Any vegetarians in our midst?

[maunahaole]

Just get one of those cool PDX burgers with the egg on top. IIRC the Kingston has one with pastrami and an egg.

[Shinomaster]

Just get one of those cool PDX burgers with the egg on top. IIRC the Kingston has one with pastrami and an egg.

I'd rather get a Reggie.. Pine State Biscuits






P.S. sorry to destroy this vegetarian thread with the visuals one might see when clicking on the link.

[Eric Estlund]

Pulling this back on track- The Farm Cafe in Portland has the first veggie burger I've had that actually seemed worth the $11 (with fries or a salad). I have had many-a-$11 frozen patty. The eggplant based delight at the Farm did three things: filled me up, tasted like a delicious burger, and did not try to convince me it was beef (why would I be a vegetarian if I wanted all my food to remind me of meat?).

[Shinomaster]

Pulling this back on track- The Farm Cafe in Portland has the first veggie burger I've had that actually seemed worth the $11 (with fries or a salad). I have had many-a-$11 frozen patty. The eggplant based delight at the Farm did three things: filled me up, tasted like a delicious burger, and did not try to convince me it was beef (why would I be a vegetarian if I wanted all my food to remind me of meat?).

I had one of those, I took my gf there for her birthday. Mine was delicious as were the fries, but sort of an oil bomb. I need to try to make my own veggie burgers.

[Jason Musgrave]

life-long vegetarian here. I'm not vegan, but [unintentionally] getting closer every day.

[al415]

I'm mostly 80-10-10 raw vegan. Every six months or so I'll spend a few days eating regular vegetarian food (rice/beans, veggie burgers, tofu etc). I'll do that until I can't stand the bloated feeling I get from eating processed / cooked food and go back to full raw again. The hardest part of 811rv is keeping my calories high enough. If I'm mindful of eating enough, I feel fantastic. Oh and I'm a full blown member of the cult of Vitamix.

[bcm119]

Pulling this back on track- The Farm Cafe in Portland has the first veggie burger I've had that actually seemed worth the $11 (with fries or a salad). I have had many-a-$11 frozen patty. The eggplant based delight at the Farm did three things: filled me up, tasted like a delicious burger, and did not try to convince me it was beef (why would I be a vegetarian if I wanted all my food to remind me of meat?).

That (bolded part) is such a good point, and seems to be lost on a lot of vegetarian food marketing folks.

[ABiCi]

That (bolded part) is such a good point, and seems to be lost on a lot of vegetarian food marketing folks.

I think "mock-meat" is poorly named and generally misunderstood.

Its role is to take that place that meat often plays in a meal in terms of adding nutritional value, textures or tastes to the dish. That isn't necessarily the same thing as reminding you of meat - it can do all thsoe things without having to pretend to be beef or chicken or something specific.

In saying that, there isn't really anything wrong with liking the taste and texture of meat if you are a vegetarian. I have eaten meat. I know that it can taste fantastic, I've experienced it, though I would probably gag if I ate any today. That being said, for the most part those great tastes are more to do with the spices and the sauces and so are not something that a vegetarian has to give up.

[Octave]

That (bolded part) is such a good point, and seems to be lost on a lot of vegetarian food marketing folks.

Except for vegetarians/vegans who chose their lifestyle based on a quest for ethics, compassion, or the environment..

I don't dislike the taste of meat, nor the texture. Both can be quite good. There are a lot of reasons why I don't consume any animal products, but none of them are contradicted by consuming mock-meat products. Many vegetarians/vegans choose not to eat meat because they want to live without causing harm to other living beings, nor to the environment by consuming meat products - developing mock-meat is a great way to allow people who do not think a meal is complete without meat (not myself, but I know many) to make such a choice.

[bcm119]

Except for vegetarians/vegans who chose their lifestyle based on a quest for ethics, compassion, or the environment..

I don't dislike the taste of meat, nor the texture. Both can be quite good. There are a lot of reasons why I don't consume any animal products, but none of them are contradicted by consuming mock-meat products. Many vegetarians/vegans choose not to eat meat because they want to live without causing harm to other living beings, nor to the environment by consuming meat products - developing mock-meat is a great way to allow people who do not think a meal is complete without meat (not myself, but I know many) to make such a choice.

