotics and hormones. These get into our meat and dairy products. One alternative is to eat organic meat and dairy but these are more expensive and not available to everyone.

For those who would like to add more vegetarian dishes to their diet I would suggest Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian.

Scott Mc · Has ideas

Very interesting Indie. I can see how your experience would be a very compelling reason for you to not eat meat...wow! Your perspective on vegetarianism as an issue of environmental stewardship could be one of the most compelling reasons I've ever heard.

Regarding organic food. I think it is unfortunate that there is such a price disparity that organic food production becomes so expensive. I think what most people do not realize is that organic vegetables/fruits and free range meats generally taste better than their industrialized counterparts, less from the fact that there are pesticides used, more from the fact that there is no genetic tampering, all of this seems to come at the expense of taste quality: chicken with more meat, turkeys that mature more quickly, apples and oranges that "look" perfect. I have to credit my brother-in-law for bringing me around to this conclusion.

Admittedly, it is a very rare occasion that I eat organic or free range foods. I admit that I am not willing to pay higher food prices to gain the above benefits.

leslie e · Newbie

i would LOVE to eat more organically as well, but at this point i'm not willing to pay that much for it. for example, i really enjoy grilled salmon when i can get it. a friend mentioned that they had some at wild oats for $15.99 per pound. i usually try to find it for less than $5.99 per pound. during the warm season, i do try to grow things in containers such as lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, sugar snap peas, soybeans, and herbs. and these really do taste better than store bought.

leslie e · Newbie

indie - i'll have to check out the book you mentioned! i'm learning that i am not able to tolerate dairy products as much as i used to, so i'm looking for different recipes and experimenting w/ different things (on the rare occasion that i have TIME) to experiment.

astrotoby · Has ideas

Vegetarians are cool. I wish I was cool enough to be one, but I'm just not. Maybe someday I can date one. That's about as close as I'm going to get.

Scott Mc · Has ideas

We were excited to bring a vegetarian dish to DPC last night and then, once we got there, there were no vegetarians!

Sorry you guys missed the corn quesadillas...they were gooey good!

(They did have cheese, so they weren't for the dairy averse!)

Guest

Yes, we regret not going to DPC last night.

Indie · Has ideas

Can we fix it so guests can't post again. I always forget to log in.

leslie e · Newbie

noir, indie, anyone......do you happen to have a very good recipe for vegetarian chili? could you share that with me? thanks!

Scott Mc · Has ideas

Can it be chili if it's vegetarian????

(Just a perspective from a Texan Very Happy

!)

Actually, Leslie Mc has a good recipe for an Italian bean chili...

leslie e · Newbie

scott - what's one of the main ingredients in chili - BEANS!!!! i'm sure a vegetarian variety makes up for the meat by more beans and veggies (tomatoes, etc). i would like to find a good recipe though for a vegetarian version.

Scott Mc · Has ideas

Well...in most "official" Texan chilis (I will Texocentrically say that chili originated in Texas, although I really can't substantiate that claim at all), beans are not an ingredient at all...neither are tomatos!

For the record, my three favorite chili recipes all have tomatos or tomato by-products in them, but I prefer to hold the beans and have an "all-meat" chili.

Do you want me to look for our Italian Bean Chili? (I think its called 3-Bean)

Another question...can it be chili if its got chicken or turkey in it?

noir · Has ideas

here's a rough recipe for veggie chili. i don't really measure stuff or follow recipes that close so bare with me. a lot of it is optional and up to your tastes.

-start with about 2 cups of beans. (i like doing a trio of black/red/kidney), you can do it in the crockpot for 7 hours or just get canned beans.

-at least a 20 oz. + can of plain tomato sauce or puree.
-12 oz. can of diced tomatos, or better yet a few diced fresh tomatos.
-1 can or warm beer.
-a splash of white or apple cider vinegar
-lots of chili powder
-a few shakes of extra cumin.
-salt and pepper.
-two tablespoons brown sugar
-at least one jalepeno minced.

so combine the above ingredients either in the crockpot or in your kettle at medium/low heat.

-mince a few garlic cloves
-dice one onion
-a few tablespoons of olive oil

brown the onion, and add the garlic but only let it turn golden.

you can now add a few veggies of your choice as to your taste.
-different color bell peppers
-corn
-zucchini, or summer squash

you can even add ground up "fake veggie meat" which when mixed with everything else would taste and seem exactly like real ground burger.

so cook the veggies until are cooked but firm. add it to the pot of other stuff.

now either cook it on medium/low for about 30 minutes. or better yet store it in the frig overnight to let the flavors come together and reheat it the next day.

hope that helps.