Vegetarianism Q&A and Holiday Manners!

[stephofthenight]

So this weekend makes 3 years of not eating meat for me- And I have to say I have gotten some interesting, edcational, radical, annoying and plain out offensive questions and statments over these three years.
I have grown to HATE holidays because they are such a hassle and it seems a time to offend the vegetarian.
So If there is anything you would like to ask about being a vegetarian, Vegetarian life-style ect. I will do my best to answer.
I can only offer here-say on Vegan's However I think there are a few on litnet who are more than welcome to jump in on any questions regarding that. Everyone please be respectfull and treat this as an opprotunity to better relate to people on the other side of the road.

If you dont want to ask a question here- you can PM me and I'll answer it here without revealing your secret ninja identity

[Ecurb]

Just out of curiosity, why do you hate the holidays because you are vegetarian? Do people hassle you more about your food choices at Thanksgiving and Christmas?

[stephofthenight]

Just out of curiosity, why do you hate the holidays because you are vegetarian? Do people hassle you more about your food choices at Thanksgiving and Christmas?

Most deffintly- I often get "you make this so difficult" or here have some turkey, oh wait I forgot you dont eat meat. Or people perceive it as rude when I poliletly decline their stuffing that they just soaked in chicken broth but declare there is no meat in it.

This address most of the questions I have gotten over the last three years and some basic holiday manners.

I am a vegetarian. When someone says they are a vegetarian please do not respond with do you drink milk? That would be Vegans who refuse to partake in anything made with any sort of the animal industry. (Including make up, hair products, soaps, dairy, any gummy candy containg geletin...ect) Being a Vegetarian does not make me a radical hippie who thinks by not eating meat I will single-handedly end the meat industry- Nor does it mean that I want to lecture you about eating meat. So why Don't I eat meat- Simple It is a personal moral choice I have made not to support an industry that is insanely cruel to animals. Yes God gave us animals to eat- Got it. No I dont have a problem with you hunting, I dont want to see it but its good for the population of deer to be thinned out. Also You are killing an animal that has a fair chance, that has lived its life the way God intended, freely. Not trapped in a little cell it cant even turn around in, removed and being thrown in a boiler still alive like most pigs are. I do not protest the fact that people eat meat- I protest the way people treat animals. When people ask me why I am a vegetarian it takes me a second to get over the impulsive because I have compassion for those who cant defend themselves response. I find myself more and more simply responding with "why arent you?". I challenge everyone to look into the horrors of how your favorite meat products come to your plate, and if you dont support the way that happens than dont support the industry. I think every meat-eater should at least know How there "dinner" gets to live its life. Next- Yes being a vegetarian is hard, Yes I take a lot of critisim from people who dont understand or support me. No It's not just a trend to follow its a serious lifestyle choice. Yes sometimes I want things I use to enjoy before I gave up meat- mostly peparoni. No I wont force my view on my kids- When they are old enough to understand and comprehend what goes on in that industry they can choose for themselves. Yes I get plenty of protein, Meat is not the best source of protein and is actualy a "Hard" Protein that doctors recomend a consuming a small amount. People are often put on a no/low red-meat diet because its hard on their body. Yes meat makes me very sick the few incidents involving mix ups at restraunts and consuimng a bite of meat. It is your bodys rejection of a hard protein when it has adjusted to pure soft protein. Not fun nor funny its worse than food poisoning. So this Thanksgiving when a vegetarian or vegan in your life passes on the turkey- or polietly declines your chicken broth stuffing- Don't be offended because chances are they are more than willing to make you a veggie style and you probably wouldnt touch it nor be as polite as they are about it. IT is not necesary to ridicule them or guilt them into how hard they make things on you by being a vegetarian. you deal with it on holidays, remember every time they go out to eat they have to check every portion of their meal for a mess up, or meat product that snuck into their plate. How many fast food restraunts have vegetarian choices? How often do they eat a salad because that is the only thing that place has that has no meat- So before you choose the easy make-fun of the vegetarian method because they wont eat your beloved turkey, or stuffing. Think about the fact that they arent lecturing you on the fact that you are. We don't want to be lectred anymore than the next person. Its all about respect. If you have enough respect for me to accept my personal lifestyle than I wont force it down your throat. And one last point to make to finish my soap box of pet peeves for my 3 year anniversary this weekend on being a vegetarian. It is not funny nor cute to offer a vegetarian meat. Yes this is a commen occurance often by the people closest to you who think its soo funy- This is extreamly OFFENSIVE, no I dont want anything that has meat in it. no I dont find it cute that you "forget" im a vegetarian. And yes it gets irritating being told to pick around meat in something- this often results in just not eating what-ever it is because there are so many small pieces and it often includes other meat products. My point is this, holidays as a vegetarian in a non-vegetarian family are hard enough, dont make them harder, be kind and respectful. The Vegan or Vegetarian in your life will deffinitly appreciate it!