I get that. But in my experience, vegetarians who have been so for any length of time develop a disgust for meat. I don't know many long term vegetarians who live in constant sorrow that they can't eat meat, and thus they do not miss the taste or texture. In fact it seems most long term vegetarians become so turned off by meat that accidentally eating some meat will trigger the gag reflex. So, while I understand that some vegetarians make the initial decision based on ethical reasons, it seems that most of them become so used to their diet that meat is no longer something they try to find a substitute for. I always figured the products trying to look/taste/smell like meat are aimed at the newly minted vegetarian who is just trying it out. But maybe my experience is skewed.

[Shinomaster]

I get that. But in my experience, vegetarians who have been so for any length of time develop a disgust for meat. I don't know many long term vegetarians who live in constant sorrow that they can't eat meat, and thus they do not miss the taste or texture. In fact it seems most long term vegetarians become so turned off by meat that accidentally eating some meat will trigger the gag reflex. So, while I understand that some vegetarians make the initial decision based on ethical reasons, it seems that most of them become so used to their diet that meat is no longer something they try to find a substitute for. I always figured the products trying to look/taste/smell like meat are aimed at the newly minted vegetarian who is just trying it out. But maybe my experience is skewed.

My Gf was raised by an organic beef rancher but never liked beef. She didn't like the texture or the flavor. She did like chicken though, and tuna melts which she finally gave up on after college. She doesn't like the mock beef products (soy burgers etc.) but really likes the fake chick'n products, especially those made by Quorn. She says she misses the taste of chicken, but not the random bits that remind her that she is eating part of an animal carcass. Some of the mock chicken cutlets take a marinade pretty well and cook nicely on the bbq.
I appreciate her perspective. I don't like chewing on veins or tendons either. I eat garden burgers all the time and what I like best is probably the mass of condiments I use and the toasted bun.

[bcm119]

My Gf was raised by an organic beef rancher but never liked beef. She didn't like the texture or the flavor. She did like chicken though, and tuna melts which she finally gave up on after college. She doesn't like the mock beef products (soy burgers etc.) but really likes the fake chick'n products, especially those made by Quorn. She says she misses the taste of chicken, but not the random bits that remind her that she is eating part of an animal carcass. Some of the mock chicken cutlets take a marinade pretty well and cook nicely on the bbq.
I appreciate her perspective. I don't like chewing on veins or tendons either. I eat garden burgers all the time and what I like best is probably the mass of condiments I use and the toasted bun.

That all sounds pretty familiar. There's a whole spectrum of reasons people have for being vegetarian, and another whole spectrum of feelings they have towards meat as a food, independent of the industry it comes from and the whole ethical issue. The occasional bit of tendon/vein/stuff that feels like chewing on a super-bouncey ball seems to be a common cause of near-vomiting experiences among vegetarians I know, including my gf. She had parents who raised chickens and cows for food, and remembers things like the smell of fresh blood, or the sight of a headless chicken flopping around the yard-- stuff that makes an impression on some kids. But she also cites the ethical side of it as a secondary reason. It often seems to come down to an ability to connect what's on your plate with intimate knowledge of how it got there-- some people are able to completely separate the two. I think I'm one of them, because I'm disgusted by the commercial meat industry, but if I was really hungry I could eat a fast food burger without puking, although I haven't in years.
As for fake meat products, I like the Field Roast brand "sausages". Fry them up and throw them in your pasta sauce.

[Shinomaster]

Yeah, now that we have loveable backyard chickens laying eggs I have a really difficult time eating poultry. Commercial egg farms are so horrible, I don't even want store bought cookies made with them, or a piece of quiche at a diner etc. They are such sweet little birds if given the chance to be free. HEll, I should just be a Vegan.

[Rosko]

Going on 24 years here. It's really a great time for a considered diet- The quality of goods, produce, and recipes available across the board has come such a long way .

[Mabouya]

Been one for around 20 years. I don't remember the exact year, but I do remember the circumstances - I decided to do it while out on a bike ride. I always say "Hello" to horses and cows as I ride by, and I decided that it just wasn't right to cheerfully say hello to a cow one day then be willing to eat it the next. (Of course it was more than than, but that was the final straw.)

