The Stig's Vegetarian Cousin!

Anyone else here vegetarian or is it just me?

I've been a vegetarian since my junior year of high school.

The only times it can be troubling in motorsports is at autocrosses or rallycrosses or crewing at rallies where typical "grill'n foods" are all that's available. Even then it's not a huge deal, I either bring my own or go off site.

I'm not some crazy eco-maniac or anything and I don't try to impose my personal beliefs on anyone, I am just curious.

This isn't meant to start a "real men eat meat" discussion so please refrain

...crickets chirping... ;)

my sister's best friend is a veggie. what's your fave protein source? what do you turn for recipes and prepared foods?

My girlfriend is, and I really don't eat much meat. Our dinners are usually veggie friendly, but I'll eat meat when we go out to eat. I usually keep chicken breasts in the house when it's warm out (grillin' season) and I'll occasionally get sausage patties for breakfast (because the veggie ones are horrible), but other than that there usually isn't much meat in the house.

I'll agree that the soysauge patties are gnarly. Most fake meats are, but I don't really crave the taste of meat so it's easy to avoid them. Although, the Tofu hotdogs are pretty good.

For protein I eat a lot of whole grain foods, beans, nuts, and of course soy. I don't eat/drink a lot of dairy or eggs straight up but I do eat cheese and if something is made with milk or has eggs in I still eat it.

I recently found an awesome cook book called "The Vegetarian's Meat and Potatoes" which has awesome, really hearty meals in it.

Vegetarian is a great way to sort of force yourself to eat healthy (stay slim). You of course need to be very aware of what you are eating. An amateur vegetarian can get themselves in a bit of trouble (health wise). Even just cutting down on meat is generally a good idea.

As a quasi enviro/religo/political statement (as it appears to be for some) it comes off as a bit silly. You know, the ones that can't ever let any meat touch their lips, like it would be some sort of poison, or won't even eat food that was prepared where meat was prepared.

I am a devoted carnivore... I offset your lack of meat and then some.

In reply to Autolex:

The world remains at a balance!

16vCorey wrote: My girlfriend is, and I really don't eat much meat. Our dinners are usually veggie friendly, but I'll eat meat when we go out to eat. I usually keep chicken breasts in the house when it's warm out (grillin' season) and I'll occasionally get sausage patties for breakfast (because the veggie ones are horrible), but other than that there usually isn't much meat in the house.

What Corey said.

I actually like the new italian snausage you can get. REALLY good in spaghetti sauce.

Carson wrote: In reply to Autolex: The world remains at a balance!

I'm going to put it out of balance again.... i'm also a devoted carnivore....

Don't get me wrong, i eat my veggies, but i eat enough of everything that i destroy a ton of meat daily. Eating a pound or two of chicken in a day isn't abnormal for me.

I'm an admitted fan of the flesh of our animal friends, but am also familiar with veggie products as well, and some are quite good. The Morningstar Farms spicy black bean burgers are quite tasty.

aircooled wrote: As a quasi enviro/religo/political statement ...

Meat grows naturally in the wild, therefore I eat meat.

We have a customer who is one of those extraordinarily earthy types and it just happens that she just left the store. We both were blessed with sons last November and talk frequently. It happens that she showed up just as my meat lovers pizza did... The look was precious to say the least.

Per Schroeder wrote:

16vCorey wrote: My girlfriend is, and I really don't eat much meat. Our dinners are usually veggie friendly, but I'll eat meat when we go out to eat. I usually keep chicken breasts in the house when it's warm out (grillin' season) and I'll occasionally get sausage patties for breakfast (because the veggie ones are horrible), but other than that there usually isn't much meat in the house.

What Corey said. I actually like the new italian snausage you can get. REALLY good in spaghetti sauce.

Colleen just got some of those, but I've yet to try them. I've been a bit leery, but after that review I'll have to give them a shot.

Every time I go to the grocery store and peruse the fake meat isle, I can't help but wonder why no on named their veggie sliced lunch meat "phony baloney".

I understand it for the health and religious reasons. But it seems that most vegetarians I know* seem to try and tell me I'm a horrible person. As I point out their leather belt.

*I actually think I know a lot more vegetarians, I just don't know that they are.

The Morning Star Tofu Crumblers make really good tacos. Just cook it and season it like you would ground beef/turkey.

Carson wrote: The Morning Star Tofu Crumblers make really good tacos. Just cook it and season it like you would ground beef/turkey.

