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Blinking vegetarians

133 replies

codswallop · 15/08/2003 15:35

I am sorry I am very unsympathetic to vegetarianinsm - purely because of the hassle factor of catering for them.

Have veggie(but eats fish) friend coming - thought I would bbq.

what should I do?

Is it bad form to do her and her bf fish and us have lovely meat?

He used to eat meat but has compromised with her so she eats fish and he doesnt eat meats. CRACKERS

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aloha · 15/08/2003 20:26

Think the 'make your own kebab' idea is great! Might use that myself for our various carnivore & semi-veg friends. Except dh is passionately opposed to BBQs and recently gave away our BBQ in the street! He says all food off a BBQ is horrible, but then he is a misanthropist Yorkshireman

princesspeahead · 15/08/2003 20:34

chuck some salmon steaks on the barbie, make some salads and hummous and pitta bread, crack open the white wine, and stop moaning, woman!

I can say this from the moral high ground of being 38+1 weeks pregnant and having to feed 14 people (including 3 veggies) who have invited THEMSELVES over for lunch on sunday. grrrrrr

SamboM · 15/08/2003 20:36

But make sure the salmon isn't that pink horrible stuff with two heads

codswallop · 15/08/2003 20:38

Ill give you two two pink heads soon

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SamboM · 15/08/2003 20:39

You what?

codswallop · 15/08/2003 20:41

Only joking sm.

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SamboM · 15/08/2003 20:42

Phew I was a bit worried then, sounded painful

anais · 15/08/2003 21:02

OOOh, you lot would hate me. I'm a passionate holier-than-thou veggie, who will give lectures on the evils of meat at any given opportunity.

I've been veggie since age 9, was breifly vegan and feel guilty that I'm not still vegan.

I believe passionatley that veganism is the way forward and I'm angry at the waste and distruction caused by the meat industry.

I would NEVER cook anyone meat if I was cooking for them. Full stop. End of story. No debate required, I just wouldn't do it. The only meat I allow in my house is the cats' food.

sobernow · 15/08/2003 21:10

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

codswallop · 15/08/2003 21:23

dont they do veggie cat food?

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codswallop · 15/08/2003 21:24

yes they do!

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Claireandrich · 15/08/2003 21:34

I don't eat meat (eat fish though) as I simply don't like and never have done. Don't know why, maybe texture too. Have been veggie for years and years, since being quite young.

I do cook meat for DH and DD though everyday and have no problems cooking and handling meat at all.

I don't see any problem with you doing different meals for your veggie guests than to the rest of you. I nearly always have different food to the others.

Believe me a veggie (or 'eats fish, not meat' doet isn't the hardest to deal with at all. A close friend of ours had a gluten free diet recently (as a medical investigation) - now that was a bit more challenging. Or try someone on a faddy diet, even just doing a suitable WeightWatchers meal can be a pain.

anais · 15/08/2003 21:40

Coddy, my cats are fussy little sods and don't even eat the meat (a neighbours cat comes and eats their food and pees all over my house...) so I can't see them going for the veggie stuff.

fisil · 15/08/2003 21:47

We don't have meat at home cos dp veggie and I believe in eating together more strongly than in what we eat.

I don't do meat for guests cos I'm so paranoid about poisoning them through lack of practice that I end up serving leathery burnt offerings. I cook what I'm good(ish) at.

I know that doesn't help you, Cod, but at least it helps with the question of why veggies don't return the complement and cook meat for you.

WideWebWitch · 15/08/2003 21:56

I wouldn't expect a veggie to cook meat for me either. Absolutely not. In fact my vegetarian ex in laws won't have meat in the house and I respect that. I wouldn't dream of ordering a meat pizza say, to eat in their house. Mind you, in their case, it is vegetarianism for religious reasons. But even if it wasn't, if someone finds eating and preparing meat distasteful for whatever reason, why should they buy it or cook it just for me? Or have it in the house if I'm there?

I can see why people would be veggie for health reasons and yet still eat (non farmed, organic) fish I suppose but no, I can't understand it either if they're veggie for moral saving-animals reasons.

The more I read about meat production the more tempted I am to become completely vegetarian myself (ds has been from birth and shows no sign of wanting to eat meat - we've agreed the new baby will be too). For a long time now I've tried not to eat non-organic meat and we don't buy meat sausages (have you seen what's in them? It really isn't very nice) but eat the veggie ones instead since they don't taste much different and are healthier. I have no objection to people eating meat or fish or whatever they want but I do find it interesting that, as Janstar says, carnivores are rarely asked to justify eating meat but vegetarians are often asked to justify their eating habits. And yet is is perfectly possible to eat a balanced and healthy diet as a vegetarian. Some insurance companies even offer lower life insurance premiums to vegetarians. Still, I don't mind if other people eat meat, I really don't have a drum to bang, just find it interesting I suppose. I read an article recently that said a huge percentage of the UK population is predicted to be vegetarian in 20 years time.