Recently I've noticed that I've been having a heck of a time on my Sunday ride, just feeling worn out, with practically no pep compared to Saturday. I wondered if it was due to lack of protein, or something - these days I really don't go out of my way to take and extra - so I got some Hammer Recoverite as a post-ride drink. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe I'm just getting into better shape, but it sure seems to have made a difference. I know they use whey protein in it, which of course comes from cow's milk (I switched to soy for my breakfast cereal) but it's nearly impossible to eliminate absolutely all animal products from your life, and I'm not a Nazi about it, so I live with that.

Random animal byproducts story (which I may have told here before, I'm not sure): Many years ago I used to have a '73 Charger (318 engine, so no great shakes). Vinyl seats, nothing that you would ever think ever came from an animal. At some point it started running terribly in cold, wet weather and after changing nearly everything, plugs, wires, etc, etc, I decided to have the intake manifold "boiled out" (the crossover passages used to pre-heat the carb get plugged due to carbon buildup, which causes it to warm up too slowly, and you then get ice buildup in the throat of the carb due to the venturi effect and reduction of temp, and that would cover up the idle jet ports - at least I'm pretty sure that's what happened) and rebuild the carb while I was at it. I was amazed that the plunger at the end of the accelerator pump piston was a leather disk. Who would have ever guessed that? Buried deep inside this metal machine was a little bit of an animal!

[Octave]

so I got some Hammer Recoverite as a post-ride drink. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe I'm just getting into better shape, but it sure seems to have made a difference. I know they use whey protein in it, which of course comes from cow's milk (I switched to soy for my breakfast cereal) but it's nearly impossible to eliminate absolutely all animal products from your life, and I'm not a Nazi about it, so I live with that.

FWIW Vega makes a recovery drink that is equally effective, similarly priced and contains no animal products. Proteinfactory.com also allows you to custom design a post-workout powder with any source of protein (soy, oat, sweet potato..etc), plus carbs, flavors/sweeteners and whatever else you want. I've had solid success designing a pre-bed protein through them. As for recovery, I prefer to achieve the same nutrition as one of those drinks by doing a carb-heavy smoothie post-ride with some nuts. The fatigue is not due to protein, it's due to not replenishing glycogen stores; your glycogen-synthase window is about 90min post workout, that's when you want your carbs.

[Mabouya]

Thanks for the tip - I'll check them out.

FWIW Vega makes a recovery drink that is equally effective, similarly priced and contains no animal products. Proteinfactory.com also allows you to custom design a post-workout powder with any source of protein (soy, oat, sweet potato..etc), plus carbs, flavors/sweeteners and whatever else you want.

[blasdelf]

Random animal byproducts story (which I may have told here before, I'm not sure): Many years ago I used to have a '73 Charger (318 engine, so no great shakes). Vinyl seats, nothing that you would ever think ever came from an animal. At some point it started running terribly in cold, wet weather and after changing nearly everything, plugs, wires, etc, etc, I decided to have the intake manifold "boiled out" (the crossover passages used to pre-heat the carb get plugged due to carbon buildup, which causes it to warm up too slowly, and you then get ice buildup in the throat of the carb due to the venturi effect and reduction of temp, and that would cover up the idle jet ports - at least I'm pretty sure that's what happened) and rebuild the carb while I was at it. I was amazed that the plunger at the end of the accelerator pump piston was a leather disk. Who would have ever guessed that? Buried deep inside this metal machine was a little bit of an animal!

another classic example: Lubegard and the Whale | Mobile Dick

[Bkat]

...so I got some Hammer Recoverite as a post-ride drink. Maybe it's my imagination, or maybe I'm just getting into better shape, but it sure seems to have made a difference.

Funny you should say this. I keep pretty close track of my protein intake (a 4 oz serving of Upton's seitan has 30 grams of protein, btw) but tried Hammer vegan protein just for kicks post-ride. I started seeing my average speed tick upward and I wasn't feeling as beat up on long rides. So hearing someone else saying the same thing makes me think I may not be crazy. Can't say I love the taste, but it's not too bad.

[miwuksurfer]

Pulling this back on track- The Farm Cafe in Portland has the first veggie burger I've had that actually seemed worth the $11 (with fries or a salad). I have had many-a-$11 frozen patty. The eggplant based delight at the Farm did three things: filled me up, tasted like a delicious burger, and did not try to convince me it was beef (why would I be a vegetarian if I wanted all my food to remind me of meat?).

Have you guys read Eat and Run? It is a great book about endurance and has amazing vegan recipies to boot. The veggies patties are amazing.