To miss genuine veggie food

[IdiotIntrusion]

In the light of all the vegan options coming out, what's happened to veggie food? Granted veggies can eat vegan but I want real cheese or mayo on my burger instead of the fake stuff.

Not even allowed to add a coffee to a 'vegan' meal at burger king, I assume because of the milk. Had to pay separately.

Just having a moan. It's annoying as hell. Anyone else?

I also do not want Jack fruit slop.

What I miss was the days when a vegan option was proper healthy, yummy food. Nowadays it is a lot of fake meat. Now, I'm very happy to tuck into a fake meat burger when I'm in the mood, but sometimes I want lovely fresh vegetables with beans and lentils etc.

For the actual vegetarians can I ask why you don't eat meat?

@Shiningpath

It’s annoying isn’t it? If I look at one more cauliflower dish on a menu as the sole meat free option I’ll cry. Disgusting beasts, cauliflowers.

I could not agree more. A slice of cauliflower is a slice of BO flavoured brassica. It does not, in any way, even remotely resemble a steak. Bleugh!

Plant based butter... I thought margarine (or at least ones I've seen) was vegan? Is that essentially just what plant based butter is as I'm sure most cafés would use it in the first place over real butter as it's much cheaper.

The option should still be there for veggies who want to eat vegetarian. We may as well just do away with meat and dairy in general otherwise as everything is 'plant based'. There would be uproar 🤣

@carpy88999

I guess it depends on the reason why the person is vegan.

For me eating " fake" burgers that are imitating the "rotting flesh of animals" is not what I'm looking for when I eat vegetarian.
And I dont see the point of drinking these plant based milks with limited nutritional value and are actually worse for the environment than actual milk from animals.

@Carpy88999

For the actual vegetarians can I ask why you don't eat meat?

Feel free to start a thread asking this

@Carpy88999 it was the 'bodies' exhibition that put me off. Made me realise what meat actually was and I decided I didn't want to eat dead animals as it's no different to 'human meat'. I was young when this happened btw... Not something I've only just come to terms with 😅

For the actual vegetarians can I ask why you don't eat meat?
For me its a pretty serious allergy to certain red meat, so parents were always very careful when I was a child. I think psychologically I started to see all meat as bad / dangerous and so in addition to red meat I went off white meat and fish too.

@IdiotIntrusion

The pepperoni pizza - I just got a lil excited over the thought of a pepperoni pizza as it's been about 15 years since I had one. Curiosity made me want to try it 🤷‍♀️

If I have to think of a positive... No more goats cheese and caramelised onion tarts at weddings?

Veggie food is supposed to be healthy not lab processed 'fake' stuff. What goes on to these fake cheeses and what processing is required in factories for it and is it better for consumption and the environment than real cheese?

Vegetarian food is not supposed to healthy. Neither is vegan food. They are meant to be meat free and animal product free, respectively. That's the only entry requirement.

I actually had a mini meltdown a few weeks ago in one of our favourite restaurants. Their veggie options are always inventive and divine, but they've now gone to only vegan options instead. I called for the manager to come over and patiently explained that there is an ocean between vegan and vegetarian........ and I choose not to eat such a restrictive diet.

The chef came out a few moments later and said that he would happily adapt the menu for me....... and I said why not adapt for vegans when they are in far more limited numbers than vegetarians. I noted on their trip advisor that quite a few others have said the same thing.

Fucking vegans can fuck off with their fake cheese and stop inflicting their diet misery on the rest of us. Frankly.

[quote Horcruxe]@carpy88999

I guess it depends on the reason why the person is vegan.

For me eating " fake" burgers that are imitating the "rotting flesh of animals" is not what I'm looking for when I eat vegetarian.
And I dont see the point of drinking these plant based milks with limited nutritional value and are actually worse for the environment than actual milk from animals.[/quote]
Your point about plant milks just isn't from an environmental point of view.

Also Soy milk is pretty comparable to cows milk.

I don't eat meat but eat fish and dairy so in restaurants I'll often go for the vegetarian option if it looks good.

Never had vegan 'cheese'. The mind boggles. What the hell is it made of?

I imagine it taste as much like cheese as a piece of Lego does.

I was thinking of taking the kids to Frankie and Benny's over the Easter holidays. Looking at the current menu, the majority of the veggie options have been replaced by vegan options. So that's our custom lost!

@RomainingCalm

Completely agree. When I first stopped eating meat the only choices tended to be quiche or mushroom stroganoff. Then over the years the veggie choices improved considerably. Now it's all gone downhill again.

I don't want jackfruit. I don't want a cauliflower pretending to be a steak. I don't want vegan-not-cheese. Even the veggie chilli made with beans/lentils/vegetables seems to be increasingly replaced by a vegan meat substitute version.

I even find myself mourning the once ubiquitous goats cheese tart.

Exactly what's wrong with an actual veggie chilli with lots of nutritious veggies.

Why put make it vegan by putting fake "meat" into it.

A veggie chilli is delicious and you could easily make it vegan without adding fake meat.

I don't want a meat substitute.

When I'm eating veggie, what's the actual point when its substituted by something that has been added to imitate the taste and texture of the one thing I don't want to eat?

