Easter and my beef with vegetarians: "Vegetarians are a selfish and self-righteous people. God save us from them!"

I found this rant about vegetarians from Franklin Johnston of the Jamaica Observer (scroll down a bit). He writes: "Vegetarians are a selfish and self-righteous people. God save us from them! Or have I met the wrong lot?"

I wonder how many vegetarians he based this observation on. He writes: "Now for my rant on vegetarians.

"Why are vegetarians intolerant exhibitionists who think they are better than those who eat meat? Meat eaters never advertise themselves or impose their choices, vegetarians feel the need to flaunt their food choices and lecture us. Why?"

Not happy with offending people because of what they eat, he starts on people's sexuality. He says: "They are like exhibitionist gay people - in your face! Why do I have to know you are vegetarian? Why announce it? Just live it!"

The mindless drivel goes on and on. If you're interested the article is here but I warn you he's an absolute idiot.

Irish recipes: St Patrick's Day vegetarian style (of course Guinness is involved)

I know it's really about Guinness and dancing but I thought I'd gather together a few traditional St Patrick's Day recipes - vegetarian style.

The vegetarian society website have a few good ones as well as other sites. I've never cooked for St Patrick's Day but I might try making the Guinness and Tofu stew.

- COLCANNON which involves potatoes and cabbage

- VEGGIE POT PIE> which is also gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and vegan

- CHAMP which involves onion and (more) potatoes

- MOCK 'CORNED BEEF' AND CABBAGE this looks really tasty

- ST PATRICK'S SOUP which involves lots of veg and oatmeal

- BOXTY this has cooked AND raw potatoes involved

- VEGGIE SHEPHERD'S PIE bit of a complicated recipe but looks like it could be worth it

- IRISH COFFEE one of my favourites

- GUINNESS AND TOFU STEW I really want to try this one

If you've got any St Patrick's Day recipes send them to me and I'll add them to the list...x

REVIEW: Aldo Zilli's vegetarian restaurant: Zilli Green

I blogged a couple of months ago about celebrity chef Aldo Zilli opening a vegetarian restaurant.

Well, it's open and I just read the Guardian review. Oh dear, things don't look good.

Guardian reviewer Matthew Norman wrote: "In so many regards is Zilli Green a total shocker that it's hard to know where to begin. "

However, after a bit of searching I found another review which describes the food at Zilli Green as delicious, superb and generous in quantity.

Sounds like you've just got to try it yourself.

Twlight Saga: Eclipse trailer with vegetarian vampires Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart

It's finally here!!! The first Eclipse trailer. I hang my 27-year-old head in shame as I admit I'm a closet age-inappropriate Twihard. I'm ashamed even to use the word "Twihard".

The story of my addiction is a sad tale and there is no hope of recovery.

I let the Twilight film pass me by completely when it came out all those years ago. I imagined a teenage rom com which would make me feel 100 years old. Here's the Twilight trailer (a little treat to break up this blog post)



Then my sister booked a "girly bonding" trip to the movies. She booked New Moon tickets and the rest is (a very sorry) history. I borrowed the Twilight DVD before going to see New Moon. I watched it. I watched it again (within two days.) Ouch. And then I went to see New Moon (the same day)...(double ouch.)

The vampire/werewolf/human love triangle tickled a giggly girly part of me deep down which remembered the Point Romance books I'd read 12 years ago (only girls will remember that series of books) and undeniably female things like that

I think that's part of it: it's a "girl thing". The cinema is full of girls....and more shockingly...many women. It somehow spans age (just like vampires and werewolves!!!!)

It's something you feel only girls can understand. Having two beautiful, buff, supernatural men fighting over you when you're so plain, boring...normal.

Here's the New Moon trailer to complete the set so far (thank god we still have the fourth book Breaking Dawn to come in movie format):



I'm relatively well read, I studied English literature for five years at university, I have bulging bookshelves but I have (shamefully) bought and devoured the Twilight books.

I wouldn't recommed anyone to read them. They are not books to pass down the generations. They are like drinking a whole bottle of wine. You really shouldn't do it and you would never advise anyone else to do it however sometimes, just sometimes, you can't help but do it (even if it kills brain cells).

Serious health warning: don't do it. (But if you do...ENJOY!)

Vegetarianism and athletics: Baseball star Prince Fielder on being a veggie

I blogged the other day about winter olympics medalist Hannah Teter and how she was a vegetarian.

