Your Questions Answered: Eating My Greens Edition, Part I

Last week I posted about being a vegetarian and y'all had some questions. Here's the first set of answers.

Pamela and Mel asked:

Do you eat fish or seafood at all?

No. But, actually, I didn't eat fish or seafood prior to becoming a vegetarian either. I have mild ichthyophobia, fear of fish, so fish generally gross me out.

Sara asked:

What do you do at summer b-b-ques where the main dish is usually meat?

A few weeks ago we surprised some of our friends by showing up at a backyard birthday party they were hosting. We didn't intend for it to be a surprise--in fact, we texted our RSVP and the host even texted back that he had beer chilling in the fridge for Will. But while we were totally serious, they thought we were only joking, that there was no way that we would drive a few hundred miles for an afternoon birthday bash. When we showed up at the door, they were all, like, WHAT? WE TOTALLY THOUGHT YOU WERE JOKING! And then they were like YAY! YOU'RE HERE! And then they were like, OH HOLY HELL. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO FEED YOU?

You see, they were barbequeing carne asada for the party, a big pile of meat which I didn't eat any of, obviously. But here is what I did eat: tortillas, salsa, guacamole, beans, salad, olives, cupcakes, and apple pie. Oh, and several margaritas. In other words: everything except the meat.

Janet asked:

Do you eat a lot of soy products?

We drink a lot of soy milk, which we buy by the case at Costco. We also occasionally eat fake meat products, although I don't really feel the need to substitute real meat with fake meat. I'd rather just have no meat rather than pretend to have meat by buying things called "sausage" and "ribs" but actually not sausage and ribs at all.

Soy cheese is disgusting. Like, really gross.

Rachel asked:

Do you have any recommendations for finding a good nutritionist? How/Where did you find yours?

My health care, including my nutritionist, is provided by the University of California, so I really don't get much say. Luckily, my university-provided nutritionist is super. She spent a good chunk of time with me explaining all sorts of things and making menus and whatnot and I can email her anytime I want. I'd say call your usual health care provider and see if they have a nutritionist on staff and whether your insurance will cover a visit or two. You might be surprised about what your insurance will cover.

I'll be back to answer more questions soon.

Comments

[Insta-Mom]

Gavin makes some dang good margaritas.

[Jaime]

Amen! Soy cheese is gross!

As a lifelong vegetarian, I have to admit that there are some incredibly tasty veggie burgers on the market (Dr. Praeger's comes to mind), but on the whole -- I have yet to find a really good fake meat product. I tried soy dogs and they were just awful and faux bacon? Tasted like a smoked leather belt.

My entire life is basically your barbecue experience -- everything BUT the meat...and lots of margaritas. It makes for a happy girl :)

[janet]

ok now I am hungry for guacamole fajitas! but NOT with soy cheese :)

[Little Miss Moi]

Interesting. I'm not a vegie, but we eat vego only a couple of nights per weeks, and we have lots of vegie friends. I've never had a hassle cooking for them. In fact, it's enjoyable to have a different take on food every once in a while.

[Miriam]

Delurking to say that I ordered the book "The China Study". I'm really interested to read it. Thanks for sharing!

[Sarah]

Haha, I disagree - I hate soy milk but love soy cheese! However, I concur that fish are the freakiest things alive and are unfit for consumption in any form.