Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with vegetarian and meat

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips!

pghjezebel — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 10:31:40 -0800

VegetarianFilter: Give me your best veg taco recipes and tips! I've been a vegetarian for several years now and then one thing I really miss? A good taco.

I've tried meat substitutes (boca crumbles) and find the texture rather gross. They always have a gristle taste/feel to them.

I've seen recipes for lentil style tacos - but my lentils always turn out hard. What about tofu?

What else can I try? Open to any and all recipes, suggestions and tips!

How do I go about eatting meat again?

deacon_blues — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 19:39:31 -0800

I've been a vegetarian for over five years. After being belittled by Tony Bourdain for years, I think I'm ready to eat some meat again. Advice? I've found it to be about time to start weening myself back to meat. To elaborate a bit i'm looking to start back with chicken and seafood, not red meat.

So, for those of you who have done this and/or know what to expect, can you give me some advice? I'm concerned about getting sick because my stomach no longer has the enzymes needed to break down meat...right?

Fried chicken awaits. Tell me how to get there.

Should vegetarians eat marine creatures?

jpg15 — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 20:15:56 -0800

Should vegetarians eat fish? How about shrimp? Mollusks? I'm a recent vegetarian convert, having read Peter Singer's seminal work. It took me about 30 minutes to realize that this is what I needed to do.

Singer only devotes two pages to the subject of marine life, and it lacks the authority that most of his writing carries (he notes this at the beginning of the section). There are a small number of for/against webpages, but I'm very interested hearing in the rationales of practicing vegetarians.

The question, as Singer always puts it, is whether or not the animal in question "has interests" and whether or not it can suffer, in the sense that humans can. Most people agree, for example, that insects do not. What about the various marine creatures? My instinct tells me that they do not, but this is based on scant data.

All we are saying is give meat a chance.

Item — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 12:48:59 -0800

After 13 years of vegetarianism - my entire adult life - I've decided to start eating meat. Looking for advice in the form of books, websites, and personal anecdotes. I stopped eating meat for a number of reasons. Rebellion was certainly one of them, as were health and the fact that I was never crazy about meat to begin with. Though I told myself that politics came into play in my decision, I'm not sure that they ever really did. I flirted with veganism for a few periods as well, but could never really buy into it.

As time wore on, my vegetarianism became mostly an issue of discipline and self control, and I was damn good at it. I never cheated. I actually let myself go hungry a few times rather than eat what was available to me at the time when it contained meat, which, looking back, was not only rude but also a bit dangerous (I'm hypoglycemic).

I've done a lot of thinking about it lately and have had some interesting conversations regarding veganism/vegetarianism being a privileged choice, something that is keeping me from experiencing the whole of cultures I'm interested in. I've also been ridiculously low on energy and my hypoglycemia's not getting any better. For these reasons and a few other personal ones I've decided that I want to try giving meat a place in my diet. I broke the barrier last night in a way that I don't plan on making a habit of - with a cheeseburger from a local chain. Damn. I still feel full today, though not sick or nauseated. I don't plan on eating meat again for one full week, at which time I already know what I'm going to have - BBQ. After that, a few times a week at most. I have no desire to eat it every day and seriously doubt I'll develop one. I really dislike fish, for what it's worth, though some other forms of seafood might end up appealing to me.

What I'm looking for is personal stories of going back to meat to gain some insight. I'm also interested in books or other resources that'll help me maintain a healthy diet integrating flesh and non-flesh.

One last thing: currently, I am a manager of a very strict vegan restaurant, a successful place that is employed by carnivores and herbivores alike. They know I'm not vegan - should I mention my new, carnivorous ways if it won't hurt my job security? I know, you can't answer that unless you knew every last detail about the place and the people involved, but throw me an opinion if you'd like. Though it hasn't really played into my decision, I've always been for personal choice and have never approved of militant vegans, something I come into contact with now on a daily basis. Any suggestions as to what to say should I 'come out' other than 'it's a personal matter' are also welcome here.

VegetarianFilter

bad grammar — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 17:07:48 -0800

Can I call myself a vegetarian if I only eat meat 10% of the time (approximately 10% of total calories)? I realize, AskMe and Metafilter being what they are, this question is possibly redundant and likely to summon forth the political vegans and the unrepentant, obligate carnivores.

Attending a work-related barbecue party, I was turned off by the huge amounts of grilled dead animals and had a vegeburger instead. When asked, by someone I don't know well, I said that I was a vegetarian. I did this because I didn't feel like explaining why I didn't want to eat an entire hamburger, a hot dog, and an entire half of a chicken, besides all the sides, that day.

I now feel morally put on the spot and obliged to convert the partial lie into truth by becoming a vegetarian. (I feel guilty over lying to this person. I do not fit in well at this workplace, and intend to leave in two years.)

Overall I would say that meat comprises no more than 10-15% of my total consumption. I already don't eat meat at my routine breakfasts and lunches. My breakfast is usually cereal, and for lunch I have nuts, cereal bars, fruit, or a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

However, I am currently living with and cooking dinners for people who do eat meat, and who would be quite unhappy were it taken off the menu, though many of our dinners use meat Asian fashion, more as a condiment in small amounts than a large staple. Once or twice a week we have steak, but I don't eat more than the recommended 4 ounces.