Just an add on to my pp, I'm a farmer's wife and my family shoot and rear animals for meat, so I'm not squeamish, I just don't seen it as food. Saying that I'm quite strict. I'm also strict about no meat in the house coming from a supermarket, it has to either be reared by us or other farmer friends and killed ethically, or it has to be game shot by my dh or dc.

Ive been veggie for 35 years and though I eat more plant based foods (I prefer oat milk) I have never managed more than 6 months on a vegan diet. I do fear that us veggies are being forgotten - either your a meat eater or a vegan. If we all ate more veggie food the planet would be in a better place - its not vegan or meat. Sorry rant over. A lot of vegan food is processed crap - wholefood veggie is much healthier.

@BoodleBug51 😂😂

good on you!

Hopefully they'll take note and start adapting it back for veggies, or at the least add the option there.

Vegetarian option , veggie sausages , mash and peas, or a Chickpea & spinach curry & rice. I want a vegetarian roast !

Absolutely this, and WHY is the vegetarian/vegan version so often a curry? If I want that, I’ll be in an Indian restaurant.

And I also absolutely agree with the general premise of this thread - it’s laziness on behalf of restaurants because they only want to offer the minimum of non-meat dishes and highly-processed vegan food is more convenient because they don’t have to bother doing much cooking. I’ve found myself in restaurants where the only “option” was Quorn chicken which has always given me an upset stomach. But hey, there was an option so that’s the box ticked, right?

As someone who would regularly choose the vegetarian or vegan option when dining out, I agree - what is with all the meat and dairy substitutes?

I want to eat a nice meal made out of recognizable ingredients: vegetables, pulses, cheese and so on. Not a load of fake meat made of who knows what.

[quote IdiotIntrusion]@Carpy88999 it was the 'bodies' exhibition that put me off. Made me realise what meat actually was and I decided I didn't want to eat dead animals as it's no different to 'human meat'. I was young when this happened btw... Not something I've only just come to terms with 😅[/quote]
I fully get that. I don't want to support the meat industry just like you! I was vegetarian until I realised that the dairy and egg industry go hand in hand with the meat industry and I didn't look back from then on.

Yeah the cheese takes a little while to get used to and there's even some excellent ones now as well that are a little cheesy for my taste now if I'm being honest! 🤣

We're not your enemy in this stuff I don't like going to a restaurant and just seeing jackfruit chilli and burgers I'll eat them and I like them but they're the new goats cheese tarts/stuffed peppers...

the plant based butter is really nice if its the ones in the black packets, theres 2 in black packets from different companies one is better then the other and then theres the flora one that isnt that nice as it has a funny after taste.

as for cheese I try all the vegan cheese as I cant eat cheese its great having such a wide choice, a lot of them are crap and taste like dairylea but theres 3 that stand out as lovely as well as a few supermarket own brand ones, they are applewood smoked, the mexicana one with chilli bits, a brie I think it is that comes in a wooden circular box and morrisons smoked cheese and morrisons mozzarella slices. but I must say none of them are any good hot, nice on crackers or in sandwiches tho.

its marvelous for decades I've been stuck with just 1 brand of lactose free medium cheddar and the same brands cream cheese.

It's just laziness by the restaurants. One token offering that is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and sometimes also gluten free.

Smacks of 'fuck it, that'll do' with no thought that anyone will actually enjoy the food just that they will gratefully accept the limited offering no matter what it is.

I'm not vegetarian BTW, I don't particularly enjoy meat dominated meals and in the past have often had the vegetarian option if it's been something I like, eg spinach and ricotta canneloni is one of my favourite meals, but you probably don't get that any more, with it not being vegan. They'll just do a dull tomato pasta with fake 'parmesan' sprinkled on it, which I'd never pay restaurant prices for, because that's what you make at home with a jar of Loyd Grosman when you CBA cooking properly.

[quote Horcruxe]@carpy88999

I guess it depends on the reason why the person is vegan.

For me eating " fake" burgers that are imitating the "rotting flesh of animals" is not what I'm looking for when I eat vegetarian.
And I dont see the point of drinking these plant based milks with limited nutritional value and are actually worse for the environment than actual milk from animals.[/quote]
if cow juice made you feel sick like sea sickness, caused vomiting if you drank a whole glass of it and gave you IBS and the shits for 3 days, then you would understand.

I have been drinking soya milk since I was 12, on the few occasions I have tasted milk in the last 30 years I have found it tastes utterly disgusting anyway, I instantly know the difference.

and how can animal milk be better for the environment, 70% of soya grown in the world is for animal feed anyway and vast tracks of land are given over to cows, drinking soya milk is cutting out the middle cow (and their poor calf's).

Have whinged about it these recently with friends.

I'm actually pescatarian rather than vegetarian, and noticed that menus now tend to skip veggie and just have vegan.but lots don't let you then amend the vegan to add real cheese, etc And I want real milk and real chocolate when it's a 'meal deal' option too

I miss the old fashioned veggie burgers - the ones with mushed up veg and even the bean burger style. Now it's all fake meat that pretends to blend, etc. I really don't like the texture of meat, fake or otherwise!