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Any other vegetarians on PS?

NOYFB

Ideal_Rock
Joined
Nov 16, 2008
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I am a new vegetarian (3 months) and was just wondering how many other PS girls (and guys) are vegetarians also. I would love to get some recipes and just hear others' experiences, as I am noticing a lot of meat-eaters seem to have an issue with us...not sure why?
 
:wavey: Long-time (17 year) vegetarian here! My DH isn't a vegetarian but we eat veg at home and my two kids are vegetarians. My sister is also a vegetarian (she goes vegan every now and then) and two of my cousins are as well. At first, my parents had a difficult time dealing with it but 17 years later, they are very accepting and pretty adventurous. DH is from the Midwest and the vegetables his family eats are corn and potatoes. We send vegetarian lunches to the kids' daycare, if that day's lunch is meaty. I never had a single meat craving during my pregnancy and was quite pleased when DS came out robust and healthy.
 
I eat a 99% vegetarian diet, I have something meat-ish a few times a year. Since I do the cooking, my DH only eats meat when he is out, perhaps 3-4 times a month, and one of our DD's is completely veggie. We've found as we get older that we just feel better eating a plant-based diet, so gradually meat just became less and less a part of our lives. Our DD, on the other hand, never liked meat, even as a baby, and stopped even trying to eat it in her late teens. And you're right, a lot of vegetarians do seem to get flak for their choices, but I usually manage to shrug it off. Our older (enthusiastically meat eating) daughter has a friend who works for PETA, and she is so obnoxiously self-righteous that it makes me want to smack her upside the head, so I can see how omnivores who have encountered someone like that might feel a little hostile towards vegetarians in general!

What made you decide to go veggie, and what kind of food do you like to eat? I can make some recommendations for recipes, if I have an idea of what you like.
 
Hey there - welcome to the veg-head world! I've been vegetarian for many moons - I used to subscribe to the Vegetarian Times magazine (they're online too, great resource for recipes and nutritional info) but these days I pretty much just wing-it in the kitchen. If you are new to vegetarianism, I do encourage you to get some solid info about how to achieve a nutritious and balanced diet whether through food alone or also vitamins and supplements - I pretty much go for the most colorful array of foods I can get and augment it with beans or other grains and some lowfat dairy. I swear by Chobani 2% yogurt and a bit of Nature's Path granola with varied berries in the morning - a great tasty way to start the day. But I do know some vegetarians who pretty much subsist on French Fries and potato chips and candy, and obviously that's not so healthy!

I have encountered some people who seem to have difficulty with the concept of vegetarianism, I'm not sure if it is perceived as a personal affront to their chosen diet or what. I myself became a veg-head really because I was a poor college student who couldn't afford meat and just phased it out of my diet - so for me animal rights weren't involved, or religion, or allergies or medical reasons - I just found I didn't like the taste or feel of meat in my mouth any more. My DH is a big meat-eater, and so is his family. I caught a lot of crap from his family about being vegetarian. But it is not something I really bring up or shout about, nor do I find it hinders me or limits me in terms of socializing or dining out... it is only a problem when someone is insisting that I "must eat their homemade Swedish meatballs" -- and they do that to everyone, not just me.

Now that I've been vegetarian for nigh on 25 years, I realize there have been huge health benefits that I attribute to the diet as well. With my family history and as compared to my brothers and sisters, I am the healthiest one - and although I'm the middle child, I look the youngest too.

If you have more specific questions let me know - and your timing is great - the Farmer's Markets should be coming out again!
 
I am a "flexitarian"...after following a vegetarian diet for several years, my lifestyle changed and it became inconvenient. Now I choose to eat poultry for convenience. Not only do I have more options when eating at my favorite restaurants, but it makes it easier to feed myself and my carnivore SO at home.

More power to the veg-heads out there! :bigsmile:
 
I'm an almost vegetarian - does that count? :cheeky: The only type of meat that I will eat is fish, and since fish is expensive I only eat it a couple of times a week. I LOVE frozen blueberries and strawberries along with potatoes of all kinds of squash and beans. Often dinner is a stir fried medley of whatever veggies I have plus spices, veggie chili, veggie tacos, etc. I've found that you can make a lot of meat favorites with veggie substitutes - for example I make my own black bean burger patties.

I've always felt that the way that American's eat meat (I'm an American) is quite skewed. I can't think of another country where a giant slab of steak with a little dollop of veggies is normal.
 
