Poor Manners

"Hospitality involves you offering something to me but the reciprocle is just as important. The nature in which I take it and appreciate it is equally important in that equation and we are very bad at that part." - Alton Brown

Today I was thinking about how I could be a vegetarian without pissing off the people who feed me.

Vegetarians and vegans generally receive poor or naive reception from their omnivorous neighbors. It seems like many veggies feel like this is an affront on their lifestyle. People poke fun of them because they are not apart of normal American culture, and some feel that they are a pain in the ass because of all the work they have to do to appease them and their special needs. It's a common opinion an inconsiderate attitude toward people who don't fit it, and I really do understand why people get angsty about it.

Dinosaurs are hilarious, but seem jealous they can't have a support group because of their extinction.

On the other hand, I can't tell you how many vegetarians I have heard of turning away food offered to them because of their diet. Understandably you wouldn't take a gun someone gave you and fire it into the nearest living thing to appease them, but there comes a point where you start abusing your values system and become greedy. Not everyone is going to have a Boca burger on hand at every BBQ, or an egg-less cake at a wedding. This is where I feel a lot of the rude vegetarian stereotypes stem from. Refusal to buy meat products is one thing, refusal to eat the fried chicken your grandmother is cooking unless she makes a cruelty free side dish for you is another.

As Alton Brown describes in his quote about hospitality, it's not just about taking what someone gives to you, it's the act of receiving that we've forgotten. It's too easy for us now to go to a friend's house and scoff at the meatloaf Jim's mom made for the family; completely disregarding the fact that the same family is letting you eat at their table. When it comes down to it, we as an entire culture are incredibly spoiled. Hospitality has become a catch phrase that we use to impress our peers rather than an act we share with our fellow man. It's gone out of style to eat something that we didn't like or approve of, so a free meal is wasted upon mouths that talk more about what they eat than chew.

This is why, no matter how passionate I become about this cause, I refuse to deny a free meal from anyone.

To some of you I'm sure this sounds like a cop out. What if someone offers me veal with a side of gravy laden mashed potatoes, would it be ethical of me to eat it? Well honestly I don't think the person offering is trying to attack your morals by feeding you a steak. To a typical American that is fine dining, and I would eat it if they were charitable enough to just give it away to me. Of course I could only eat the mashed potatoes, trying desperately to avoid the gravy and veal, but it's as if to say, "Oh thank you for the meal, I'll pretend to eat some of it to appease you." No I will bite into any meal that someone provides me, because regardless of what I think they are feeding me.

Personally I still believe that eating meat should be avoided, but also believe people should have some common sense. Cause less suffering to your friend, who spent time and money getting you something and eat it. Even better, offer to make them something in return! Then you can go on and on about your opinions about eating meat as they scarf down the awesome hummus you made with your time and money. They will probably be a lot more willing to listen to you than if you had pushed their plate away, folded your arms and listed all the reasons why the stuff on that dish was wrong.

Thank you for the meal last night Bob, but this is why I eat meat substitutes.

Now I know someone is probably going to make me dinner ladened with arsenic just to spite me, but we shouldn't ignore what our fellow man provides us. You can argue that people who eat meat are ignorant of its cruelty, you can argue that vegetarianism is the ultimate ease of suffering, you can yell from the highest rooftop until meat eater in the city knows how horrible they are to the world; just don't expect anyone to cook for you next time you come over.

Product Research

As the title implies, I've been venturing out into the world of animal product substitutes to expand my choices. So far I haven't been entirely disappointed by what I've found, but I can tell I need to do some more exploring.

The first vegetarian product that I'd like to review is Morning Star's Spicy Black Bean Veggie Burger.

You can find these at Walmart

The product name alone is a mouthful. Out of the box these patties look exactly how the picture portrays them, dark brown with corn chunks. Not really appetizing when you put it that way but don't get me wrong, these things are delicious. They're about five inches in diameter and about a half an inch thick frozen. Heating instructions suggested skillet or microwave, I chose skillet.

Now I like to consider myself a pretty competent person in the kitchen. I spent a lot of time this summer learning how to cook and can produce that I grew out of my garden. Sometimes my ADD gets the best of me though and I will go wandering off to see whats on TV while I am leaving something to burn on the stove. Well the first patty I fried ended up looking a little char broiled, but condiments really do fix everything! I topped it with homemade pickles, mustard and a piece of cheese; all on a sesame seed bun.

Expecting to bite into charcoal, I was oddly surprised by how the crispiness of the burger resembled some of the ones that I've had from Burger King. I polished off the burnt mass with much satisfaction. The whole blackbeans in it were my favorite part. They really added to the meatiness of the burger. It wasn't really that spicy, so I recommend topping it with some pickled jalapeños if you're looking for a kick. I think I saw one recipe on the net that suggested chopping it up and throwing it in a tortilla like fajitas, the possiblities are endless! I would just recommend frying them in really hot vegetable oil, without burning them of course. Trust me these are really delicious!