.

[MystyrMystyry]

I'd like to make the total meat munching caper a thing of the past, if only to allow the oceans and endangered beasts to replenish, but when I tried there was something missing - and after only a few days I was pining for a steak. Having gone without for much longer than that since, and by not trying to declare I no longer eat meat, I can say I'm closer to a vegan than a carnivore, but I still need the fix, the sense of being fully satisfied at least twice a week.

[cafolini]

Although I have little to say against vegetarianism, I would advise that anyone trying it study the subject enough to know if he/she's taking appropriate nutrition with what they eat. I know that vegetarianism is possible, but you must know what you are doing.

[LadyLuck]

Most deffintly- I often get "you make this so difficult" or here have some turkey, oh wait I forgot you dont eat meat. Or people perceive it as rude when I poliletly decline their stuffing that they just soaked in chicken broth but declare there is no meat in it.

What a hassle!! Not the no meat part, the people being cranky bit. I'm so used to working around diet constraints it isn't an issue. There are a number of us who can't eat gluten, so try doing Thanksgiving while providing gluten free options without penalizing the people who don't have to eat gluten free. I'm one of the "difficult" ones, but I feel so much better for it. I spent years ill all the time before finding out that this resolved the issue. You would be surprised how many people do not think about the fact that you can not have pie because of the crust or dinner rolls, or turkey cooked with the stuffing inside etc...

I would love it if you had an awesome vegetarian recipe that I can add to my repertoire I love to cook, and having something for everyone is important to me.

[Helga]

I have been a vegetarian for 10 years now and at first people kept trying to convince me I was wrong but then they gave up and I stopped telling people, maybe I stopped telling people first... anyway I don't care what other people eat and I don't let it bother me when people talk about my diet.

It is true that around the holidays people talk more about it but my experience is that they think a certain meat is so important to 'make it' a holiday, people tend to identify holidays with a certain dish I think so they find it odd when you, like many have said to me, 'deny' yourself this treat.

I make the best 'steak' for Christmas out of nuts, cheese and onion and all sorts of stuff that almost everybody enjoys even the meat eaters.

my son eats everything and he often tries to convince me to try and taste what he gets at his grandmas house but I just say no thanks. I sometimes joke about eating him than he reminds me: 'mom you don't eat meat remember!'

[Vonny]

I sometimes joke about eating him than he reminds me: 'mom you don't eat meat remember!'

That's cute


I'm vegetarian but I'll cook a turkey (that comes from the Hutterite farm) for my family for Thanksgiving, and if they want me to eat a few bites of turkey with them, I will. But mostly I like pumpkin pie.

[stephofthenight]

Lady Luck- I will get some together for you
And Helga that is adorable! I'm so glad to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel

[Vonny]

Just want to say - I'm with you 100% about the meat industry.

But it's sad that Thanksgiving is to be the day to give thanks for food and family, and it all turns into a source of dread and conflict for many.

[LadyLuck]

Lady Luck- I will get some together for you
And Helga that is adorable! I'm so glad to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel

Thanks! I may even have a few good ones to send along to you. I'm going to show my total ignorance, but do you eat dairy products like yogurt and sour cream? If so, I have a few soups that are great in the winter time. I use a bit of dairy to flesh them out a bit and make them more filling, but I imagine you can substitute in something else if needed.

