I would be curious how your vegetarian readers deal with friends who are carnivores and feel the need to explain why meat is good.

I’m not even a vegetarian, but I experience negative energy when I order vegetarian meals at restaurants with friends. It’s funny to hear the childish responses–from otherwise very smart people!

For me personally, I suppose I’m pretty lucky that I don’t get such reactions too often (although I definitely got my share of ridicule in high school, when I first became a vegetarian).

But I do get them – especially people who react to the news of my vegetarianism with “I could NEVER live without meat” or something of that ilk followed by a description of how much they like steak. What I really want to say in response is “Firstly, of course you could live without meat, and secondly, no one asked you to.” But I usually try to be polite and interpret their ridiculous comments as just trying to make conversation, however awkwardly. I’m pretty forgiving when it comes to social awkwardness.

So, readers, tell us about your experiences. Do you get negative reactions to your vegetarian choices from friends or acquaintances? How do you handle them? Share your stories in the comments!

Post from: Blisstree

Reader question: how do you deal with rude meat-eaters?

For me personally, while I’d certainly prefer to be sitting at a meat-free table, I’m used to other people eating meat around me. Even my husband eats meat pretty regularly when we go out (although our home is pretty much completely vegetarian). So I’ve basically learned to ignore it. And since I live thousands of miles away from the rest of my family, I really don’t end up at large meat-based family dinners very often. I can put up with the sights and smells of a turkey carcass once every couple years, as long as nobody expects me to eat it (which, after 17 years, no one does).

How do you deal with family meals that involve meat?

Post from: Blisstree

Does it bother you when there’s meat on the table?

Not only does my November exhibition feature a few fruit paintings, but the opening reception was 100% vegetarian. Guests grazed at an abundant table of veggies, dips, spreads, chips, olives, cookies, grapes, salsa, bread, chocolate, crackers, and cheese. And you know what? No one even complained.

Post from: Blisstree

Vegetarian-friendly art

What’s so appealing about her approach is that it’s about friendly coaxing rather than angry militantism. You don’t get people to go veg*n by yelling at them about what bad people they are. Let the vegan cupcakes do the talking for you.

A couple weekends ago I brought a batch of vegan cupcakes to a brunch (at which I was the only vegetarian). They were the star attraction, and I was the recipient of much praise for my baking skills. Only towards the end did I even mention they were vegan. I didn’t set out to spread a message with my cupcakes, but I was proud that I had presented people with a delicious vegan food to try, and maybe opened their minds to vegan food just a little bit.

Do you actively try to convince others to go veg*n? What approaches do you use? What have you found successful?

Post from: Blisstree

Are you a culinary activist?

When I tell people I’m a vegetarian, it’s the men who often feel compelled to share that they “just couldn’t live without steak.” They say this loudly and proudly, as if they’ve somehow proven me wrong. As if I was asking them to stop eating it. As if we’re all supposed to be impressed by their manly love of devouring dead animals.

So what’s the deal? Does eating meat really make you more manly? It’s not new news that eating meat is not healthy :

Diets containing meat are usually higher in fat, particularly artery-damaging saturated fat, and higher in calories. Plant foods are less calorically dense and they are rich sources of vitamins, minerals, fiber and other plant substances that have been shown to lower cholesterol levels and protect against heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Is it manly to be overweight, or to have higher chances of diseases such as cancer and diabetes? Now I’m no manliness expert, but I’d say that a guy who takes care of his health is more attractive any day.

What do you think?

Post from: Blisstree

Real men eat broccoli

I’m proud to say my diet has improved a lot over time. The two main improvements I can think of are these:

1. I eat a lot less processed food. This is mainly because I have the time to prepare most of my meals myself these days. When I worked in New York, for example, I often ate frozen pre-packaged meals for lunch, or went out.
2. I eat fewer dairy products. This is a pretty recent development, basically since I tried veganism in January. I love cheese, but going vegan for three weeks showed me that I can eat a very satisfying and enjoyable diet without cheese. Now I eat cheese probably a couple times a week, rather than every day. Plus I have been eating it in smaller quantities. It’s nice to know that I’ve removed so much unhealthy fat from my diet without feeling deprived.

