Any vegetarians out there?

[Armywife]

I've been reading Peter Singer's Animal Liberation for a themes in literature class and have found myself contemplating vegetarianism (actually i'm more like two clicks away from going completely vegan). I won't proselytize about something I'm not too familiar with but I am curious as to how many of you are actual vegetarians?

Meat in all forms can be quite expensive (the most expensive staple, in fact.).. have you found you've saved more money this way?

According to my own budget calculations, my family would save approximately 1800.00 if they decide to abandon meat... how much would you save in a year?

[kashi]

I'm a vegetarian, and I have been for almost 4 years. It was a lifestyle change for me....I've never really enjoyed eating meat, I have no intention of ever cooking it for anyone, and I read cowsarecool.com. That pretty much sent me over the edge. I had too much respect for animals to continue eating them, and I felt like a hypocrite. It was a fairly painless switch for me, though, because like I said, I didn't like the taste/texture/everything about meat anyway. My mother has been a vegetarian her entire life, so it was easy to get ideas from her.

Granted, I'm not the best vegetarian in the world...I eat way too many carbs and cheese...but I'm working on it. I feel a lot better about myself, and yes, my grocery bill is extremely low. Not to mention eating out bills - you can find things to eat in most restaurants, but the selection is limited to just a few things. It makes choosing easy, and vegetarian dishes are normally cheaper.

Armywife, if you are interested in it, get a couple of books from the library (I bought "Vegetarianism for Dummies", for example) and try it for a month. That's what I told myself...if I try this for a month and I find that I just can't live without tuna or pepperoni, then I'll go back. I never did.

There's nothing wrong with cutting back, either! My boyfriend only eats fish, no other meat, so he's not a vegetarian, but darn close.

also, my cholesterol is very, very low. even with all the cheese.

[FrugalTexan75]

Hi! I'm also a vegetarian, and have been since I was in the fifth grade (20 years ago!). Even before I totally gave up meat, the only meat I really ate was the fast food burgers and chicken nuggets.

I do still eat dairy products, so I'm considered to be a lacto-ovo vegetarian. I don't know if my diet is really cheaper than a meat eater's diet, because I do still use a lot of the prepared vegetarian mock meats. If I were to go much more natural, I'd be a lot healthier and probably get by with a much smaller grocery budget.

I'm the only vegetarian in my family, but I did grow up in a home where meat was almost NEVER cooked IN the house unless for Thanksgiving or Christmas or as part of a frozen dinner. My dad hates the smell of meat cooking, but he doesn't shy away from eating it. Made it pretty easy for me. LOL!

Going out to eat can sometimes be a problem because of the more limited choices. Also, you have to really check carefully (especially at oriental places) what the foods they're serving actually contain.

If you have a Hardee's near you, I would have to highly reccomend (and say that I'm SO jealous!) their Mushroom & Swiss burger (without the burger of course - make sure you ask them for a discount price). I haven't had one of those since my brother was a Jr in highschool - but man those were good!

Keeping It Frugal in Texas,
Laura

[Armywife]

Thanks ladies for sharing your stories on vegetarianism. I'm researching the prospects of cooking meat substitutes so I can gradually wean my children off the meats... milk will certainly be a tuffie since both girls love a bowl of cereal in the morning.

FrugalTexan75 mentions that there are convincing mock meat substitutes available. I wonder how they taste? I must admit i'm not that crazy about Tofu but hey- with the right seasoning i'm sure it could taste heavenly

[kashi]

I actually don't eat tofu very often...maybe a few times a year in chinese food take out! There are tons of meat substitutes out there. If you have a few extra minutes in the grocery store, seek out the natural foods section and look in the frozen food. There are hamburger-like crumbles, burgers, chicken patties, chicken nuggets, all sorts of stuff. There is also tempeh (which is used as a substitute in a lot of recipes). I know there are more, but I can't remember the names now. Personally, I can't eat the hamburger crumbles...they are too much like meat for me! I love Morningstar black bean burgers, Morningstar pizza burgers, and Boca parmesan chicken patties. I don't eat them very often, though, because they are rather pricey.

I eat dairy products and eggs, too, so I'm ovo-lacto as well. Have you checked out www.vegweb.com? lots of vegan and vegetarian recipes there!

