The Vegetable Garden Visualize whirled peas...

Yeah, a vegetable garden. I have a greenhouse off the back of the Shell.

People seem to have a lot of mistaken ideas about vegetarians. We aren't all preachy "veganazis" who will expound for hours if you order a steak for dinner. We aren't all granola-eating unwashed hippies. We aren't all malnourished or anemic. We do eat protein. I have to believe that these stereotypes are held because many folks just don't know vegetarians. I'd hate to think that the majority of veggie lovers are really like that.

Why are you a vegetarian? Are you a vegan?

I'm getting in touch with my inner turtle. Oh, you wanted the real reasons?

I am a vegetarian because it's a healthier way to eat, provided you eat a balanced variety of foods. There are too many chemicals and hormones in meats today due to the way animals are factory farmed. Plus, it cuts a lot of cholesterol out of my diet. I also disapprove of the conditions on factory farms. They're harmful for the environment, harmful to people who live nearby, and extremely cruel to animals. I don't want my food to be tortured before I eat it. Occasionally, however, I give in to my meat cravings. Unprincipled, maybe, but to not admit that is even worse.

I eat eggs and dairy products on a regular basis, and yes, those animals are factory farmed as well. However, I do choose organic eggs and dairy much of the time, and buy from companies who eschew factory farming whenever possible. I pay a bit more, but my conscience doesn't twinge when I eat my yogurt. Stonyfield Farms and Horizon Organic are two such companies, and their products can be found in most large supermarkets.

Vegans, incidentally, are more stringent than vegetarians. Diet-wise, they normally don't eat any animal products (eggs, cheese, honey, animal fats, etc). There's also a lifestyle component to veganism that ties more into animal rights politics... choosing to not wear furs or leather, to only buy cruelty-free cosmetics, etc. Personally, I don't buy leather any longer, have never bought fur, buy cruelty-free products whenever possible, and attempt to only give to charities that do not support animal testing.

I know someone who was vegetarian, and they got really sick...

Go back and ask them what they ate when they were off meat. Chances are they either didn't eat a balanced diet (all salads, no proteins). Or they had pre-existing dietary problems that were exacerbated by going off meat. Or they have some sort of food allergy they weren't aware of. Even the USDA admits these days that a vegetarian diet is healthy. It takes a bit more work to get all the nutrients in, but I believe it's worth it.

So what do you eat besides salads? How do you get protein?

There are tons of vegetarian website that can explain the nutritional intricacies better than I could. I recommend the Vegetarian Resource Group's site for food info without animal rights politics tossed in.

Personally, I eat a lot of veggie burgers and meat substitutes to get my protein. I can also get that from dairy products. I highly recommend trying Boca Burger's Italian Sausages, Morningstar Farms Buffalo Wings, and anything by Gardenburger. The sausages were recommended to me by my mostly meat-eating best friend, and the wings are nice and spicy, with a firm chickeneqsue texture. Gardenburger puts out several styles of burger that aren't meat-flavored at all; my favorite is the fire roasted vegetable style. All three lines offer several sorts of chicken substitutes. Gardenburger also offers vegetarian barbequed riblets.

I also eat meatless pasta dishes (eggplant parmesan!), hummus sandwiches, peanut butter, tofu... oh, I could go on and on. There are also several good lines of vegetarian frozen dinners, including my favorite, Amy's Kitchen.  Most large grocery stores carry some sorts of frozen vegetarian options. They're a bit more expensive than your average meat-laden dinner, but so very much better.

I still have some questions...

Well, there are tons of vegetarian websites out there that will answer them, depending on what you're looking for. Want more recipes? Try the Vegetarian Times. Want to know more about the health benefits of vegetarianism? Try the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine. Curious about veganism? Check out Compassion over Killing. Interested in animal rights? Surf to Peta's site.

These links, and some of the links at the Coffee Bar, should be enough to get you started.

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