[Maximilianus]

This reminds me a lot of my nightmare days at high school, when I had to put up with all sorts of brainless people... oh yeah, as much as it might surprise you, there's not just one style for being brainless, but rather several flavors of the same putrid thing. I would often get comments such as "how come you don't drink and smoke?" or "how can you live with yourself being what you are?" of course, in a perfectly bastardized Spanish, because the fumes and liquors pouring out of their every holes wouldn't give much space for a real grammar. Now, seeing what they became, I could easily ask them "how can you live with yourself, considering you can't utter a simple sentence in what should be your mother tongue, while I can speak and write in two languages like a charm?" in a sarcastic tone equivalent to theirs. Then again, why would I waste a speech on these retards? They won't pick a word of what I might tell them. I eagerly despise those days at high school, surrounded by "people" suggesting their ways to be better than mine.

Back to subject, I'm omnivorous. I eat almost anything in reasonable amounts, except for a few vegetables whose taste isn't pleasant to my palate. I eat meat, though not much, because my teeth and jaws don't really enjoy working for long periods. The core of my dietary plan is located at the base of the food pyramid. I'm a cereal and pasta person, chewing lentil stew, and good amounts of rice and spaghetti on a quite regular basis. My old folks are just like me... so much so that I often suspect it's me they took after
I'm recalling that vegetables and fruits are very close to the base of the food pyramid, which makes me ponder about vegetables' influence on intelligence. I'm not implying that all vegetarians are intelligent, but the ones I know are, and I wonder up to which point the nutrients in vegetables and fruits play a part on it, as compared to other foods. I have a topnotch classmate who is a vegetarian of the sort that consume milk, eggs and cheese, but nothing else from the animal kingdom. I ignore if she has ever been hassled about it, but her brains seem to work at the speed of light, so I think that if vegetarianism has something to do with it, then it must be a sensible alternative to consider.

Regarding constant offenders, when there's affection or at least respect for a person, there's no picking any given chance to mock them over this or that, let alone on a serious matter as it is alimentation. It's unhealthy for you to hang out with them. There's a time for peace and a time for a call to arms. I think they are to be regarded as potential enemies to your status quo, and you should at least consider to choke them with a turnip retaliation. I'm not kidding. I strongly believe in the force of arms.

My mom and I would like some recipes too. In exchange, we offer turnip reinforcements to be dropped on demand if needed.

[Revolte]

I have been vegetarian for over a year now and I love it. Of course it comes with certain annoyances as well. I really can't stand when people call me vegan, or try and feed me fish and chicken. My aunt asked me if I wanted chicken right after I told her I was vegetarian, then I explained I don't eat any animals including fish and she asked how I can only eat salad, then I had to explain i don't ever eat salad. That happens with people way too often. Just shows how much of a trend vegetarianism really is, so many people on it, but somehow the people who aren't on it know so little about it if they don't know someone personal who is on the diet and explains it to them. That's not always true, but still.

[Helga]

This reminds me a lot of my nightmare days at high school, when I had to put up with all sorts of brainless people... oh yeah, as much as it might surprise you, there's not just one style for being brainless, but rather several flavors of the same putrid thing. I would often get comments such as "how come you don't drink and smoke?" or "how can you live with yourself being what you are?"
.

I was always considered 'different' in school, reading Shakespeare and Wilde and knew by heart a few poems by Poe and things like that so the questions I got were more like 'why do you smoke a pipe? 'why not Vodka, it's better than wine?' but the best one I got (I was 15 when I became a vegetarian and it was not 'normal' at the time) was 'you are so weird!, and I don't mean it in a good way'

[Maximilianus]

I was always considered 'different' in school, reading Shakespeare and Wilde and knew by heart a few poems by Poe and things like that so the questions I got were more like 'why do you smoke a pipe? 'why not Vodka, it's better than wine?' but the best one I got (I was 15 when I became a vegetarian and it was not 'normal' at the time) was 'you are so weird!, and I don't mean it in a good way'

There you have it.
And then you have somebody asking why you are not making many friends, when the price to pay for it is to become like them and surrender your own nature. Not everyone is willing to give up what they are just to belong to a group of valueless individuals who'll never be at the level of friendship, and in such case it's better to hang out with ourselves... and the birds, stray dogs and trees, for sure. One gets much more genuine appreciation from a dog, come to think of it.