[SeeAPenny]

Another vegetarian here (since my teens). DH and children are too. We eat very little egg or dairy either (I never buy eggs or dairy 'straight' for our home, although some items I get at stores or restaurants may have 'hidden ingredients' -- also, DS/DD have ice-cream at b-day parties, or mac and cheese, cheese pizza et al at friends' houses, etc.). We are all so accustomed to our whole foods diet by now it just seems like second nature. I assume we probably do save some money on our grocery bill by not purchasing meat, however it may very well be offset by the fact I do often opt for organic when there is not too terribly much of a price differential -- as well as soy milk (I get powdered at least -- cheaper) and soy cheeses, plus non-hydrogenated food items, which can be pricier that the real deal. Also, vegetarian convenience foods (which I rarely purchase) are often QUITE expensive -- although there are ways to minimize this (joining a natural foods co-op, buying in bulk, etc). My primary focus these days in keeping our food budget down is sticking with basic ingredients and staples for scratch cooking -- dried beans, grains, pastas, whole-grain flours, nut butters, some dried fruit, nuts and seeds, tofu and tempeh, etc, spices, olive oil, and lots and lots of veggies and fruits (fresh, frozen and canned).

[DivaJen]

Another vegetarian family here. If served meat, we'll eat it, but I don't buy meat for cooking at home. We do eat dairy and eggs, however. We do some cooking with tofu, as well as meat substitutes made from soy.

[DivaJen]

Originally Posted by SeeAPenny

I assume we probably do save some money on our grocery bill by not purchasing meat, however it may very well be offset by the fact I do often opt for organic when there is not too terribly much of a price differential ... plus non-hydrogenated food items, which can be pricier that the real deal. Also, vegetarian convenience foods (which I rarely purchase) are often QUITE expensive ...

I wanted to say that this is probably true for us as well, given that we never bought a lot of meat back when we did buy it, anyway.

[kashi]

Armywife, how is your veganism going? I'm curious to know how your family is adjusting, and all that.

Also, if anyone has good vegetarian recipe websites, or even good websites about vegetarianism, please share. I loooovvve new recipes.

I was reading your journal post about seitan today, SeeAPenny, and it made me think that I really need to get in gear and learn more about other protein sources. Your cabbage dish sounds great, and I don't even like cabbage. Does seitan have a flavor to it?

[Armywife]

Thanks for asking, Kashi
The family is just starting to realize that mommy's not eating meat lol.. but it won't deter them from eating it themselves. I thought it would be more difficult to give it up.. so far so good

I too have been cruising the web trying to find some good vegan dishes and have come across little.. but when I find some choice recipes, i'll be sure to pass them along!

Barb

[SeeAPenny]

As for seitan -- by itself it is fairly bland (when I make it, I add onion and garlic powder and soy sauce for flavoring), but it readily absorbs whatever flavorings it's cooked with. Seitan's most interesting aspect is probably the very chewy, uncannily 'meat-like' texture it has -- so, it's a good sub for some of those old-style, 'comfort food'- type recipes many of us grew up with ('beef stew', 'sweet and sour', 'barbecued ribs', 'pot roast', etc). There's lots of info about seitan online -- here's a link that might explain further: http://www.ellenskitchen.com/recipebox/wheaties.html

[Armywife]

Wow... excellent post on seitan.. I've added it to my shopping list for tomorrow

Thanks!
Barb

[SeeAPenny]

Actually, for the record, I don't recommend buying premade seitan (White Wave's a brand that comes to mind)-- it's so expensive! Making one's own is significantly cheaper, and pretty easy too ....

[kashi]

would you mind sharing your recipe for seitan, SeeAPenny?

[SeeAPenny]

Sure, here it is:

Basic Seitan (This recipe can be doubled, tripled, quadrupled, etc.)

(Note: vital wheat gluten can sometimes be purchased in bulk at health food stores (I get mine in bulk through my natural foods buying club).)

Stir together thoroughly in a bowl:

1) One cup vital wheat gluten (note: not 'high gluten flour' -- important distinction), mixed with 1/2 tsp onion granules and 1/2 tsp garlic granules (optional, but does give a little extra flavor)

2) 7/8 cup liquid (this could be: water with 3 tablespoons soy sauce added to make 7/8 cup, vegetable stock, 1/2 water mixed with 1/2 tomato juice, or leftover simmering broth from a previous batch of seitan)

Knead a minute to blend. This will be a firm spongy/stretchy mass, stickier than bread dough (the dough in this state is called 'gluten'). Cut the gluten in to 3 relatively equal chunks.

Drop the chunks into 6 cups broth (this could be vegetable broth, or a broth made from water and 1/3 cup soy sauce. I personally also like to add a bay leaf or two).

Cover the pan and bring the stock to a simmer. Reduce the heat to very low and simmer the chunks gently for about 50 minutes, stirring every so often. It is now 'seitan'. Turn off heat and let the seitan cool in the broth uncovered.