It seemed, from the comments I got back off people, they really enjoyed reading about vegetarianism and athletics.

As a result I thought I'd mention this article I saw on this dish is vegetarian.

The article is about baseball star Prince Fielder and how he changed to a vegetarian diet.

He appears to smash any myths about vegetarians being meek and lacking energy. Hooray.

Here's the article.

Why Eating Meat-Shaped Vegetarian Food Is Like Having Sex with a Blow-up Doll: Anneli Rufus

I found THIS article. It likens eating meat-shaped food to having sex with a blow-up doll. Have a read for yourself (here). It's really long so I skimmed through the last bit but certain parts are interesting.

The whole blow-up doll/sex is a little gratuitous and probably designed to achieve more hits but it gets his message across.

I don't have a problem with meat-like vegetarian products. I use veggie mince, chicken-style pieces, sausages, burgers, chicken-style fillets, the lot.



I live with a meat-eater and these products make life so much easier. If he's having spag bol we use the same sauce but whack beef in his saucepan and veggie mince in mine.

Separate out the pasta and voila! Also works brilliantly with the chicken pieces making curry, stir fry, everything.

One of the most interesting "substitutes" I've had was aromatic mock duck pancakes at the Pacifica Chinese restaurant in St Helens.

On the menu it's described as: "Made from wheat gluten and deep fried until crispy, to be rolled in pancakes with hoi sin sauce and salad."

When it arrived I had to shread it like real duck. That bit felt unnecessary but it was tasty and full points to the restaurant for the veggie choice.

I think meat-shaped products are only a problem to vegetarians who are making some kind of moral (nobler/purer/kinder than carnivores as Anneli Rufus puts it) statement.

The rest of us just think of it as a convenient way to get some lovely protein. Attaching any kind of guilt to food is never helpful nor healthy.

Eat healthily and happily.

Hollywood celebrity Drew Barrymore says being a vegetarian makes her a "picky eater"

BEAUTIFUL Drew Barrymore has said being a vegetarian makes her a fussy eater.

I absolutely and completely disagree with the idea that people are fussy eaters simply because they are vegetarians.

According to ABS CBN News she said: "I'm a bit of a picky eater, but that's because I'm a vegetarian.

"I'm like a typical American teenager when it comes to my favorite foods! I love peanut butter with bananas. That's my favorite. I like grilled cheese sandwiches and I love homemade macaroni with cheese."

I'm a vegetarian and I'm a million times less fussy than most meat eaters I know. I will eat anything but meat and fish.

Surely that makes me a very unfussy eater and I bet there are tons of vegetarians just the same.

Surely people who think of vegetarians as fussy have a lack of culinary imagination.

End of rant. Back to work.

Ps. Read the whole Drew Barrymore article here

BOOK: The Butcher and the Vegetarian by Tara Austen Weaver

A Google alert popped up in my email saying: "A vegetarian goes over to the dark (meat) side."

I was intrigued.

The link led to a (slightly boring) Q&A with Tara Austen Weaver who gave up being a vegetarian when her holistic doctor suggeted she eat meat for health reasons. (Read the Q&A here)

She had been a veggie all her life. In her book she describes what it was like beginning to eat meat. This includes enjoying barbecued bacon and "meat hangovers"

The blurb on the book reads: "One Woman's Romp through a World of Men, Meat and Moral Crisis." This put me off. It makes it sound like some kind of Sex in the City meets the Bible meets a cook book.

Maybe it's just me. I hate it when people connect vegetarianism with morality. It's a personal choice about diet not some kind of religious superiority to those who eat meat.

I haven't read the book so I won't judge it. It might be fantastic...just with a rubbish blurb. Either way it'd be interesting to read about the effects of eating meat on the body and mind of a life-long vegetarian.

Check out Tara's website and blog.

McDonald's hope veggie burger and coffee will spur growth in Germany

McDonald's in Germany is apparently re-introducing the veggie burger to attract more women customers.

They think fresh food is more likely to bring in the female fast food lovers.

It will be made from potatoes, peppers and carrots. Although the Veggie Deluxe fills a guilty hole, I always liked the Quorn Premiere far more but according to a website I've found (Makeupyourownmind) there wasn't enough demand for it.

The website claims "The site has been set up for you to find out anything you would like to know about McDonald’s food, business, people and practices."