I grew up vegetarian for cultural/religious reasons (Hindu). While I will say that South Indian cooking leaves little to wish for in terms of tastes and flavours, I watched all my friends eat meat, have steaks and bbqs and hot dogs at sports games.. and I wanted to join in! So when I got to college and was in charge of my own diet I went absolutely meat crazy...

Now, years later, I've since found that chicken doesn't agree with me unless it's fried and fried again, I don't really *like* the tastes, smells, and textures of most meats and meat-based dishes, and I loathe handling it raw. So I'm basically vegetarian all over again! Though I do indulge in a nice steak once a month and fish every week or so, and my morning egg.

*spelling
 
DH is vegetarian so we mostly eat veg at home because it's easier that way. My recent discovery is Quinoa...mmmmmm! The below recipe for Quinoa burgers is delish! Whole living also has a green bean and quinoa recipe on their site that's really good. DH wasn't always a healthy vegetarian. When he first transitioned about 13 years ago, he lived on french fries and mozzarella sticks! It's so much easier now to be vegetarian.

http://www.wholeliving.com/recipe/little-quinoa-patties
 
I've been lacto-ovo vegetarian for almost 20 years, but I keep animal products to a minimum really. It's been easy for me, since I don't eat meat due to the taste/texture (and some personal reasons for how I feel toward the treatment of animals, but that's very secondary). The biggest obstacle for me is to maintain a high protein diet, low carbs, per my primary care physician's orders. It's been difficult to introduce this lifestyle. I eat many protein bars (such as Luna bars), protein shakes (soy protein powder with water), tofu, and many veggies.

I often frequent Rachel Ray's website for recipes, and many recipes in general can be altered!

Good luck
 
I'm not a vegetarian, but I am still excited to see this thread. Despite the fact that my body naturally craves meat (I have low iron levels), it also revolts against it (I can chew and chew and chew some meat and still my body won't allow me to swallow it. I choke on it), so I end up limiting my meat intake. I do eat seafood, and when we're able to obtain wild game meats I eat that, as the texture is much finer, and easier for me to eat. I'm always looking for veggie dishes to integrate into my routine, and I say more power to full vegtarians. I sometimes wish I could go all the way, but I've tried before and I become a lethargic, easily flu invaded mess if I don't have a serving once or twice a week to boost my iron levels, even with iron added to my vitamin regimen. :((
 
I was raised ovo-lacto vegetarian and ate my first bite of meat at age 19. Most of my family is still vegetarian (some are vegans, some ovo-lacto, some lacto, etc.) but can I just say that I think it is SO MUCH EASIER to be a vegetarian in today's world than it was 20 and 30 years ago. I just don't think it was the best diet *for me*--I actually grew several inches taller once I started eating meat for the first time, and felt a million times better. (I began college at about 5'6", I graduated at just under 5'10".)

Imagine a Midwestern child in the 80s telling a friend's mom she's a vegetarian. You know that scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding? ("You don't eat no meat? You don't eat no meat?? . . . That's okay, I'll make lamb.") I went through that a lot as a child. :cheeky:

ANYWAY, I still cook vegetarian a lot because of my fam. My dad is the main veggie for whom I cook, and he loves quinoa and eggplant, so I make a lot of dishes using those items. (He also hates mushrooms and green peppers--have you ever heard of a bigger PITA vegetarian?) I'll try to write up some good recipes. I usually just throw a bunch of fresh veggies together with some vegetarian protein and hope for the best!

I look forward to getting some good inspiration from this thread!

ETA: Can I just say that I could never go back to being a vegetarian because I LOVE cheese (and so many contain rennet) and I love Starburst! I went on a Starburst binge when I first gave up vegetarianism. I still remember my first Starburst. It was pink, and it was amazing. MMMMMMM.)
 
Lil Misfit|1305851373|2926133 said:
I am a new vegetarian (3 months) and was just wondering how many other PS girls (and guys) are vegetarians also. I would love to get some recipes and just hear others' experiences, as I am noticing a lot of meat-eaters seem to have an issue with us...not sure why?

Okay, just for a bit of the "other side," lol, I eat A LOT of meat. I do not feel like I've had a proper meal unless meat has been included.

I can say I've found (among some I know) that those who are veggies have just as many issues w/meat eaters as the meat eaters do w/veggies (as in, one vegetarian I know, gets mad at me for eating meat! I've been yelled at). lol

But, you know, I have a relative who was a vegan for about two years and nobody made any compromises at family gatherings to accomadate her, but I made up a recipe, on the spot on a holiday, b/c I discovered *nobody* brought a vegan dish, and you know, EVERYONE loved it! Yay!