Janstar also has a point that plenty of the food we eat is vegetarian anyway: all fruit, all vegetables, cheese, eggs (I appreciate these aren't any good if you're vegan), pasta, beans, pizza, potatoes, yoghurt, noodles, to name just a few of the staples in our house. So what's the big deal? If we (rarely) do a (organic chicken) roast, ds has everything except the meat, so that still leaves him roasted vegetables (might be brocolli, carrots, onions, garlic, peppers), parnips, peas, and roast potatoes. Delicious and healthy.

elliott · 15/08/2003 22:00

Well, I have always eaten meat but dh is a fish-eating veggie. Our arrangement is that we don't have meat at home (though I cook it for ds, and dh would certainly not object to me cooking it for myself- but I prefer that we share our meals).
I have to say though that among my close friends, meat eaters are very much a minority (I can think of about three I see regularly), so I find all this 'oooer, how do I cater for these weird vegetarians' a bit strange
Personally the thing I find hard to get my head around is those unreconstructed meat eaters who think that somehow its not a proper meal without meat....and as for expecting a veggie to cook meat! They'd make a lousy job of it for one thing

JJ · 15/08/2003 22:25

Not quite the right place to ask, but I'm sure you guys will come up with some good suggestions for this.

I'm hosting a book club meeting next week where people sometimes bring sweets. My son is allergic to peanuts and it's very important to us to not ever have them in the house (it's our safe place for him). People sometimes do bring stuff, but many times don't. How do you say that without implying that someone should bring something? I'd really rather no one brought anything, but that's just me. I think the "Please don't bring any food" thing sounds pompous. Has someone got a good phrase? I've got to send out directions in the next day or two, so something has to be appended to that (the alternative is me quizzing everyone at the door about what they've brought which is v bad and embarrassing).

Demented · 15/08/2003 22:28

My DH recently invited a veggie friend for a BBQ (last minute as men do) and we had lamb kebabs and she had just plain veggie ones (peppers, red onion, mushrooms etc), seemed very happy with it, we all had pitta bread, greek salad, red wine and ice cream. If they eat fish similar to Grommet's suggestion Jamie Oliver has a lovely recipe for a whole salmon wrapped in wet newspaper on the BBQ, lots of lovely herbs and spices, I can post the recipe if you like.

I don't have a huge problem with veggies (used to be one myself until I was lured by a roast chicken) it's just that I don't know many vegetarians and sometimes they catch you by surprise.

Claireandrich · 15/08/2003 22:29

JJ - becuase of the circumstances I would be tempted to add a note asking people not to bring anything foodwise at al; you can always very briefly state why. Maybe add that you will provide a selection of 'safe' snacks instead. I am sure people will understand.

Claireandrich · 15/08/2003 22:30

BTW, I love veggie kebabs for BBQ and actually prefer it to fish alternatives. King prawns are lovely done too.

morocco · 15/08/2003 22:47

just a quickie on the eating fish bit

Unfortunately I eat fish at the moment whilst pregnant and later will continue while breastfeeding cos I just think it is healthier for my baby. I chose fish because unless you get something farmed like salmon at least they are fairly 'free range'. In a way it's worse than eating cows for example as at least global stocks of cow are harldy threatened but I do it because I think they are one of the healthiest forms of meat that you could eat. Essentially it is a compromise between principles and health. I think if everyone is honest, they would admit that their own principles and beliefs, no matter what they are, are often compromised in some way. I guess that essentially I just believe that it is better to draw the line somewhere than not draw it at all. If I let myself eat all kinds of meat I'm afraid that I would start to lose the ideas behind not eating meat at all as it is very easy to forget that you are eating something that was once alive and kicking. Of course, I can't speak for anyone else on this. But those are my personal reasons for eating fish but not other kinds of meat.

alterego · 15/08/2003 23:09

If I have veggie friends coming I will cook vegetarian for them or do two dishes, depending on what the dish is (ie it's easy to do a veggie lasagne and a meat lasagne). If I was having a BBQ I wouldn't dream of not putting some meat on - it's the best bit of the barbie for me. When we go round to the veggies' house we wouldn't expect to be given meat and have endured some pretty horrific meals as a result. (Not suggesting for one minute that veggie meals cannot be stunning - I love vegetables etc. - just that some of the cooks we know are less than enterprising). However, on one occasion we went round for takeaway pizza - they ordered veggie, dh ordered meat (I was more than happy with Fiorentina but supported entirely dh's meat choice).

I personally don't think it's "healthier" to be veggie. A good varied diet is the healthiest. You can of course be very healthy as veggie but have to work harder to ensure it is. The classic meat and 2 veg, well prepared is a very nutritious combo.

anais · 15/08/2003 23:26

Ohhh, alterego (great nickname, btw) don't get me started...

WideWebWitch · 15/08/2003 23:41

Oooh alterego, I'm pretty sure it can be healthier to be veggie actually but not sure I can be arsed to argue the point or provide the stats to back up my argument. So I'll shut up now

Ghosty · 16/08/2003 09:10

JJ ... I think that if I was going to someone's house and the directions had a ps that said "Please don't bring any food as my son is severely allergic to nuts and anything that has been near nuts ... I will put on some safe snacks" ... (as ClaireandRich suggested) I would not be offended in the slightest and would think "Fair enough" ...
I think if you explain then anyone who is offended would be mad ....
Coddy .. you know I love you but I don't see why you are getting your knickers in a twist about this one ... I think it is great that the husband has given up meat ... what a nice guy! I have a friend who is a member of AA and her DH has not had a drink since they met 7 years ago and he never had a problem with alcohol ... he is just the nicest, most supportive bloke I know ... wish my DH was like that!
I have loads of veggie mates who are happy to have salads at bbqs ... don't go out of your way ... just do loads of scrummy salads ...

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