People ask questions and get them answered. Here's the answers on the Quorn Premiere and the Veggie Deluxe.

I haven't had a McDonald's for ages but the last thing I had involved chickpeas and an odd sauce. It helped ease a hangover but I won't be rushing back for another.

The Spicy Veggie Deli sandwich was good but didn't satisfy burger-cravings even though it was probably as laden with sugar and fat. (After a quick bit of research, I learn it contains 555 calories and 21g of fat - find out what the nutritional value of your McDonald's favourites here.)

My message has to be..

...BRING BACK THE QUORN PREMIERE!!!

I'm a Celebrity...king of the jungle celebrity chef Gino D'Acampo's vegetarian Eggs with Mediterranean Vegetables in Tomato Sauce recipe so good

As I've said before, I'm no cook. However, I'm trying at the moment because I'm doing that "low carb" diet again so bunging noodles in the microwave just won't cut it.

I found this brill recipe in Gino D'Acampo's book Fantastico! (£8.31 on Amazon)

It's called Eggs with Mediterranean Vegetables in Tomato Sauce (not exactly inventive) and is super easy, especially with my cheeky cheap cheat.

Instead of messing with all the fresh vegetables (because I was busy not lazy...honest) I got a tin of organic vegetables, which worked great. (I'm sure fresh veg is nicer and healthier though.) Anyway...enough chatting..here's the recipe from Gino's website.

But first...here are pictures of my attempt. Doesn't look too bad? It was really filling and super tasty. I recommed it.

Eggs with Mediterranean Vegetables in Tomato Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
3 medium courgettes, roughly chopped
1 large yellow pepper, roughly chopped
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
5 fresh basil leaves
50g pitted Kalamata olives
4 medium eggs
70g freshly grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion, courgettes and pepper until soft and browned, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper, add in the tomatoes, basil and olives. Cook, uncovered, over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until the water from the tomatoes is well reduced.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill. Make four slight hollows in the tomato mixture and very gently break one egg into each. Sprinkle over the cheese and cook under the grill for about 10 minutes or until the eggs are set as you like them.

Serve immediately with warm crusty bread. (Not so great on the low carb diet but nevermind.)

Enjoy x

Aldo Zilli relaunches Soho restaurant Signor Zilli as purely vegetarian after Celebrity Fit Club experience

CHEF Aldo Zilli is apparently relaunching his Soho restaurant as a vegetarian venture.

The award-winning Italian chef will open Zilli Green in Soho on February 14 after being inspired by his time on Celebrity Fit Club to have a new lifestyle.

He said: "Before going on Celebrity Fit Club a few years ago I decided that I wanted a new lifestyle and a new way of looking at food.

"The programme inspired me to alter the focus of my cooking with new ingredients and different patterns of eating.

"This year marks my 30th anniversary as one of Soho's original restaurateurs. At the time, I brought a fresh new approach to eating Italian food to London and I want to mark this anniversary with an equally exciting new approach to a fresh and healthy way of life for everyone to enjoy."



Although I think it's brilliant such a high-profile chef is bringing vegetarian food into the spotlight, it sometimes annoys me people assume a vegetarian lifestyle is "the healthy option."

I remember being on an American flight as a child - when everyone got a ready salted bag of crisps as a snack, I was handed a stick of celery.

I do, however, like how Zilli focuses on how tasty vegetarian food can be. He said: "...vegetarian food doesn't have to be dull or tasteless - but exciting and delicious with quirky flavours and combinations."

Starter dishes (from £3.50) include Beetroot Lasagna with Dandelion & Rocket Salad; Jerusalem Artichoke Tart with Goats Cheese, Fig & Grape Chutney; and Red Lentil & Barley Soup.

Pasta dishes (£6.00) include Pumpkin ravioli with Butter, Sage and Nutmeg Sauce; Artichoke and Smoked Mozzarella Risotto with Toasted Sunflower Seeds; and Black truffle lasagne.

Other mains include, Lentil Cake with Steamed Baby Vegetables, Fried Fennel and Beetroot Oil; Marinated Seared Tofu with Asian Salad and Miso Soup; Thai Curry with Quinoa & Blood Orange Chutney; and Purple Sprouting Broccoli & Oyster Mushroom Tempura as well as a Daily Roast.

I particularly fancy the Jerusalem Artichoke Tart with Goats Cheese and...well...all the mains. Check out the whole menu for yourself.