Transfer the seitan to storage containers, and add enough broth to keep the the seitan pieces immersed. Cover and store in the refrigerator (use within a week or so), or freeze.

Seitan can be sliced, chopped, ground or chunked according to whatever recipe.

____________________


Now, here's another recipe with a different technique:


Barbecued 'Ribs':

Lightly oil 2 flat baking pans, and preheat oven to 350

Mix together with fork:

--1 cup vital wheat gluten (plus 1/2 tsp onion granules and 1/2 tsp garlic granules)

Measure in a bowl:

--1 7/8 cup warm water

Stir the water into the vital wheat gluten, for a 'wet' dough. Roll and stretch the dough out as flat as possible (it will be spongey and stretchy to work with). Cut into 24 strips about 1/2 " wide and 6' long, placing strips on baking pans. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Strips will puff up and turn golden. Remove pans from oven and prick each 'rib' wit a fork in several places. Turn over and pour on evenly over the 'ribs':

--1 cup barbecue sauce.

Return baking sheets with 'ribs' and barbecue sauce to oven and cook 10 - 15 minutes more (or until sauce stars to carmelize). Serve hot with all your favorite fixin's (potato salad, chips, etc)

[kashi]

Interesting!!! Thank you!! I'll have to make a trip to the health food store sometime, when I am feeling brave enough to attempt seitan. Or, maybe you could just stop by, SeeAPenny, and teach me how to make it. haha.

I just read an article about eggs and the treatment of chickens in this month's Organic Style magazine...it made me ill. I will definitely be passing on mass-produced eggs from now on. I think I'll try to find out where the farmer's market guy lives, so I can get some eggs from him instead of buying them from the grocery store. They were so much better. I can't believe that the standard space for chickens is a 8"x11" cage. It makes me ill.

[Kittylover]

At mambosprouts.com you can print coupons for vegetarian products and also sign up to receive coupons quarterly in the mail.Sometimes they have really good ones! Karen Also,for recipes you can try veganchef.com and vegsource.com!

[lvhocken]

Hi Armywife!

I'm new to the forum, but I've been vegetarian since 1994. I recently developed an allergy to eggs (it's actually hereditary, my mom has the same problem). Since I can't eat eggs, it doesn't really make sense to eat dairy, so I've been working on veganism for approx. 1 month now. I stopped eating eggs 2-3 months ago.

I noticed that saving money was a major motivator for you in going veggie. You can save a lot of money eliminating animals from your diet. Be careful with meat substitutes as they can be costly. I use more beans, nuts, etc. than meat subs. I did, however, find the big restaurant sized Boca Burgers at Sam's club at a FANTASTIC price ... they're under $9 for 16 of the giant ones! Other than that, for the most part I use fake meat very sparingly and try to make my own substitutes whenever possible.

As for your family, you can try serving them meatless things that are already familiar like spaghetti with marinara sauce or marinara-and-mushroom-and-lentils or other beans sauce , "sloppy joes" and tacos made with lentils instead of meat (add some oil to make it more authentic), bean and rice burritos, pasta primavera ... your favorite pasta shape with steamed veggies and beans (optional) tossed with garlic and olive oil, rice-stuffed cabbages or peppers. Be creative. Also, check out online resources (Vegweb is a really good one) and cookbooks. As you get more used to cooking without meat, your dishes will look and smell so delicious that I'd be surprised if your family didn't want them.

Since it's getting toward summer, one of my favorite hot-weather meals is an asian "chicken" salad. I take mixed salad greens, add slices or cubed pieces of oriental flavor or chinese 5-spice seasoned tofu (I know, I just said I rarely use this), some orange segments (drained mandarin oranges works well if time's an issue), chopped scallions and cucumber. Then, I make dressing by combining the juice from one orange and 1/2 lime (lemon's ok, too), some soy sauce and oil ... add a few drops of toasted sesame oil if you have it, that makes it really authentic-tasting. This is fast and good. You can also serve it with some noodle soup by taking rice noodles or angel hair pasta and simmering them in some vegetable broth with nutritional yeast added. Toss in some shredded carrot and maybe some baby peas or chopped pea pods. Yummy Asian meal.

I hope this is helpful. Please e-mail me if I can help you more, or if you would like the recipes for any of my other "concoctions".

Leah

[BillsGirl]

I love my meat, I am a carnivore and proud!! I didn't climb to the top of the food chain to eat mr. broccoli!

[kashi]

BillsGirl, then obviously this is not the forum topic for you.

Armywife, haven't heard from you in a looooong time! How's the vegetarianism going?