I wish I could say, I would be fine being a veggie, but man, there are a few things I cannot give up. I *wish* that my body would be okay with me eating meat 3X per week, but I feel kind of "off" if I eat a lot of carbs.

oh, and I cannot remember the recipe exactly b/c we also had mixed drinks :) lol but, it had brown rice, dried cranberries, walnuts, and some spices. Very simple, but the vegan was SO happy :)
 
I waiver between pesce-tarian and flexitarian. I can't see myself giving up meat completely (LOVE my filet mignon) and I could NEVER give up my cheese, but it's pretty easy these days to avoid meat. Whole Foods/Trader Joes have so many meatless options available. I'm actually not a fan of tofu, so I don't ever really buy "fake meat" items (though DH doesn't mind them at all). I was just at Barnes and Noble the other day and they have a bunch of great vegetarian cookbooks, but I always just look online for one in a pinch.

One of my favorite quick veggie meals are Gardenburgers with homemade sweet potato fries. I just fry the gardenburgers per package directions and throw between a bun with some lettuce, tomato, onions and guacamole. Then I slice up a sweet potato with some olive oil and spices and toss in the oven. Easy peasy.

You might want to talk to a dietician about supplements you can take. There are some essential amino acids that vegetarians don't get through their diets and it's really important to make sure you still have a balanced diet. Good luck! :appl:
 
Sparkly Blonde|1305854738|2926170 said:
I've always felt that the way that American's eat meat (I'm an American) is quite skewed. I can't think of another country where a giant slab of steak with a little dollop of veggies is normal.

Try South Africa. Even Americans are shocked by the quantity of meat we consume at a single sitting.

Here we have something similar to your barbeque but with WAY more meat. Even visiting Americans are shocked by how much meat we eat.

Where I live (quite rural) a meal is not considered to be a meal unless there's meat and lots of it.

A few weeks ago I was invited to a cultural ceremony. A little girl was being presented / introduced to her ancestors. As part of the ceremony the mother had bought a sheep to be slaughtered. There was also beef available for the elders in the family.

All that meat. Not a vegetable in sight. 30 people... And it's considered extremely rude and disrespectful to leave before it has all been eaten.

So no, I am not a vegetarian. I have many vegetarian friends. Some don't eat meat for ethical reasons, others for religious reasons. I respect their choices and always accommodate their needs when inviting them over or going out.

But me? Never. I know I would never be able to give up my biltong!
 
I was raised lacto-ova vegetarian and have never eaten meat!
 
For those of you who were raised vegetarian, can you give me any tips/advice on raising veg children in terms of the logistics of it all? What made you stay vegetarian and not want to eat meat? What did you do when you went to parties with no veg food?

I understand that I can only control what my children eat to a certain extent. I am veg for ethical reasons so it's important to me I pass along this particular set of beliefs to my children as much as I can. My kids are young (1 and 3) but already with the 3 year old, we've started encountering social situations where there's little or nothing for her to eat. I've made cheese sandwiches for her if they're having meat burgers- I guess that's all I can do, right? At home, we eat vegetarian cheese but I'm not going to let her go hungry if I don't know what kind of rennet is in the cheese at someone's house.

As I mentioned earlier, we send in their lunches to daycare if the scheduled lunch isn't veg for that day. In the infant room, they celebrate birthdays by giving the kids jello. When it was DS' birthday, I sent in vegan jello, but I know other times, he gets the real stuff. With DS, there have been times she's eaten marshmallows at daycare, which as you all know, has gelatin in it. We don't buy gelatiny marshmallows for ourselves, but I've been going with the flow and not objecting to it at school.
 
ChloeTheGreat|1305853993|2926161 said:
I am a "flexitarian"...after following a vegetarian diet for several years, my lifestyle changed and it became inconvenient. Now I choose to eat poultry for convenience. Not only do I have more options when eating at my favorite restaurants, but it makes it easier to feed myself and my carnivore SO at home.

More power to the veg-heads out there! :bigsmile:

I am just like that as well! I used to be vegetarian for a long time, out of choice. I used to live with my parents then, and coming from an Indian family, we have 100 different varieties of yummy vegetables and a 100 different ways to cook each. So you're never bored of eating the same thing.