Vegetarianism isn't a moral choice for me. I love going to veggie restaurants because I can completely relax about what I'm eating, I know my food hasn't been cut with the wrong knife in the kitchen or touched something non-veggie.

However, vegetarian restaurants should not be held up as somehow better or healthier or more moral than other eateries. They are simply another choice, as is being a vegetarian.

Vegetarian Christmas present ideas: sweets, Haribo, vegan marshmallows and more

Well, I've been rubbish at updating the blog. I have no excuses but will make it up with loads of interesting posts about tasty veggie treats.

Today it's the wonder of sweeties. As I may have said before, I've been a vegetarian since I was four so I don't "miss" meat and animal products in the way a more recent veggie might. One thing I do wish I could have is jelly sweets, marshmallows and other sugary naughtiness.

A friend from work did a bit of Googling and found me these websites:

Sweet Vegan

Sweet Vegan will be sending out Christmas orders up to December 21st. They appear to sell four products: vanilla marshmallows, coconut marshmallows (both £4.99 for 200g), mint hot chocolate and hot chocolate (both £4.95 for 300g).

Although there aren't a lot of products to choose from, the marshmallows are handmade and look like they'd make nice gifts. (Let's hope the boyfriend's reading this!!!) Next site is...


Scrumptious Sweets

This site sells classics like cola cubes, jelly beans and fizzy fangs.

There are tons of sweets to choose from and best of all they have Christmas gift packs including Deluxe Organic Vegetarian and Vegan Xmas Fondue Gift Box (£75) and a Fruit Sweet Treats in a Mug (£19.99) plus many more.

Gift packs range in price from £9.99 to the Exclusive Christmas Gift Hamper for a whopping £95 but it does include:

Exclusive Chocolate Fondue set.
Vegan 'Free From' Chocolate.
Vegan & Vegetarian Vanilla Marshmallows.
Vegan & Vegetarian Coconut Marshmallows.
Vegan & Vegetarian Cinnamon Pecan Marshmallows.
Vegan & Vegetraian Marshmallows Ghost.
Vegan & Vegetrian Peanut butter Smores
vegan & Vegetarian Rocky road.
Vegan & Vegetarian Organic Sour Fruit Drops.
Vegan & Organic Sweet Fruit drops.
Vegan & Vegeatrian Herbs and fruit Drops.
Vegan & Vegetarian Peppermint and Eucalytus Drops.
Jar of Vegan Organic Sugar Jelly Bears.
Jar of Vegan Organic Jelly Sour Worms.
Jar of Vegan Organic Oranges & Lemons Fruit Slices.
Luxury Gift Box or Hamper.
Personal Greeting card.
FREE DELIVERY to anywhere in the UK!

Sweetie World

No fancy gift sets on this site but lots and lots of choice from Wham bars to Raspberry Millions.

You can order up to December 22nd for Christmas and as a nice bonus £1 from every order made between the 16th-22nd December gets donated to charity Crisis.

There are loads more veggie sweeties site but I thought these three were quite different. If you're only going to look at one, I recommend Scrumptious Sweets for their gift sets.

Enjoy

The American Dietic Association says vegetarian and vegan diets are healthy

The American Dietic Association has announced that following a vegetarian/ vegan diet can be healthy.

In the July 2009 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, it said: “It is the position of the American Dietetic Association that appropriately planned vegetarian diets, including vegetarian or vegan diets, are healthful, nutritionally adequate and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.

"Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life-cycle including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence and for athletes.”

Read VegBang.com's fuller article.

Wonderful vegetarian soup, salad and sandwich bar in Liverpool city centre: Soupernatural

Work is really busy today but just wanted to put a quick note on about a lovely veggie eaterie I found on my lunch. It's called Soupernatural and it's on Rumford Street in Liverpool city centre.


View Rumford St in a larger map

It's mainly a take away but has a few chairs and tables to eat in if you want. I had a "help-yourself" salad - pasta, cous cous, olives, houmous, etc etc etc. My other half had Italian vegetable soup and a cheese toastie. It was all obviously homemade and delicious. All this food plus two juices and a huge portion of veggie sushi only came to £10.


When I googled Soupernatural, I found this picture of the woman who served me and here's a link to an interview with her I found on a business website.

Her background and story are interesting. Worth a read. Anyway....I have to get back to work now.

Are vegetarians who don't drink enough milk more prone to brain strokes?

