To be annoyed that vegan options have replaced vegetarian?

I love celariac chips too-they're just a pain to make-peeling and chopping a whole celariac is no fun, so I don't have them very often.

I hate sweet potato too. The 'stringy' texture makes me a bit queasy. For some reason, every vegan main that would lend itself to going with normal chips had sweet potato fries instead for some time. I never saw the logic in that, why wouldn't a vegan just want normal chips? That 'othering' still happens but not as often now IME.

I’d add parsnip or celeriac to the list of Approved Mash. Although there are better ways of preparing both of them, I guess.

Sweet potato is horrible. Nasty, claggy stuff.

Legumes! Beans and chickpeas and lentils and all that stuff - now there’s the good stuff. Chickpeas are nearly up there with tomatoes and onions on the plinth of Most Useful Foods.

I hate swede and carrot mash! Love mashed potato though.

I've seen that too! Mushrooms galore, screw you if you don't like mushrooms.

Me neither, and carrots, swedes and potatoes are better not mashed.

a cauliflower starter ... and a cauliflower curry main.
I've seen a mushroom starter followed by a mushroom main far too many times, and when there were no other options. Beetroot followed by beetroot is another one.

And for vegetarians, goats cheese followed by goats cheese.

I find mashed sweet potato has a revoltingly slimy consistency.

Now I can’t bear it mashed! The only things that should be mashed are swede and carrot (only together though) or potatoes.

Maybe I'm just a weird vegan who likes everything others dont and vice versa 😄

I don't mind cauliflower mash. But in general I hate the taste. I love brocoli though.

I love cauliflower! The best way is thick slices done on the barbecue but providing it’s not mushy (any mushy veg makes me heave) I don’t care how it’s cooked

I stayed at a hotel last year which had a cauliflower starter (I don't like deep fried anything and it was deep fried florets, battered, ugh) and a cauliflower curry main. Nothing vegan or vegetarian on the sides either. I did notice the vegetarian option was a 'mushroom burger' (essentially a mushroom sandwich) with cheese, or a cheese pasta as my colleague was vegetarian. I went to Asda and bought some stuff to eat in my hotel room.
Cauliflower can get in the sea.

I miss a really nice veggie burger - as in cubed vegetables (no sweet potato, theyre suddenly in everything the last 10-15 years). I used to really enjoy them with cheese. Shame.

The problem seems to usually be with modern European, pub and bistro type places.

And hotels too. DH and I stayed in one for Valentines and there was no vegetarian option at dinner only vegan. I ended up having Beef Wellington, which was nice and came with potatoes Dauphinoise, broccoli and carrots.

This is the issue, it may make sense economically for the restaurant and be simpler for them. However the vegan option is often not as appetising for vegetarians when eating out who are expect good quality ingredients, and many like cheese and dairy. It is also usually the same price as many meat options when it cost nothing like as much to make. So it is openly a rubbish deal for veggies in a lot of places. It's nice to have something intrinsically vegetarian, not bad vegan with a slice of halloumi on from somewhere that puts a great deal more imagination into its meat dishes

The problem seems to usually be with modern European, pub and bistro type places.

As I stated up thread, I'm well aware there are brilliant options out there but in a lot of places this is comes up and it's disappointing.

I agree. Restaurants used to have lovely vegetarian dishes. I often got them even though I'm not veggie.
The vegan options never appeal to me.

Because a lot of vegans aren't vegan because they don't like the look or taste of meat. It's often an ethical choice. If I eat a faux meat burger, an animal hasn't been subject to torture and a painful death for me to eat it.

I also eat faux meat because I work out a lot and low carb/high protein works for me. That's my personal food preference. I don't eat it because it resembles meat.

It's also nice to have those options. I went vegan in the early 2000s when there were far fewer choices. I embrace the fact that I can order a burger alongside my friends and family now and not have to sit there with a salad/baked potato and beans/bowl of chips while everyone else has a 'normal' lunch.

I don't really understand when people don't understand why someone who doesn't eat meat would eat something that is a 'meat substitute'. It's still no more meat than a slice of bread is. We don't want to eat meat. It doesn't mean we don't want to eat something that may do the same job.

Im an omnivore & this wont change. While most people on this thread wont agree, I do try to source my meat & ethically & keep free range hens for eggs.

My youngest son & girlfriend are vegetarian/vegan. Her family are vegans. She eats vegan as much as possible but hates vegan cheese so the sticking point for her is cheese.

When they stayed over a few weeks ago. We had dinner out a couple of times as there were 2 separate family birthdays. I researched restaurant menus. Yes some places had very limited options but there were several that had good selection of vegetarian & some vegan options - the Turkish one was especially good for that.