But just because I’ve improved doesn’t mean there’s not still room to make my diet even better. I’d like to try to eat more of a variety of species, and also to consume fewer calories per day (to finally shake these extra pounds I’m carrying around).

How is your diet looking these days? Better or worse than a couple years ago? What improvements could you make?

Post from: Blisstree

Are you eating better or worse than you used to?

Luckily, I don’t think I end up inconveniencing others too much. I try to not be too picky with restaurant choices, for example, especially when I know I’ll probably end up eating the same thing anywhere we choose to go. For the most part, friends and family are happy to make sure there’s something for me to eat, and are very accommodating as well. But the more I think about it, the more the odd vegetarian horror story springs to mind (particularly the one that I talked about in this post ).

How do you deal with this? Have you ever been in a situation where your vegetarianism has caused conflict?

Post from: Blisstree

Do you inconvenience others with your vegetarianism?

Usually when I travel, sampling the local cuisine is one of the highlights of the trip. I love trying all kinds of new foods, as long as they’re vegetarian. Therein lies the problem I’ve always had with French cuisine – it seems to think that meals must revolve around dead animals. I have scoured many a French menu, looking past the snails, the goose liver, the frogs, etc., only to find I’m again going to be eating a plain green salad and dessert (OK, at least the desserts are good).

Last week I headed off to France for a few days with a different approach. I chose restaurants based on their vegetarian offerings, rather than on their Frenchness. I found Italian, Indian, Vietnamese, and other non-French restaurants with multiple vegetarian dishes.

If you’re a bread and pastry person, by all means eat lots of those while in France. And the chocolate mousse there can’t be beat. But if you’re looking for vegetarian meals beyond a few baked goods and sweets, I highly recommend going for the ethnic food. Vive la difference!

Tags: dining, France, French food, restaurants, travel, vegetarian

Post from: Blisstree

I’ve discovered the key to good vegetarian dining in France!

Picture it: you’re the honored guest at a dinner party, food lovingly and proudly prepared by an adorable older Italian woman who keeps gushing about how excited she is to have you in her humble home. She proudly presents you with the first course, a regional specialty that the entire family has spent the last two days preparing. All eyes are on you, nervously hoping that you’re going to approve of their efforts. You look down at your plate to see mounds of fatty ground beef soaking in oily chicken broth, with a touch of homemade pasta floating around. WHAT DO YOU DO?

You non-vegetarians out there are probably thinking “what’s the big deal?” I want you to picture being served monkey brains, or goat testicles, or whatever other food that would totally disgust you to eat in the same scenario. In other words, a true culinary emergency.

Obviously, you’d hope to avoid such a situation entirely. Here are three basic ways how:

Whenever you plan to eat food that isn’t prepared by you, notify your host of your diet restrictions. Offer to bring your own food (hosts will turn this offer down 99% of the time and be happy to accommodate you).

If you’re unsure whether a restaurant will be able to accommodate your needs, look up their menu online (many restaurants have their menu on their website these days) or call and ask.

If you’re still not sure you’ll be able to get something to eat, bring along some veggie snacks just in case.

So back to our Italian banquet, which actually happened to me many years ago. Would you refuse to eat it? Tell them you’re a vegetarian and risk watching adorable little Italian lady drop dead of a broken heart on the spot? Hide it in your handbag? Run screaming out of their house and hop on the next plane to San Fransico? What would you do?

Post from: Blisstree

Emergency Preparedness: the non-veggie adventure

Today’s salad contained lamb’s breath lettuce, cherry tomatoes, red cabbage, cucumber, cooked beets, avocado, onion, and a sprinkling of flax seeds. I dressed it with some salt, fresh ground black pepper, white balsamic vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. Not the absolute best tasting salad I’ve ever made, but it really wasn’t bad. Plus all those vibrant colors mean I’m getting a whole lot of nutrition in every bite.

What’s your favorite stuff to put in salad?

Post from: Blisstree

How beautiful is my salad?