I came across this article today - it's a bit scary. It's about how vegetarians are more prone to brain strokes because we get less vitamin B-12.

A neurologist did a study of 460 cases of brain strokes and 80% were vegetarians who did not drink milk.

I don't really drink milk. I only have it in tea and I only have about five cups of tea a day.

Here's the Food Standards Agency info page on milk.

Right I'm off to the fridge for a large glass of the white stuff.

Ps. enjoy the Accrington Stanley Ad from the 1980s.

Public school offer fees discount for vegetarian students

A public school, which costs £15,000 a year to attend, offered students a 10% discount in fees if they take up the Vegetarian Scholarship.

The Telegraph reported the story .

I'm not sure whether I agree with trying to bribe youngsters into making a decision on their diet. As long as people are healthy then they should be left to eat what they what.

A financial incentive not to eat meat seems an awful idea and shouldn't be allowed. Guilt should never be attached to food and having a "special" prize for eating a certain way is bound to affect how those without the prize feel about what they eat.

The article says students at Wycliffe College aren't interested and I'm glad. Let's hope no parents try to influence them to get a cut in fees.

Non-dairy vegetarian diets versus Amanda Cross' low Gi diet

Found this blog called Pace and Kyeli while messing about on the internet.

It's about a couple of people who are trying to be non-dairy vegetarians for three months. The writer, Pace, says some interesting things about cheese - When I stopped eating dairy, I felt better, more clear-headed, more compassionate, and I had more energy."

I have to disagree with this completely. I recently decided to lose weight and struggled to find a diet to suit me. Weight Watchers was ok but working out all the points could be a nightmare.

Slimmers' World was rubbish for me because red days (where you lose the most weight) are difficult when they advised so much meat.


I settled on Amanda Cross's low GI diet book . It was tough at first because I got headaches and fatigue but after a while I felt a lot better. It was amazing how much energy I had from eating such high levels of protein.

It was really difficult to eat as much as the diet required but I would recommend it to fellow vegetarians. High protein definitely made me feel better - less bloated, chubby and stodgy.

One last thing - I now find that if I eat something like pasta then I crave it for days afterwards but if I avoid it I can live without it easily.

Wall Street trader suing boss over vegetarian homo comment claim

This story is all over the internet but here's My Fox's coverage or read Daily News' article here:

A Wall Street trader is suing his former employer over allegations that his vegetarianism led his ex-boss to repeatedly accuse him of being gay and to eventually fire him.

According to a New York Daily News report, Ryan Pacifico claims that his former boss at the American office of French financial firm Calyon called him a "vegetarian homo" when another trader wondered what Pacifico would eat at a company outing at a steakhouse, and reacted to Pacifico's vegetarianism by asking, "At what point in time did you realize you were gay?"

Pacifico is not gay, and says that he served steak to guests at his wedding.

The suit also alleges that Pacifico's former boss made a point of only ordering hamburgers and pizza with meat toppings for weekly team lunches, and that the firm manufactured reasons to fire Pacifico when the real reason was his boss' perception that he was gay, the New York Post reports.

Outburst at "obnoxious" vegetarians is uncalled for

I had to post a link to this article.

"Meanest Mom" reckons you can tell a vegetarian at a party because they are the ones "asking about the ingredients of everything on the buffet table and making little throw up noises when you take a bite of your chicken satay."

What an idiot? How can she talk about vegetarians as a whole? She obviously socialises with very ignorant, rude people.

Her point about restaurants not having to have options for vegetarians is so old fashioned. For God sake - get with the times.

I also get vexed by veggies who try to impose their choices on others but I'm not rude about it and I don't make "little throw up" noises. I find people are interested in why I'm a vegetarian so if they ask, I'll tell them but otherwise I keep it to myself.

Vegetarian Christmas Nut Roast

Here's the Christmas Nut Roast I posted the recipe for on December 14. Mum made it as always and it was fab.

Fed six of us - five of them were meat-eaters and were completely happy not having turkey on Christmas Day.

Mum just popped slices of mushroom on the top for decoration.

We had carrots, roast potatoes and red cabbage with it. Everything was lovely.


Here are a few more recipes for nut roasts that I've found. Not tried them but they look nice.

Vegetarian Nut Roast

Australian Nut Roast

Basic Vegan Nut Roast

Cashew Nut Roast

Let me know if they're any good x