After moving out, since I can't cook Indian the way my parents can, and also because my hubby comes from a meat-and-potatoes kinda family, I started re-introducing meat into my diet. Thankfully, I have slowly molded hubby into enjoying vegetarian food as well, so he is absolutely on par when I do cook vegetarian dinners.

Also, my lunch is essentially a huge salad with an avacado. I also find it easier to go on a diet than everyone else I know because I LOVE fresh veggies - my current season favourite are fresh, local grown radishes that I munch on when I'm hungry before dinner.

That said, I do like meat a fair amount as well. But enjoying both worlds gives me the opportunity to eat a variety of different things and, well, I am a foodie....so it works out well :wink2:
 
Vegetarian for 20 years for ethical reasons. It is so much easier to be veggie these days, though a lot of the veggie "convenience"/frozen foods are highly processed, which is not to say I don't eat them anyway, lol. Recently, I've been trying to use more whole foods, like lentils as a meat substitute. Lentil tacos, lentil shepherd's pie. Mmmmmm.

My DH does eat meat, rarely at home, and usually when we are out to dinner. I am very lucky though as he loves to cook and happily makes veggie meals at home all the time.

People generally do not care that I am a vegetarian. I am very much a live and let-live type of girl, so I don't yell at meat-eaters either, lol.

With respect to my daughter, I basically told my DH I'd be ok if she had meat and will leave it her to decide what she wants. I don't expect I'll ever be the one feeding her puree'd chicken from a jar, but if DH wants to try it with her, then I'm not going to object. I don't think I will anyway. What if, for example, she really objects to it when she tries it? Babies often do that when new foods are introduced, I think. Will I feel differently if she objects to chicken than if she objects to peas? I haven't thought all of this through yet. Maybe there's really no reason for a baby to eat meat when they are that small? We'll see how it goes when we get there. I will say that people often ask whether she will be a vegetarian, and I see relief on their faces when I tell them I'm not going to object to her eating meat.

On the topic of recipes, I love http://www.tastespotting.com/. Do a search for tempeh, tofu, lentils and tons of great recipes will come up.

Nice to see all of the other veggies here! :wavey:
 
LV, I also get people who ask if the kids are vegetarians and are shocked when I say yes. People try to argue with me as well. I don't get it- my kids are healthy and this is what works for us. I don't comment on what other people feed their children. Every time we go to the ped, I remind them that the kids are veg and ask them if there are any health concerns in that regard for C and D. D's iron level at his 12 month check was terrific; C's 3 year old check is next week and I expect her to come out with a clean bill of health as well. I can understand meat-eaters becoming defensive if I were to say that I believe giving your child meat is harmful or any other moralizing, but I never have and never will, so I don't get why people attack my kids' vegetarianism. It's hard enough for me to think of healthy dinners for us as a family so I have no interest whatsoever in anyone else's meals.
 
Dreamer_D|1305875386|2926377 said:
I was raised lacto-ova vegetarian and have never eaten meat!

Really? What an interesting Dreamer factoid!

Haven, DH has been veg for so long and candy with gelatin is one thing he still misses. I can't pass up a Starburst myself! :bigsmile:
 
puppmom|1305898898|2926483 said:
Dreamer_D|1305875386|2926377 said:
I was raised lacto-ova vegetarian and have never eaten meat!

Really? What an interesting Dreamer factoid!

Haven, DH has been veg for so long and candy with gelatin is one thing he still misses. I can't pass up a Starburst myself! :bigsmile:


Did you know that Skittles makes some of their candy gelatin-free? I don't remember exactly which kinds, but the bags will say gelatin-free. Starburst are another matter though ;( And candy corn ;(
 
I wanted to mention that one of my favorite resources for delicious and easy-to-make vegetarian food is Heidi Swenson. Her first cookbook, Super Natural Cooking, completely changed the way I cook and think about preparing meals, and her new cookbook, Super Natural Every Day, is just as good. Her emphasis is on fresh food, and creative use of whole grains and produce. In addition to staples like quinoa, soba noodles, and brown rice, she uses millet, amaranth, teff, etc. Here's an example of a warm chickpea salad I threw together for lunch yesterday in less than 15 minutes (when I found out we were having unexpected guests) that is delicious:
http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/print/with-photo/panfried-chickpea-salad-recipe.html

I think one of the hardest things for new American vegetarians is moving away from the meat-starch-salad formula that is so pervasive in this country. The processed meat substitutes you find in the grocery store get boring after a while, and aren't always satisfying psychologically or physiologically.

