ASKme about being vegan

[rothko]

[ QUOTE ]

Next Monday, I am embarking on a diet to lose 30 lbs by Thanksgiving. People who tell me that's impossible or unhealthy have no idea how bad my intake is, from really unhealthy food all the time to lots of booze and beer.

That said, life is too short for me to eat the way you do, that just doesn't sound fun at all. I mean, I guess over the course of years I could get myself used to eating those sorts of things but yikes, not today. Good thread though, you are not annoying.

[/ QUOTE ]

tuq, i eat very well. lots of flavour and variety. in fact, i would venture that my meals are more exciting/exotic than most people's. i prepare dishes from many cultures and do not skimp on quality ingredients. i realize that it sounds boring: "steamed vegetables, oh . . . steak for me, thanks," but it's honestly not that simple.

some vegans eat in a boring way, yes, but it really isn't necessary.

granted, some people just don't want to give up certain things and that's really their choice. it's all about priorities. some people put food before health and some don't. some would rather eat whatever whenever and some would rather not have heart disease.

it's not like i've given up eating well. i've only given up certain things. i enjoy food more than ever. i haven't lost anything--only gained.

also, you don't have to be a nazi about it. it's not going to kill you to have something once in awhile. you can treat yourself from time to time and mack on some juicy flesh. the key really is moderation. people get caught up in the thinking of one or the other: either eat whatever whenever or nothing, but those aren't the only two options. simply cutting back will put you way ahead. our bodies can handle small doses of harmful things. it's when we overload them that they turn on us.

our tastes/desires are not hardwired. we can redirect our neural pathways. things that i thought i couldn't live without are now revolting to me. it's really not as much of a chore as we tell ourselves it will be.

even still, some just don't care and want to go all out. that's cool. it really doesn't matter too much in the end how you live your life. it's just a worthless blip on the cosmic radar anyway.

also, sometimes i don't eat anything and just do drugs all day. so you really can't say this is no fun.

[Ron Burgundy]

I'm not vegan but I generally don't like meat as much as other things. I'll sometimes go a few weeks or months of veganism without really noticing it. I really like to cook, and people seem shocked that I don't plan my meals around meats. They assume that without meat/cheese/butter that it's impossible to make food with any flavor.

They only think this because they've never given any thought to how to cook the vegetables. Most people (in the US at least) eat vegetables by forcing themselves to because they know it's healthy. So they end up throwing together some nasty overdressed boring salad or some vegetables that have been cooked to death. All the flavor gets destroyed.

If you can cook reasonably well and plan the meal around grains and veggies, you can make some really good [censored]. It's funny how when I go to other people's houses, the veggies are usually terrible. No one ever talks about the veg dish, they just pass it around and eat it because they're mother always told them to eat some veg at dinner. But if I make something, like some stir-fried brussels sprouts, people are always like "holy [censored] this is awesome! And I've never liked brussels sprouts before!" And they look at me like I just turned my own poop into gold.

[rothko]

ron,

that is so true. often, if i go to someone's house and they know i don't eat meat they will prepare something for me. it can be pretty unbearable. it's no wonder that people think being a vegetarian would be awful, they have no idea how good our food can be.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm not vegan but I generally don't like meat as much as other things. I'll sometimes go a few weeks or months of veganism without really noticing it. I really like to cook, and people seem shocked that I don't plan my meals around meats. They assume that without meat/cheese/butter that it's impossible to make food with any flavor.

They only think this because they've never given any thought to how to cook the vegetables. Most people (in the US at least) eat vegetables by forcing themselves to because they know it's healthy. So they end up throwing together some nasty overdressed boring salad or some vegetables that have been cooked to death. All the flavor gets destroyed.

If you can cook reasonably well and plan the meal around grains and veggies, you can make some really good [censored]. It's funny how when I go to other people's houses, the veggies are usually terrible. No one ever talks about the veg dish, they just pass it around and eat it because they're mother always told them to eat some veg at dinner. But if I make something, like some stir-fried brussels sprouts, people are always like "holy [censored] this is awesome! And I've never liked brussels sprouts before!" And they look at me like I just turned my own poop into gold.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think a lot of Americans are like me; they don't really know their way around a spice rack at all. And they aren't very experimental. Just came to mind -- a Simpsons's episode where Marge gets complimented on her cooking and says with somewhat cagey pride, "You might say the secret ingredient is ... salt!"

And then there's the huge world of foreign spices and flavors to explore. And the European heritage of destroying flavor by not only boiling everything but doing it for an indifferent amount of time. Add that to our general lack of knowledge and interest about spices, and you don't get a lot of good cooking of vegetables out there.