It's not easy being green...

[graculus]

I'm a vegetarian. I have been for well over 10 years now, as far as I can reckon. So you'd think by now I'd have a pat answer to the inevitable question, "So, what do you eat?", wouldn't you?

Maybe it's just that it's kind of dumb. I mean, nobody asks meat eaters if they prefer lamb to pork, unless they're actually sitting down with a menu in their hands. No, I don't eat fish or shellfish. Yes, I do eat (free range) eggs and as much dairy produce as I can manage. I could never be a vegan because I'd die without cheese at least once a day. ;)

Other than that, the world is my (mock) oyster. There's an almost infinite variety of things to eat that doesn't involve something with a face meeting its maker. Not that I go round telling people who do eat meat that they can't, because I think that sucks, but I no longer see the attraction.

I don't miss bacon sandwiches, as I know many vegetarians do, or sausages. If anything, given the opportunity for a guilt-free relapse, my dish of choice would probably be moules mariniere made with a shedload of garlic.

Tonight? Well, tonight was home-made mushroom and courgette risotto, actually. And tomorrow will probably be mock toad with brussel sprouts and peas. Or maybe spinach dhal. Or pasta with home-made garlic and mushroom sauce. Or curried rice and peas. Or vegetable pizza. Get the picture? ;)

Comments

[emony.livejournal.com]

So you'd think by now I'd have a pat answer to the inevitable question, "So, what do you eat?", wouldn't you?

I hate that question. My pat answer is usually "mind your own f***ing business", but that doesn't tend to go down too well.

[mer1973.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's just that it's kind of dumb. I mean, nobody asks meat eaters if they prefer lamb to pork, unless they're actually sitting down with a menu in their hands.
I put it down to something between curiousity and rudeness. Curiousity, because they want to know just what you eat and how you eat. People do want to understand things like keeping kosher and being a vegetarian. It often crosses the line to rudeness, because they assume it's any of their business. Unless someone is cooking for you cooking for you, it's really not their concern.

[moonlettuce.livejournal.com]

The reply I've started giving to tha question is "Small children. And the occassional midget." And then I just walk away.

[xochiquetzl]

I try to be patient, but... *sigh*

If I were going to have a relapse, it'd probably be fish, or some other kind of seafood. But I don't really miss that any more, either.

Oh! and...

[xochiquetzl]

The thing I hate is when people have to tell me at length that they could never be a vegetarian, nope, not them, they love their beef/chicken/steak/burger too much to ever live without them, nope, not them, nope...

I never said you should! Oy!!!! Usually I just smile and nod patiently until they subside.

[captain-tiv.livejournal.com]

I'm a vegetarian. I have been for well over 10 years now, as far as I can reckon. So you'd think by now I'd have a pat answer to the inevitable question, "So, what do you eat?", wouldn't you?

A friend of mine used to say, "I eat carrots. Lots and lots of carrots. Look what they did for Bugs Bunny's career."

[innocent-lex.livejournal.com]

I have a theory about vegetables due to the question asked: "Do you eat fish and seafood?" It confused me for a while, because they're animals. But then I figured it out - there are vegetarians, then there are vegetarians that eat things that swim. So it means anything that swims is a vegetable. Ergo, small children do actually fit the category.