Charred to perfection, but a lot less creepy.

What I wasn't as impressed by unfortunately with Rice Dream. Though the flavoring was good, I just could not get over the starch coating the back of my mouth.

You can find this just about anywhere. Walmart and Amazon both sell it in bulk.

I'll try to describe what it tasted like as unbiasedly as I can so you guys aren't put off on trying it. Imagine water, infused with the taste of starch (like in mashed potatoes) with a little sugar, and that smells like vanilla. It isn't inedible, but the after taste makes me gag a bit. On cereal or eaten with pancakes makes it much more tolerable. I imagine it being better for cooking applications, such as in oatmeal or in a bread pudding. Unfortunately I made the mistake of buying a large carton of it though, so the next couple weeks I will be trying to find new applications for it. Next time I'm trying Silk.

Moving away from the topic of food, I found out some interesting information. As I was scouring the store for some cruelty free hygienics, I discovered that TRESemme or St. Ives products are not tested on animals! So I bought monster bottles of shampoo and conditioner, and a bottle of body wash for under 10$. I just got them the other day so I can't give a decent review until I see the long term effects of their use. Though I can report that I am very happy that I can bathe inexpensively and with peace of mind.

Well I think I've done enough shameless advertising for one evening. Try out these products for yourselves even if you aren't thinking of becoming vegetarian. The results may surprise you.

Temporarily Flexitarian

So for the next few weeks before I go back to college, I am actually only reducing the amount of meat I eat. I don't think it's a good idea to go cold turkey (or "cold tofu" as some say) when making a major diet change. You stop eating because you have no idea what to make and your fridge is still full of the stuff you're trying to avoid!

So instead I'm using this time to plan to make sure I don't fall off track. One problem is that I'm going to be extremely busy. Between class, class work, work work, and working out, my stress levels will be a major issue. I'll be craving everything fatty and fried. That and there won't be any time for me to come home and say, "Oh yeah I need to go cook some meals for this week" or "I should make that shopping list so I don't forget the rice milk!" Some people have the energy to allow them to keep up with mundane things in high stress situations, but I am definitely not one of them.

Another thing I am trying to decide is whether to gradually progress from being an ovo/lacto vegetarian to veganism, or to negate that issue until I have comfortably given up meat. In college there isn't much access to vegan foods. Hell there isn't even a decent kitchen! With research I'm finding out more and more how intermingled the meat industry is to almost all the foods I eat, so it's beginning to seem impossible to shut them out entirely. A true vegan according to my sources cuts out everything from broths and butters to cookies and chewing gum. For now it just seems like a good idea to cut out what I can and hope that when I'm living in my own apartment that there will be more options. Although that depends if my fiancé decides to change his diet of pizza rolls and hot pockets.

Which brings up another reason I am starting this event when I go back to school. Though I don't want to become anti-social, I do want to avoid some peer pressure. Vegetarians are a very small minority, even today when being green is what the cool kids do. I've tried this adventure in the past, only to have meat eaters bombard me with reasons not to. Some people have told me that your brain gets smaller, that you will die from a lack of B12, that you will shrink, that you will get sick more easily...etc. What stopped me last time was when I told my ex-boyfriend that I was going to become a vegetarian and he threatened to leave me because HE thought it would make me stupid. There is a reason he's an ex though. In any case, I want to leave that drama at home, and establish myself away from friends and family members who are against the idea. It leaves you with less of a support system, but it's sometimes good to fight your own battles.

To help me with the planning process, I purchased a book titled, "Living Vegetarian For Dummies" by Suzanne Havala Hobbs. Her knowledge as a nutritionist really makes her book an important resource to those who have no idea what they're doing (i.e. myself). She has advice not just on meal planning, but how to approach people who are not supportive of your lifestyle. She also has great tips for one of the hardest things to tackle, dining out. I've almost read it cover to cover and for eight to ten dollars used it's definitely worth your time. You can find it on Amazon.

What I'm really looking for though is a microwave/minifridge friendly cookbook. I don't have much of a freezer either so that throws frozen veggies out the window. I would appreciate any suggestions!

Oh and for those of you who are in the St. Louis area and are not sure what to do about take-out options, I found a great Chinese restaurant this weekend! It's called Sesame and it's located in Kirkwood. They have a good number of vegetarian options, which is incredibly rare in a typical Chinese place in the Midwest. The szechuan eggplant will blow your mind! The best part is if you have friends who aren't vegetarian, they can enjoy the other great dishes on the menu. Word to the wise though, the portion sizes are HUGE. Order with caution or the intent to share.

Even though this is as easy as leaving something off my plate I can tell there are going to be many obstacles to face in the future. The most important thing to do now is to gather my resources and arm myself with options. For now though I am going to arm myself with Kerouac and go to bed.