I don't think I could become a total vegetarian without causing disruption in this living situation and without feeling deprived and climbing the walls. Am I effectively a vegetarian by American standards and hence I don't have to eat my words?

Why does meat make vegetarians vomit?

giggleknickers — Thu, 01 May 2008 14:43:50 -0800

Why do vegetarians vomit if they eat meat? Every time I've seen a vegetarian eat meat, by accident or because they were giving up vegetarianism, they always vomited. I was just curious as to why this is. Does anyone know?

If you're going to answer, please have some knowledge about the subject and preferably have a source. I can come up with guesses myself.

Yes, but where will they live?

jadepearl — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 14:56:37 -0800

Help me match meat dishes.. What meat dish will not clash and pair well with a salmon fillet rubbed with paprika, brown sugar, thyme and black pepper? I am having a party and the one standout fish dish that I can do is salmon which the other party goers may or may not like. I am doing fish as one of the mains because some guests are pescatarians. Any suggestions are welcome.

Leather, etc: Animal product, or byproduct?

explosion — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 09:57:29 -0800

How do I know if something is an animal product, or a by-product that exists only because the animal was killed for other reasons? I am a vegetarian, and while it's partially because I just don't want to eat meat, it's also due to the huge impact that the meat industry has on our environment and economy.

However, I'm not particularly upset by the notion of animal products, and so long as animals are dying for meat, the use of the whole is a positive notion to me.

What I'm wondering though, is whether animals are killed for these products, or if these are byproducts, additional bonuses to be harvested.

For instance: Meat & fur are obvious primary products. Gelatin is an obvious byproduct.

Needing clarification:

Leather: are there leather cows, or is this just made from the hides of meat cattle?
Rennet: are animals killed for rennet, or is this just harvested from calves and lambs slaughtered for meat?

Am I forgetting any other major products? For instance, hunting whales for oil seems abominable to me, but use of gelatin seems like just plain common sense given the booming meat industry.

Do I have to eat meat? Iron problem.

[insert clever name here] — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 06:18:42 -0800

I'm a pseudo vegetarian (I started eating fish about a year ago) of 17+ years and just discovered the root of my recently diagnosed Restless Leg Syndrome. My iron stores are very low. What's next? After 3 years of searching for the cause to my excessive tiredness, there seems like their might be light at the end of the tunnel. It seems that my extremely low iron stores (serum ferritin level of 13[micro]g/L) is causing RLS, which is causing me to not sleep worth a damn. Anything under 50[micro]g/L is considered an indicator of RLS, and the lower you go, the worse it is likely to be. (though it doesn't always work the other way. Someone with low iron stores doesn't necessarily have RLS)

What concerns me is that I did this to myself. I've been a vegetarian since I was 13 years old, and while I've always watched the iron I'm eating, I'm now discovering that the type of iron consumed is very important, and it sounds like the iron in meat is more bio-available. I just found a study that showed while vegetarians consume about the same (sometimes more) iron than omnivores, they have significantly lower serum ferritin levels on average.

I started eating fish about a year ago because I started to wonder if diet did indeed play a part in whey I was always so tired. I figured fish was the lesser of all evils if I had to consume meat. I didn't know about the RLS or low iron then so I was just really taking a shot in the dark. My sleep doctor just told me that that's really not going to do much, that its the chicken and red meat where I would get the most iron benefit.

So I have to see my GP again, to rule out any other factors that could be causing low iron stores. However, just based on what little research I've done and what my sleep doc said, I'm pretty sure they're going to say diet.

So the question is, can I still abstain from meats other than fish to get through this? Should I? I'm a vegetarian on moral grounds, so I'd really like to stay away from meat.

If it does come down to eating meat, any ideas about "free range" and organic meat as a more ethical choice? Can I trust something if it says free range? And to make matters worse, I can't cook worth a damn, and never really had to cook meat for human consumption before.

Cheaper to be veg?

Jimbob — Mon, 17 Apr 2006 16:40:08 -0800

On balance, can I save money by moving to a vegetarian diet? I'm facing some tough times ahead, and have been considering shifting my diet towards vegetarianism. I don't have anything against meat, it just seems too expensive at the moment, and I think I'll reserve it for special occasions. I love vegetarian food, I just have to learn how to cook it!

In any case, I've heard some vegetarians say that it isn't really cheaper, because you have to eat more food. Is this true? For comparison, I live in Australia, where meat is no-where near as expensive as in the UK or Europe - probably closer to the US in cost. Any tips on potential pitfalls to avoid?

Eating meat again

hopeless romantique — Fri, 31 Mar 2006 08:44:39 -0800

I'd like to start eating meat again. I recently realized that I no longer know why I'm a vegetarian. A part of it's out of self-control, but most of the reason is that, after 8 years, eating meat just no longer seems like an option. However, I'd like this to change.

I'm a pescatarian, so I already eat seafood regularly. Should chicken be my next step? How slow should I take it (ie, meals per week) so that my body has time to adjust without going crazy? Anything else I should know or be wary of? I haven't eaten meat since I was 12, so this all seems very foreign to me.