laura@utcsstat.UUCP (Laura Creighton) (01/07/84)
I do not know whether this is usual or not, but unless I have meat in my meal, I have to eat a lot more. The things that you generally eat for bulk (rice, tofu, yam noodles, potatoes) are very boring to eat. So I don't eat enough. Eventually I get very hungry and eat steak. There goes the experiement... Are there other things to eat that give you lots of bulk which aren't so boring to eat? I like bran flakes but you can't eat very much of that (or I can't) without precipitating anotehr sort of problem. Or are there ways to cook these which makes them taste a lot better? My father thought that vegetables were things that other people ate (besides potatoes) so I am probably a lousy vegetable cook. Laura Creighton utzoo!utcsstat!laura
robert@arizona.UUCP (Robert J. Drabek) (01/08/84)
[] Eating potatoes, rice, and bran flakes would be most boring. As a long- time vegie, I can give you a lot of assurance that eating vegetables is anything but boring, but you'll need to try something different than the ones you mentioned. Preparing a meatless meal is going to take you a little longer when you first start doing it right. You'll have to read several books to understand the nutritional aspects of what you are doing. But then it's all experi- mentation from there on out. At first you might try some casseroles full of fresh brocoli, cauliflor, etc. The fresh part is important here. Anyone who thinks of vegetables as the stuff found in cans and frozen dinners is justified in their lack of sympathy for vegetarians. It takes imagination and a year or two of experience to start creating good meals in a reasonable amount of time without consulting the books all the time. But how long does it take to learn anything really worth knowing? Sometimes I have felt the time preparing food is the only thing completely worth the time. As a slightly unrelated point to your question, you will find yourself spending less at the grocery store. So you can use that money at the `fresh and organic' foods stores and then those squash and carrots will forever keep your maind away from that steak. Robert J. Drabek University of Arizona
phil@amd70.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (01/09/84)
I would suppose another (possibly minor) benefit of being vegetarian
is that you don't have quite as much grease to deal with when cooking
or cleaning up.
Would anyone care to comment on that supposition?
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Phil Ngai (408) 988-7777 {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amd70!philmarcum@fortune.UUCP (Alan M. Marcum) (01/09/84)
Regarding cooking rice, pasta, spuds (potatoes), etc., I'm far from an expert, but I've been eating a fair amount of these lately. With rice, there are a number of varieties of rice, each with its own flavor and texture. I sometimes add soy sauce, often make saffron rice (yes, I know: expensive usually; substitute various herbs and spices of one's own whim at the moment), occasionally make fried rice. Casseroles based on rice or pasta with various vegetables (sauteed, perhaps) and protein powder have also proven useful for adding variety. Last night, for example, I made a short-grain brown rice casserole. I added to the rice some diced vegetables (green onions, red bell pepper, and zuchini) sauteed in olive oil with dill, a bit of basil, and some saffron. I added some half-and-half at the end of the sauteeing, along with some (sifted) protein powder, and some more half-and-half. Topped with some grated cheese, some paprika, and baked at 300F for about 30 mins. (For people frustrated by lack of precision in the above, apologies, but that's how it really was done. Experiment some time!) For those who eat and like cottage cheese, noodles and cottage cheese is an old stand-by, as are noodles (esp. bows) and buckwheat groats (i.e. kasha). I usually just bake a good spud, and leave it at that. I'm not a veg, but have found myself eating more grains lately to increase the fiber in my diet. Amazing, but it took very little effort to get things back in balance. Ahh, the wonders of a hectic lifestyle....! Alan M. Marcum Fortune Systems, Redwood City, California ...!hplabs!hpda!fortune!rhino!marcum
johns@hp-pcd.UUCP (johns) (01/22/84)
#R:utcsstat:-161600:hp-cvd:1800003:000:1040 hp-cvd!johns Jan 12 10:59:00 1984 One of the biggest problems with people who are converting to vegetarianism is not knowing how to cook the food. Eating no meat requires a different cultural attitude to cooking. One way to find this " different attitude" is to look for recipies in other cultures that don't use a lot of meat ( Indian, Chinese, Japanese etc). Another part of the problem is spicing. Potatos, rice, beans can be very exciting to eat.(especially with cayanne pepper and curry). I don't know how to transmitt my knowledge of spices to you other than to show you. I will post at a later date some of my recipies ( mostly to get me to write them down) In those other cultures that I mentioned, there are products that make cooking more interesting. Things like: Tempeh, tofu, Nori, tamari, and many more that I haven't found yet. As with any other habit it is hard to change your diet. I have found from personal experience that not eating meat can be an exciting and enjoyable ( even preferable ) experience. John Sechrest hplabs!hp-pcd!johns