About being a vegetarian and eating out: that can be such a challenge in some parts of the country! If I never eat another poorly prepared plate of tinned marinara over pasta, topped with the vegetables du jour it will be too soon. I think the hardest time we had was when we lived in the South. We ate lots of bread and iceberg lettuce salads, with the occasional baked potato on the side. Our best restaurant experiences for veggie food have been in San Francisco, with most restaurants offering multiple options, and a few, like Millennium and Greens, serving totally veggie and/or vegan menus. Delicious. Sigh.

EDTA: Here's a link to Millennium, so you can see what is possible with vegan food: http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/
 
I absolutely love Heidi's blog and am waiting for copies of both books! I've made a few things so far and they are always delicious!
 
dragonfly411|1305900061|2926500 said:
I absolutely love Heidi's blog and am waiting for copies of both books! I've made a few things so far and they are always delicious!

You"ll love them! Even the non-vegetarian members of our family love the food from them. Anything made with farro is a huge hit in our family.
 
:wavey: Wow! So many replies! Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I will definitely check out all the links, as I am at the stage where I want to move away from the processed faux meat products and start cooking with raw ingredients. I tried to make seitan once and ended up using way too much nutritional yeast! :lol: I really just don't know where to start, and going to Whole Foods is sometimes very intimidating. :errrr: The other problem I have is that I am somewhat of a "picky" eater. I do not like mushrooms, onions, tomatoes (unless it's in ketchup or marinara sauce), or cooked green peppers (I love them raw, however). So...obviously this limits my menu options. I am open to trying new things, but my disgust for mushrooms and onions is never going away! :lol:
 
Lil Misfit|1305900843|2926508 said:
:wavey: Wow! So many replies! Thank you all for sharing your experiences. I will definitely check out all the links, as I am at the stage where I want to move away from the processed faux meat products and start cooking with raw ingredients. I tried to make seitan once and ended up using way too much nutritional yeast! :lol: I really just don't know where to start, and going to Whole Foods is sometimes very intimidating. :errrr: The other problem I have is that I am somewhat of a "picky" eater. I do not like mushrooms, onions, tomatoes (unless it's in ketchup or marinara sauce), or cooked green peppers (I love them raw, however). So...obviously this limits my menu options. I am open to trying new things, but my disgust for mushrooms and onions is never going away! :lol:

Have you started to accumulate some cookbooks? I always suggest a base library of cookbooks because they give you a starting point so you know what is possible. I will say that eliminating onions (and I'm assuming shallots and green onions?) is going to drastically change the flavor profile of most foods! For some simple, well done recipes, try Jeanne Lemlin's Simple Vegetarian Pleasures, and any of the Moosewood cookbooks, although most of them also have a few fish-based recipes. For more complicated preparations, Veganomicon by Isa Chandra Moscowitz, and her Vegan With a Vengeance give some creative options. My veggie DD also loves Vegan Soul Kitchen, but I'm not sure of the author.EDTA: It's Bryant Terry. I also love Suvir Saran's Indian Home Cooking, although it is not all vegetarian, and there is a lot of onion in it (but they are cooked down so you don't really see them!) And many, many more. I'm just offering up these few, frequently used cookbooks, in addition to the Heidi Swenson cookbooks, because wonderful, creative, delicious vegetarian food is available, you aren't condemned to a life-long diet of Quorn faux-chicken nuggets and Gardenburgers!
 
Trekkie|1305874554|2926372 said:
Sparkly Blonde|1305854738|2926170 said:
I've always felt that the way that American's eat meat (I'm an American) is quite skewed. I can't think of another country where a giant slab of steak with a little dollop of veggies is normal.

Try South Africa. Even Americans are shocked by the quantity of meat we consume at a single sitting.

Here we have something similar to your barbeque but with WAY more meat. Even visiting Americans are shocked by how much meat we eat.

Where I live (quite rural) a meal is not considered to be a meal unless there's meat and lots of it.

A few weeks ago I was invited to a cultural ceremony. A little girl was being presented / introduced to her ancestors. As part of the ceremony the mother had bought a sheep to be slaughtered. There was also beef available for the elders in the family.

All that meat. Not a vegetable in sight. 30 people... And it's considered extremely rude and disrespectful to leave before it has all been eaten.

So no, I am not a vegetarian. I have many vegetarian friends. Some don't eat meat for ethical reasons, others for religious reasons. I respect their choices and always accommodate their needs when inviting them over or going out.

