Vegitarianism.

[Tuftus]

Good or Bad?

My Heather has just gone Veggie.

Whilst i am firmly in the meat camp, I am worried that this may cause a rift between us.

We are due to take a few breaks camping (The Grand Prix and a week in Devon Camping) and we only plan to take a few pans with us. This could cause a few problems with the cooking because i like meaty dishes like currys and chilles etc.

What does everyone think / reccomend apart from take more pans?

Tuftus

PS if anyone else is going to the british GP PM me if you want to share a beer!!!

[Chimaera]

Nope - it doesn't cause problems! Well it hasn't for us in the 2 years we've been together - and Paul was veggie for about 14 years before that. We just cook our stuff seperately, and occasionally I have veggie stuff - although I couldn't give up meat!
I'd love to go to the GP - not sure about Paul though!

[Tuftus]

Thanks Chim!

This is all very new to me and was getting worried as we used to enjoy bbq's and steaks and stuff...

Sorry, but H but I love my meat!!!!

[Kliro]

Let her cook her food first??

My mums a vegetarian, can get annoying taking a bite of shepherds pie and finding out its full of quorn :\

[Angua]

My daughters best friends mum is veggy and she cooks meat for the whole family (including 4 children) roasts and all, just doesn't eat meat herself. Depends how millitant a veggy your mrs is?

[greencreeper]

I think it was Jo Brand that said that Quorn was a way of marketing dry rot. I'm very much with her. Overcook a Quorn sausage and what have you got? A sex toy. Good luck with it - the trip, not the sex toy. Take more pans - preferably cast iron ones and let her carry them

[Salu]

I just feel sorry for all those poor vegetables who gave their lives so that we can have dinner....

cue Frank Zappa 'call any vegetables, call them by name'

there is nothing 'wrong' with a vegetarian diet - the 'problem' , in my opinion, is with what is a 'diet', not with , what is a vegetarian?

[Gareth]

Bah, if we weren't supposed to eat animals, why'd God make 'em out of meat?

[punky]

Heather is your daughter isn't she? All veggies are different, but most follow a distinct pattern. They usually are a little preachy at first in that they feel they have seen the light and try and 'help' others. You may find a few strategically placed goveg.com/Peta flyers lying about and the odd strained mealtime but generally things should be fine. Some don't do that at all. It all tends to be dependent on wether Heather has a mentor. If she does, they'll normally tell her to make the point, but there is no point in pushing it. Blood is more important than meat.

Regarding meals, I am a diehard meat-eater, however I transitioned over to Quorn for health reasons back in the days I was strictly dieting. Quorn is excellent with some beef stock (for mince etc). Taste is the same, only difference is in texture which is very subtley different. If you wasn't told it wasn't meat you'd probably not know. Depending on how strict Heather is, if she'll allow animal stock, then you'll find you can probably share the same meals. You don't really need animal stock for flavoured steaks and the lamb-like cutlets etc, but won't do any harm I suppose. If she is vegan or a strict veggie, then preparing separate meals is the way to go. As Chim said its easy enough when you get the hang of it. My deal old mum used to prepare 3 or 4 different meals at once (no veggies, just everyone has different tastes. One brother doesn't like this, one doesn't like that, etc), so its easy enough when you get the hang of it.

Another good reason to switch to Quorn instead of meat is that it will keep in a fridge a lot longer than meat (upto 3 weeks) without freezing so you can still have fresh taste without worrying too much about best before dates.

[orangebird]

Originally Posted by punky

<snip>
Another good reason to switch to Quorn instead of meat is that it will keep in a fridge a lot longer than meat (upto 3 weeks) without freezing so you can still have fresh taste without worrying too much about best before dates.

Erm, 'Quorn' and 'fresh taste' in the same sentence... .....

I used to be veggie. Linda McCartneys sausages are lovely. That's about it though. I had lamb chump steaks last night, pink in the middle, fat nice and crispy.

[Ramrod]

Tuftus, I'm sure you can eat vegetarian food for the occasional weekend without needing trauma counseling!
If all else fails, take some meaty chunks with you in a bag and just add them to the meal on your plate......

[Gareth]

Quorn's not that bad after all... and this is coming from a devout carnivore! I made a spag bog with it the other day, and it was edible.

Tastes better than cat food, and the texture of it is better than the Tesco stripey economy minced beef with added gristle

If anyone can't 'get on' with quorn, then tofu has similar characteristics - i.e. is itself fairly bland & takes up the flavour of any stock/sauce it is cooked in. The texture isn't so 'meaty', though.

I used to work with a colleague who was vegetarian & lived almost exclusively on Linda McCartney branded ready meals - until they changed the recipes to eliminate soya protein, to avoid any issues with genetic modification. His problem was that they replaced the soya protein with pea protein - and he is allergic to peas...

As a 'half way' approach to vegetarianism, many people find eating fish is an acceptable alternative to meat. With the evidence for the health benefits of oily fish, compared to the saturated fats in meat, it makes sense, too. So instead of ham sandwiches, have some mackerel paté, instead

[Tuftus]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

It's good to hear other peoples advice and opinions on this one.