I don't think I can give up eating them totally.
I know I can cut way back, but not totally eliminate meat.

I also have a strong desire to roll naked on a super soft fur rug.
I probably can go faux fur on that.

However, my feet sweet in vinyl shoes, so it's either leather or cloth, and cloth is not practical all the time.

All Thing in moderation I say, with all due respect to the Vegans and Veggies on this site.

How do you do it.

littlemissG said:

As long as you film it, that's okay.

Your only Human..

how do i do it? i don't know anymore. it's just second nature, because i've been doing it for 17 years now.

i do have my limits, as i think everyone does. i think anyone who decides to go veggie/vegan/cruelty-free/etc. has to decide at what point their lives have to come before the lives of other life just as a matter of survival. this is why i try not to judge anyone else for the choices they make in their lives, just because they don't match up with mine.

sometimes i will buy a leather belt or leather shoes. but i will wear the hell out of them and make sure they aren't wasted. i'm very VERY spare about doing this, but i've been living in big cities most of my life and i need shoes/boots that will endure new york city blocks and chicago winters. most of my shoes are vinyl or canvas, though. it doesn't make a difference to me when the weather is okay.

as for food, it was and still is easy. once you give up meat for a month or two and really give vegetarian cooking a chance and have fun with it, it's not hard to give up meat for good.

littlemissG said:

Me too.

littlemissG said:

That's a pretty cool avvie.



You need to give Imago some lessons.

I've been thinking about this more and more lately. I've been considering going veggie. I don't eat much meat to start with so it wouldn't be that hard for me to convert but for one thing: most meat substitutes I've tried gross me out. Tofu's okay, I can handle that. But those flavoured soy-loafs, veggie dogs and the like just make me

Anyone got any suggestions? Still not decided on the veggie thing, so if nothing else I'll be able to diversify my food choices.

meow85 said:

I love tofu dogs and those fake meat chicken nuggets and tofu corndogs. I think they're awesome.

You should look into tofu more. Japanese style tofu especially - try out Azumaya, which is reasonably priced and widely available. It's very tasty when cooked right, and you can do tons of things with it. I eat tofu quite regularly, even though I'm no longer a vegetarian.

Anx is right - vegetarianism just becomes second nature after a while.

Natsume said:

Like anything else, it's a habit you grow into.


I do like those "veggie" burgers from Burger King. No clue what they're made of though. My best guess is a soy/mushroom deal.

meow85 said:

Chick burgers are good, though I don't know what they are. Kind of like a giant ass fake chicken nugget!

I wonder if BK cooks their veggie burgers on a separate grill?

Natsume said:

Probably not.


What's a chick burger? Doesn't sound....right, somehow.
[Edited 11/2/05 0:36am]

meow85 said:

that's what I'm trying to figure out. There was an all vegetarian restaurant in my college town and they served this lovely lovely chick mushroom burger. It was an offbeat place. There were a number of different patties you could get on your burger - I think the chick burger was a giant fake chicken nugget.

Natsume said:

Maybe it had ground up chick peas in it?


Mmm....now I want hummus.

meow85 said:

I looooove chickpeas.

Natsume said:

I used to hate them, but that's because I'd only ever had them the way my grandma cooks them. Nana may be a lot of things, but a good cook is not one of them.

Now that I've had them done properly they're lovely. Cook them up with garlic and butter and pepper.

meow85 said:

I still can't get anywhere remotely near eggplant.

Natsume said:

Really? I love eggplant. Same deal as the chick peas though. Used to be grossed out by them when I'd only had my Nana's rendition of them.