But me? Never. I know I would never be able to give up my biltong!


I'm not a vegetarian, but I don't like to eat a lot of meat. It just feels too heavy. My DH, on the other hand, would eat meat for every.single.meal without a veggie in sight if I would let him. He's been concerned, to put it MILDLY, that he won't be able to get a steak or enough meat when we're in SA for these next few months. I'm gonna tell him he has nothing to worry about!! I'm probably screwed. He may never eat a vegetable again.
 
I just remembered a funny story re: kids being raised as vegetarians.

I used to work with a gal that had two young children. The entire family was vegetarian. I used to watch her kids from time to time (they were so darn cute!) Anyway, one night I had them and they were having chik bites. Basically, meatless "chicken" nuggets. I think the little girl was around 3 at the time and she wouldn't settle down and eat. I finally said "Would you just eat your chicken nuggets!". You would have thought the world had just ended. She took in this HUGE deep breath and goes "IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT MEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTT! Don't call it meat when it's not meat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". She was SO, SO offended that I would DARE to assume that her chik bites were real meat. It was one of the funniest moments ever. Meanwhile, her older brother was discussing with me if he should be drinking milk since milk came from a cow and a cow is meat. I think he was 7 at the time.
 
Wow Dreamer, that is quite an accomplishment!

I have been veg (mostly) for almost 20 years, I'm 29. I eat fish on occasion maybe once a year--except for the mahi in hawaii I wanted every day (YUM!). I never liked meat as a child and clearly remember refusing milk at age 3-4 (we lived on a farm with cows and I thought it tasted like the grass I saw them eating lol). No one in my family was veg, we lived in beef country!

I try to be mostly vegan, but have to have pizza and ice cream once in a while, although if I think about it too much I can't eat it. I don't like restrictions, had an eating disorder once. Right now I drive 4 hrs each way to the states every couple of months to stock up on Morningstar veggie sausage and black bean burgers, I highly recommend them. They are available at Costco in the US, and Trader Joes/Whole Foods I believe. I know it's not the best to rely on processed veg products, but I have tried making my own and they just aren't nearly as tasty.

In my experience, vegetarians are somewhat like religious people. There are those that feel they must spread the word (evangelist), those that look at meat eaters/meat in disgust and must let them know that at any opportunity (extremist), and those that don't give a crap what other people eat and mind their own (pacifist?). So I think that's why meat eaters sometimes have a negative perception of veg's.

Anyway, I will share a few favourite blogs.

Fat Free Vegan Kitchen, for healthy fare http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

And Vegan Dad, for indulging (he has many links to other excellent recipes and blogs so it's a great resource) http://vegandad.blogspot.com/
 
Logan Sapphire|1305892232|2926424 said:
For those of you who were raised vegetarian, can you give me any tips/advice on raising veg children in terms of the logistics of it all? What made you stay vegetarian and not want to eat meat? What did you do when you went to parties with no veg food?
I'm probably no use because I hated being raised vegetarian. BUT, we were vegetarians long before it was cool, so everyone thought we were very strange. I also slept on a futon and wore Birkenstocks before they were trendy (and thus, just ugly sandals), so we WERE all around just plain strange. (I grew up in the suburbs of Chicago in the 80s--not exactly a hotbed of progressive lifestyles.)

I started eating meat shortly after moving away for college and never went back. The only thing that kept me vegetarian for that long was that in the fifth grade I tried a piece of sausage pizza while out with a friend's family and became violently ill for several days after. I didn't know from food poisoning--I thought it was G-d punishing me for eating both meat AND meat with milk. That kept me in line for a good seven years longer. :cheeky: SO, I guess I did eat meat once at age 12, but then again not until I was 19. I was such a rebel.

As a child I was constantly explaining to people that we were vegetarian, what that meant, and no, I wasn't allergic to meat my family just chose not to eat it. I imagine it's a different story now, there are far more vegetarians walking around nowadays.

The eating at parties issue never came up because to be honest I rarely at in other people's homes--how can you? If someone is not vegetarian and they're preparing your food you have no idea if they *really* used a separate spatula to stir your sauce than they did to stir the meat sauce. And most non-vegetarians don't really check labels, and don't know about rennet or gelatin, so the odds are good that their vegetarian dishes aren't really vegetarian.

The worst were Hydrox cookies. Fake Oreos. Nothing like the real thing. I think Oreos are vegetarian now, so your children don't have to suffer the indignities of eating Hydrox cookies!
 
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