[slimmingsi]

So last year and this year I have gone veggie for January. why well firstly last year it was a challenge. something hard but its only for a month so most of us can put up with it for a set period of time.

Last year I kinda really failed miserably in being a proper veggie. by that I don't mean I ate meat, I mean I ended up relying on premade microwave veggie meals and the drive thru veggie options.

This year I think I cracked it. yes I've still had the odd veggie burger, the odd veggie pizza ( I begrudge paying for a dominos with no meat!)

one of our favourites this month has been a puff pastry bake, ready to roll puff sheet. roll it out. score the edges about 1cm (1/2") in all the way around. smother the area inside the score with a full tub of quark, lay into the quartk a dozen asparagus spears. sprinkle over that pre diced peppers and onion with mushroom.

Bake in the oven on 200c ( I think its just under 400f) for around 20mins and serve.

will I carry on with the veggism after the month. probably not. I miss fish too much. I find it really restrictive if I'm out of the house. I will probably be a semi veggie. i.e i'll probably eat veggie for 90+% of the time and have the odd bit of fish or chicken.

I don't like the label veggie as it really adds mythical barriers to your food options based mainly on what other people deem it should be.

[Mrs Snark]

I always find it weird when non-vegetarians want to come tell vegetarians how restrictive their chosen way of eating is. I don't mean to be rude, I just am always surprised when someone comes specifically to the Vegetarian Chicks forum to say something negative about being an actual vegetarian.

I find the world in general pretty unfriendly to my style of eating, sadly. I never spend any time in the non-vegetarian areas discussing my feelings about non-vegetarian diets, because that would be kinda rude I think. And I like to be supportive.

It's nice that you enjoy eating lots of vegetables, though. I do also, though I eat alot of convenience foods because I'm a lame cook.

[JayZeeJay]

It depends so much on where you live. I'm in sunny (too sunny, and dry) California with fresh produce in abundance in my garden, in the markets, in the stores - all for very little money. Restaurants are usually no problem, it's easy to request no cheese, no butter etc. But, I've lived other places where this is far from true. There are places where veg*n people have to work a little harder at it, and put up with a bit more repetition of food at home and restriction of their eating-out options.

I will say though, I do think it is a worthy "challenge" - and the challenge is mostly when you first start. After 22 years of it, I certainly don't struggle to come up with ideas for dinner.

[slimmingsi]

it is a challenge to do it for a month, as for the first comment of coming on here to say something negative I'm not telling you your way of life is too restrictive. I said I found it too restrictive out of the house. 99% of the time I found things fine. however I found being out of the house for an unplanned meal, i.e out in town and get caught out longer than expected with nothing on me. Normally I would drop in and pick up a sandwich from a store however at the moment where I am its really not possible as the only true veggie option is egg or cheese and onion and I don't eat white bread so find myself either going hungry paying through the nose for and apple or banana. (seriously try being 1 banana at a café you'll pay the same as for a full bunch at a supermarket)

Cooking at home is very easy, I enjoy cooking. eating at restaurants I havn't bothered trying I looked at a few online menus and the choice was 1 dish out of a dozen which in all cases was massively over priced.

I was implying that I'm happy to continue most of the time however I will resort to eating fish now and again. If you think that I've said something negative about your choices I suggest you reread what I put from ground level not on your high horse.

[Mrs Snark]

I re-read what you wrote (in both posts), and I'm not on a "high horse" (and if I was, I wouldn't eat an odd bit of her either), so we'll just have to disagree.

Perhaps I'm over-sensitive to people talking about eating animals in the Vegetarian Chicks forum, the one place it might be nice not to talk about that. I'll spank myself later for being such a cry baby over it, I understand that other people don't necessarily understand.

[Mossy]

[Mrs Snark]

That is super sweet Mossy, and you're entirely too complimentary, really. And I know very well that this whole forum isn't about veg*nism, so it isn't hard to be a part of this great community at all. Nobody has to fight anybody over any particular philosophy or beliefs.

Seriously, I was just being oversensitive because this forum is generally so quiet and then I see a post and get excited but then at the end of it the person mentions how they are going to eat fish and chicken and I'm just so disappointed and then I write a pretty cranky post because I was having a super cranky day and really, that's all there is to it.

Just me being cranky.

I do apologize to slimmingsi for being cranky about her post. I'm generally not so cranky, and I didn't mean it personally, and it didn't come from a place of judging her philosophy or eating style (I wish my own husband was like 90% vegetarian, he's not even close!), it just came from a place of momentary cranky disappointment.

Plus, I learned what quark was (never heard of that).

[slimmingsi]

None taken, although cranky about her post should be cranky about HIS post.

Glad you now know what quark is, not great to eat on its own but pretty versatile in mashed potatoes and as a basis for sauces or dips.

[Mossy]