I try to curb my meat eating too but like you I don't think I'll ever go completely veggie. I got no real advice, the meatless patties do get very boring (though the Spicy Black Bean patties by Morningstar Farm are YUMMY!) - meat substitutes just suck after a while Gotta find more creative ways to cook, more variety. Salads, pastas, wraps, veggie burrittos (when you use the burritto flavor packet you can't taste the flavor of the "meat"), veggie pizza. Just cut down where you can & if it's something you want to do you'll get there

meow85 said:

yes, some of the veggie "fake meat" products are a little gross. tofu pups are nasty (though i can tolerate them if i have to), and don't get me started on tofurkey.

there's some really good stuff out there too, though:

morningstar farms makes KICK ASS meatless buffalo wings - very moist, very crispy breading, very SPICY. yum.

boca makes really good meatless italian sausages and bratwurst - they're nothing like the nasty tofu pups, believe me.

and gardenburger makes a really nice grilled chicken patty that you can eat as a sandwich or chop up and use in salads, stir fry, etc.

and my FAVORITE: boca makes fake ground beef crumbles that you can use in place of meat in chili, spaghetti sauce, etc. - my favorite thing to use it for is biscuits & gravy. i made veggie biscuits and gravy for a confirmed carnivore over the summer, and he swore up and down i made it with meat.

Anxiety said:

and Morning Star Farms just came out with some new frozen "chicken" and "beef" strips that are to die for!

IrresistibleB1tch said:

yeah? i'm gonna have to keep an eye out for those.

oh, and regarding tofu: i find that the best tofu for cooking is the extra firm kind, preferably nasoya or trader joe's brand. it's denser and coarser and doesn't have that slimey texture that the soft/silken tofu does.

also, when you use tofu, you gotta gently squeeze out all the water before you cook with it. just wrap it in paper towels and lightly squeeze, then repeat a few times until the paper toweling doesn't get wet anymore. et voila.

Anxiety said:

silken tofu is great for cheesecake, smoothies, etc., but extra firm is a must for cooking. one of the Chinese restaurants here makes a "tofu salad" - slices of silken tofu marinated in an onion dressing...

have you tried the tofu at Mama Fu's? it's soooo good, even meat eaters would love it!

IrresistibleB1tch said:

I haven't tried the chicken yet, but I really liked the beef! It's kinda a softer-textured, tastier seitan.

I also love, love, LOVE Gimme Lean 'sausage'. It comes in a little tube (like Jimmy Dean sausage ) and you can make patties with it, or crumble it to put in things like tofu scrambles, breakfast burritos, even spaghetti sauce. It's my latest favorite veggie product. I wanna make biscuits and gravy with it.

Morning Star farms really is a godsend. SO yummy. Quorn makes a few nice products too. They make this barbeque rib thingy that is oh so yummy in the summer with a nice ear of corn and some cole slaw on the side.

And I'm with ya on hating the tofu dogs and tofurkey.

All this and I'm not even a veggie. lol. It can be done, very easily, just takes time. I don't consider myself a veggie, but after years of cooking and eating w/veggie friends, I don't have much of a taste for meat anymore. I prefer eating veggie the vast, vast majority of the time. Meat actually grosses me out quite a bit in many respects. BUT - I don't feel a need to a label myself or go all out either. Just start trying what tickles your fancy and cooking yourself and you'll find the things you like and don't like.

CarrieMpls said:

yeah, that sausage is awesome, especially with some hot sauce...

i guess i'm alone in liking tofurkey - we tried the tofurkey "breast", and it was soooo good reheated!

have you tried the smart bacon? makes an awesome blt...

IrresistibleB1tch said:

i like veggie bacon - i haven't tried a brand i don't like. it tastes just like i remember real bacon tasting, only it doesn't burn as easily and it's nowhere as greasy. what's not to like?

I have yet to find a fake chicken product that isn't completely disgusting I've tried, they all taste like friggin' cardboard

I'd like to find a good one though

CalhounSq said:

you tried the gardenburger grilled chicken? or the boca spicy breaded chicken? i recommend both highly, especially if you like spicy food - boca doesn't mess around.

I once had some soy bacon on my bagel sandwich (I mistakenly went to a kosher bagel store ) and quite frankly...it tasted like SH*T!!!


Veggies are good...but SWINE is BEST!!!