Veg*n-ism.

[Guest Vitamin X]

I have had no issues with the pescatarian lifestyle thus far. When I've gone out to, say, Jack in the Box or whatever with friends, I'll get fish and chips. BK Big Fish at Burger King. When I go out to a bar, I've had quesadillas, nachos, etc.. Fries are good too. Jalapeno poppers. All that. Of course, I'm technically trying to be healthy here, but I'm just saying, if you want to still enjoy yourself and do the veggie thing, it's a lot easier than you think.

 

At home, I don't have meat or anything like a deep fryer, so I eat a lot healthier, like the creamed chard pasta I had the other day (see the "What did you eat today?" thread) which is the best thing I've had in a long time. Tofu with spinach. Shrimp linguine. All that stuff. Veggie burgers are great, and eat a lot more frozen fruit these days for a snack or cold refreshment instead of ice cream or any of that. I think I have yet to eat a salad doing this, though admittedly it has only been a couple weeks.

 

Oh, and tuna + jalapeño/garlic hummus mix has been great too- on a sandwich with a little bit of spinach or lettuce, tomato, and sharp cheddar cheese. Really good stuff.

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

To be fair, quite a bit of that is not desirable too. Forget about the fast food, which is easily identifiable as being bad for you, but I'm talking about the cream-based pasta sauces and the cheese, probably the "Jalapeno" spread. A lot of it may not be unhealthy but at the very least quite processed, which sort of defeats the purpose.

[dubq 0]

Anyone who says that a vegetarian meal is boring and lifeless is probably just being ignorant and has never really had something vegetarian other than a Garden Salad.

I tried the veggie lyfestyle... briefly. Salads, tofu, fruit baskets, veggieburgers, homemade carrot juice, all that crap. I think it took me about a week before I ran screaming into a Mcdonalds.

 

Honestly, that's a pretty limiting in terms of a menu selection if you ask me. The problem is is that people who think it's so boring lifeless are just going for the boring things. Vegetarian meals aren't just salads and tofu or fruits and vegetables on their own. There are tons of ridiculously diverse meal selections out there.

 

Dunno about Texas, but these are just a few of the restaurants here in my city, check out their menus and you'll see what I mean.

 

http://www.vegetarianhaven.com/

http://www.juiceforlife.com/takeout_menu.pdf

http://www.fressenrestaurant.com/

 

Add to that the countless other restaurants that offer vegetarian fare (alongside their standard menu) like http://www.saladking.com/ and you've got yourself a lot of options - and boring and lifeless aren't on the list.

[Guest Vitamin X]

To be fair, quite a bit of that is not desirable too. Forget about the fast food, which is easily identifiable as being bad for you, but I'm talking about the cream-based pasta sauces and the cheese, probably the "Jalapeno" spread. A lot of it may not be unhealthy but at the very least quite processed, which sort of defeats the purpose.

 

Not desirable in a healthy sense, yes, but my point was to further illustrate that it's far from a limiting, "boring/lifeless" diet.

 

And processing isn't as big of a concern considering that one would eat a lot more processed food on a non-veggie diet anyways. How much is really just up to each individual and what their food preferences are.

 

And the cream-based pasta sauce I made myself, from scratch- simple, it was just heavy cream, garlic, and chard ribs.

[MrRant 0]

I would venture to say that the amount of sodium you were intaking with the processed foods you were describing is much the same as non vegan.

 

To me the point is to be closer to natural foods so as to get the nutrients in their natural state (more or less). I would say that consuming meat while limiting processed foods and engaging in eating fresh fruits and vegetables is a better track then what you are taking. That is the one I try to meet.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

I'm along those lines. Grain-fed meats and whole vegetables. Lots of fish. I stay away from as many things that include partially-hydrogenated.* or high-fructose corn syrup as possible. Shit's lethal. Better starches, too. Cereal grains and minimal taters.

 

Don't need the organic stuff, though. It's amazingly cost-efficient just to get half a steer from a farmer or meatlocker and stow it in the deep freeze.

[EricMM 0]

grass fed > grain fed.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

That's perfectly fine. Anything's better than imported high-density hormone-pumped meat that's fed quite literally on garbage.

[Guest ChikoDemono]

I sometimes wonder while drinking late at night: Do plants suffer when we chop off their reproductive structures?

[At Home 0]

Veganism is pretty much the only way to excuse a holier-than-thou attitude, and even still I'd like to strangle every vegan I meet.

[Nighthawk 0]

I sometimes wonder while drinking late at night: Do plants suffer when we chop off their reproductive structures?

 

Broccoli does. It has a fairly advanced nervous system. It can theoretically feel pain.

[Matt Young 0]

I sometimes wonder while drinking late at night: Do plants suffer when we chop off their reproductive structures?

 

Broccoli does. It has a fairly advanced nervous system. It can theoretically feel pain.

 

Damn you, damn the broccoli, and damn the Wright brothers!

[Your Paragon of Virtue 0]

I sometimes wonder while drinking late at night: Do plants suffer when we chop off their reproductive structures?

 

Broccoli does. It has a fairly advanced nervous system. It can theoretically feel pain.

 

Not as advanced as a potato though.