She ended up at one restaurant with a fake meat substitute burger because she didnt like lots of the vegetables in the vegan/vegetarian dishes. I cant understand if you are veggie or vegan why you would want a burger that artificially tries to be like meat??

Bar anything with chickpeas, avocado & tofu Im a happy girl having a mix of vegetarian & meat/fish, but I like food that is natural.

I can understand why alot of restaurants are heading towards catering for food that can be eaten by both vegan & vegetarians as it cuts down on food waste & makes it more cost effective for the restaurant. Restaurants are under alot of pressure. Food is now more expensive but so are other overheads like electricity. But I think there is no reason why dairy like butter, cheese etc & eggs couldnt be requested for sandwiches, scones, breakfasts etc etc. If they already have them in for omnivores then there is no reason not to offer as additions to vegan meals. The options should be there.

I feel for you, even though I benefit from the trend because I can't eat cheese - which I used to adore before I discovered I was intolerant.

I’ve been veggie for nearly half a century, but probably 80% of meals I cook are vegan. So if I’m eating out I am happy with vegan, but two things I won’t eat: highly processed foods and fake meat.

I see why recent vegans might miss the taste or texture of meat, and want that replicated as far as possible, but as someone who hasn’t eaten it for decades, I am repulsed by the idea of ‘meat’, fake or real.

So if a menu has vegan dishes made from fresh ingredients, that’s fine with me. If it’s all fake cheese and fake meat then I don’t eat there, and it’s true a lot of restaurants have switched to this over the last few years. There are a few places in between, especially pizza/pasta restaurants where you often have to ask for real cheese on any vegetarian dish, which is annoying. And a few restaurants which used to be great (the Mildred’s chain in London is one) where every other veggie dish is now fake meat.

So YANBU because of the increase in fake meat and cheese, but not if it’s just for no dairy.

My problem is different . I can only eat mozzarella and ricotta cheese . I detest any other form of cheese and always have since a child . So I’m so pleased that I am able to eat out without being limited to the few options without cheese over everything . I won’t eat vegan cheese either . It seems to me everything is covered in cheese eating out in places like pub chains etc .

It should be, but it’s often not, so it has to be you that checks if it’s important to you. That’s all.

Oh could not agree more. 30+year veggie but in no way vegan. I need the cheese! I find this everywhere now. So annoying

Because I checked the menu online before booking as I mentioned, and I’d been there before and all had been fine, and there was nothing in the menu description that intimated the change in recipe.

But you started with “how is that even a problem for a normal person” from the beginning and doubled down with every subsequent post by vegetarians.

I’m not “trying to avoid” particular ingredients, although I don’t like coconut oil or milk in classic French dishes. I am wanting ‘normal’ ingredients for the dish unless specified.

If hummus was made with green peas with mint sauce and not chickpeas and tahini, I would expect a menu to mention it. If a classic sauce based on butter is made with something else, it similarly should be mentioned.

Because I told you to check menus or something before you eat. That’s just common sense if you not eating certain foods is important. Once of my children has an intolerance to a certain food, it’s on me or her to check that there is something suitable for her to eat. That’s nothing to do with being vegan.

You were goady as fuck to me from my first post. And no, I’m not naïve about the OP. Like her, I also want my sauces made with butter and cheese and my cakes made with egg. Because they are delicious and I like to eat food that makes me happy.

Never once is “gosh, I wonder how a vegan I don’t know and am not addressing would feel about how I describe my cheese purchases” a consideration in my phrasing. I don’t think it was in OP’s mind either.

She was quite reasonably having a moan about the poor options for vegetarians now that restaurants have conflated veggies with vegans on their menu options.

And 90% of respondents agree with her.

I admire ethical vegans for their strong moral stance. I don’t share it, but I admire and respect it. I think lots of vegan food is delicious, especially from those cultures with a tradition of it rather than trying to retrofit it.

But I’ve no time for emotionally blackmailing or hectoring people having a dig at perfectly reasonable posters talking about an issue that doesn’t affect vegans anyway.

What have I said that is preachy? I believe OP deliberately chose goady wording but I didn’t say anything directly about it and only picked up on it as others were talking about it. I’ve been vegan for many years. My partner isn’t vegan so I’m not sure how I’d manage that if I was a preachy vegan. I haven’t told anyone what they should or shouldn’t eat, nor would I.

@AnnWalkersLeftSlipper - you sound much like my vegan friends. Sensible, non-preachy and getting on with your life without telling other people how to live. I don’t tell omnivores how to eat either. I was a strict vegetarian for 20 years and other people’s dietary and ethical choices are not my business.

However, I do think LookSerious and rainplops have been very preachy and judgemental. They remind me of the newly vegan teenagers I’ve known who are in their “none so pure as the converted” phase.