Well, seeing as taco meat really isn't meat anyways, I could see that.

I've been vegetarian since I was 14 (half my life now.) Never had any nutrition problems, but my mum was a real conscientious cook, and I learned from her. I do eat cheese and eggs.

Pretty easy to do over here in Europe. Britain is fantastic for vegetarians, even the roadside snack bars have veggie burgers these days. Here in Germany it's pretty good but you gotta watch the ingredients of things like canned soup and dehydrated mixes carefully, and good luck getting anything other than a sausage-on-a-bun from a street vendor.

I have endless trouble in Indonesia. A conversation with a food vendor usually goes like this: (in Indonesian, naturally, which I'm not very good at...)

"I'll have nasi goereng. Make it vegetarian."
"Oh, okay."
"That means no beef, no chicken, no fish. Eggs are fine."
"Ya ya ya, got it. No problem. Vegetarian."
...
(Get served food with prawns or shrimps instead. Or in one case, entire squid tentacles.)

I'm a lot less picky about accidentally eating a bit of seafood than I used to be.

I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years. I wear leather. I kill animals that need killin', I don't kill for sport anymore, but that's not because I'm a vegetarian. I hate tofu. I hate mushrooms. We're lacto-vegetarians, that is, we eat chese and milk but not eggs. I never liked eggs anyway.

You can always get a cheeseburger, cut the meat, if you're really stuck. Even in Texas. These days, even Burger King has a vegie burger.

My sister says she won't eat anything that used to have a face. Then she digs into the salmon. I tell her that fish have faces, to which she replies:

"No they don't! The eyes are on opposite sides of the head, so you can't see them at the same time, and it doesn't look like a face."

Most of the vegetarians I have met have been women, and either too thin, or just didn't look good. The exception is my son's girlfriend. She is fairly strict about it (I don't know the proper term for her choice) but she GLOWS healthy and has a great figure. She's a physical therapist, working with the elderly, so she gets plenty of excercise. They are rebuilding a house, and she can handle all the power tools well. The only thing I would have her change is her last name- as in get married to my son!

I like meat. I don't have any issue with people who choose not to eat meat, as it means more meat for me. I will eat raw hamburger if it is good quality stuff. Yeah, I get that look a lot. And italian sausage in spagetti sauce is DA BOMB!!1!

Hey Ash, maybe we can have a veggie option at THSCC events this coming year!

My wife has been veg for ages, like 20-odd years. As with a number of you the shared meals (Pizza/Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese/non-buffet Indian) are meatless, but I keep stuff at home in grillin' season too.

One of the best steak places in the DC metro area, Ray's the Steaks was a great place for both of us as they had an awesome grilled portabella mushroom thing she liked, and I got the awesome hanger steak. Unfortunately the mushroom thing fell off the menu for "slow sales" so it's no longer a shared destination.

I vote with my wallet and avoid places that can't have so much as a single thing w/o meat - and that doesn't include the "desperation placate-the-vegetarian sampler" where the chef assumes that because someone eats EVERYTHING except animal flesh that they're happy with a pile of stir-fried carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and onions.

As for the fake sausage - provided you don't race it heads up w/ the really good meat-based stuff, Morningstar farms patties are a tasty accompaniment to breakfast as are the links.

Samuel L Jackson's assertion in Pulp Fiction "Well, my girlfriend is a vegetarian which makes me a vegetarian" doesn't have to be true at all.

Dr. Hess wrote: I've been a vegetarian for over 20 years. I wear leather. I kill animals that need killin', I don't kill for sport anymore, but that's not because I'm a vegetarian. I hate tofu. I hate mushrooms. We're lacto-vegetarians, that is, we eat chese and milk but not eggs. I never liked eggs anyway. You can always get a cheeseburger, cut the meat, if you're really stuck. Even in Texas. These days, even Burger King has a vegie burger.

Damm I never had Dr Hess pegged as a hippy....

motomoron wrote: I vote with my wallet and avoid places that can't have so much as a single thing w/o meat - and that doesn't include the "desperation placate-the-vegetarian sampler" where the chef assumes that because someone eats EVERYTHING except animal flesh that they're happy with a pile of stir-fried carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and onions.

Yes.

Vegetarian options can be good, if they're prepared with thought as to flavor. Too many places assume a pile of veg and a couple of mushrooms or peanuts is enough to placate the pallette. Care needs to be taken with seasoning, especially since spices are vegetables.