From the veggie front
I've been a vegetarian for two days now. It hasn't really been that hard. Last night I made fajitas and just made mine with onions and bell peppers and I left all the chicken for Chad. I didn't miss the meat at all. It's easy when I never really liked meat in the first place. So why did I eat it for 35 years? I have no idea. I also went to one of my favorite Bryant eateries yesterday, Firehouse Subs, and got a veggie sub. I love this place because it was started by real firemen, the food is great and the people who work there are super friendly. When you walk in, someone always yells "Welcome to Firehouse!" It makes everyone feel like Norm from Cheers. Plus they give out little red fireman hats to the kids. Our house is slowly filling up with them.
I noticed Burger King has a veggie burger. I'm afraid of it. Has anyone tried it?
Here's what I WON'T miss about eating meat:
1) Biting down on some unidentified piece of fat/gristle-type stuff. YUCK.
2) Having a higher risk of heart disease and cancer.
3) Spending a huge chunk of my grocery bill on meat.
4) Just how gross meat is in general.
What I WILL miss:
1) Ribs.
2) Pot roast.
3) Boneless wings from Chili's.
4) Chef Boyardee ABCs and 123s with meatballs (holdover from childhood).
5) I guess that's about it.
posted by Deana Nall @ 6:17 AM
7 Comments:
At Fri Sep 15, 06:50:00 AM,
Stacey said…
Hey Deana-
I will definitely get you some information. If you e-mail me at: christophercfield@yahoo.com, my wife (who eats meat) can send you some veggie recipes that she has used over the last 6 weeks since I went vegetarian. But for now, here are some things I have eaten pretty consistently:
Cereal, oatmeal, PB&J, grilled cheese, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of frozen veggies, cheese pizza, LOTS OF PASTA with alfredo or meatless marinara, omelettes, and vegetable stir fry just to name a few.
Also, there is a brand that is called Morningstar I believe that they have at Wal-Mart and other stores that carries "meatless" meat like products. I really like the corn dogs, nuggets, and soy burgers that come from this section of the store. My wife is getting some meatless buffalo wings this weekend for my birthday so I will let you know how those are. Also, Chili's has a bean burger that is pretty good also.
Hope this helps, e-mail for some other recipes from my wife.
At Fri Sep 15, 07:01:00 AM,
Sara said…
I've never commented before but thought I would throw in my two cents on the veggie burger at Burger King. I tried it a few weeks ago and it is really good. It is a Morningstar patty I think. I was impressed and even more impressed with the price of $2.00 at my Burger King.
I agree with Chris and like the bean burger at Chili's. A few other vegetarian things that I have found are good are chipotle wraps. They are near the Boca Burgers and Morningstar products at Walmart.
At Fri Sep 15, 07:18:00 AM,
Brian said…
Make sure you keep your protein up.
Cooked correctly, tofu can be an excellent source of protein and can be tasty as well. Peanut butter is also good, but stay away from highly processed candy peanut butter like Jiffy et al that is mostly all sugar and has a lot of weird preservatives and additives and coloring stuff that has nothing to do peanuts.
Laura Scudder peanut butter is a good widely available butter that is mostly just peanuts. As with any natural peanut butter, oil separation does occur so you do have to stir it before you use it. Almond butter is tastier and has a bit more protien than peanut butter. You may be able to find this and other good things at Little Rock Wild Oats Natual Marketplace(http://http://www.wildoats.com/u/store146/). Generally people that work at stores like these are vegetarians and can advise you on good alternatives.
At Fri Sep 15, 12:12:00 PM,
Anonymous said…
Gardenburger just plain rocks - by far my favorite brand of everything. May I suggest their Black Bean Chipolte Wrap? It is truly awesome. And the veggie burger at Backyard Burger is Gardenburger. I order the Hawaiian Chicken sandwich Veggie-fied. Mmm ... yummy.
Like you, I remember thinking I would miss a few of my favorites. I haven't yet. It's like there's a whole new world of food out there now and I don't miss the old stuff.
At Sat Sep 16, 05:17:00 AM,
mom23 said…
What is your plan for protein? Do you have some favorite bean recipes? Meat subsitutes? I hope you love soy products!
Grab a bag of shelled edamame from the frozen food section and boil in salted water and add a bit of salt if you want later. You can eat it hot or cold (cold is better). My kids love it and call it mermaid food.
Morningstar Farms has some awesome veggie alternatives - we like their pepperoni better than the real stuff but can't find it here. Oh how I wish I had a Trader Joe's or Whole Foods! There in Little Rock, you have some great alternative stores. (still have beans and grains and things? Good memories.)
Good for you! You will feel great!!
At Sat Sep 16, 09:10:00 AM,
Sarah said…
Deana, I've pretty much been vegan for the better part of 5 years for health reasons. Over at my house we're moving toward increasing the amount of raw produce in our diet. I have a passion for nutrition and over the years I have spent zillions of hours researching diet.
Please don't worry about protein. Fruits and veggies contain on average a similar amount, or more, than breastmilk - 2-5%. (You would think a baby doubling or tripling his birthweight in the first year would need more protein than an adult that has has reached his full grown size, wouldn't you?
I wrote a little article about plant foods and human protein needs last year. If you're interested, please email me at sarahparker at gmail dot com and I will send you the link or email it to you.
Way to go for being veggie!
-Sarah - love your blog, barely sorta know you from ACU years ago, junk foodist turned veggie turned vegan and now trying to eat mostly raw fruits and veggies.
At Mon Sep 18, 07:14:00 AM,
Jana said…
Wow! Thanks to all the commenting folks who gave suggestions on veggie foods. I've never been a huge fan of eating animal flesh (though I haven't ruled it out all together) so I'm always on the lookout for tasty veggie recipes. Lookin' forward to trying out y'all's ideas!
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