Showing posts with label Sneaky killers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sneaky killers. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 14
Hungry Jacks veggie burgers are not vegetarian! (Let alone vegan!)
I was thinking of having a Hungry Jacks veggie burger today and obviously the cheese on it isn't vegan but I was going to get one without cheese. I thought I should look up the ingredients of the patty online to make sure that it didn't have any animal products in it (I was pretty sure it was going to). Well, what I found out was astounding. The cheese and the veggie patty have rennet in them! The burger itself is not even vegetarian! What kind of a company makes a veggie burger and then puts rennet in it?! I guess this is why you should research fast food to see what's really in it rather than assuming that you're not being lied to. Or mislead, I should say. It's not a 'vegetarian burger' after all, but still, who's their demographic?!
Sunday, January 22
Fish sauce, get out of my life!
While writing my previous blog, I was going to include The Goods Fleurieu Fine Foods Spicy Roasted Pumpkin Dip which I tried at the Stirling Organic Market and Cafe and consequently bought because it was so delicious. Before I blogged about it, I checked the ingredients to see if it was vegan. IT HAS FISH SAUCE IN IT. Just like my longed-for dinner of Sun Rice Thai Vegetable Curry with Tofu and Jasmine Rice that was so cruelly snatched away from me last night because of fish sauce and shrimp paste, now the dip I was really looking forward to eating has fish sauce in it!
Fish sauce! Why do you have to be in everything?! All you do is add some saltiness anyway, you know what else can do that? SALT! Get out of my food and stop ruining my eating dreams!
Here is a picture of the dip. Don't buy it! Sneaky killers lurk within!
Fish sauce! Why do you have to be in everything?! All you do is add some saltiness anyway, you know what else can do that? SALT! Get out of my food and stop ruining my eating dreams!
Here is a picture of the dip. Don't buy it! Sneaky killers lurk within!
Happy eating :)
Saturday 21 January 2012
Breakfast
Fruit salad (vegan).
Lunch?
I don't know if you would really call it lunch, it was more a 1pm snack so that I didn't pass out in the car driving into the hills with Mum for a walk and afternoon tea. I really need to stop myself when I'm getting really into something and make myself eat, in this case Wii Fit. Anyway, I had Nuttelex and Vegemite on toast (vegan).
Dinner
I was looking forward to a quick and easy microwave meal in the form of Sun Rice Thai Vegetable Curry. I looked at the ingredients to see if it was vegan for the purposes of this blog and found that it contains fish sauce and shrimp paste! This goes to show that even after 5 years of being vegetarian, you still can't always pick which products are going to have sneaky killers in them, even those that look so vegetarian like this one. The moral of this story is, check your labels. I now paid money for food I won't eat. Take a look at this packet, and avoid it.
After the sad experience of having my much awaited dinner snatched away by sea-kitten killers, I had a bit of difficulty thinking of an alternative, missing ingredients, not enough time, etc. I finally settled to try two things I've never had before. One was some sort of quick cook quinoa lime and thyme flavoured side dish that I got from Coles (threw the packet in the bin, next time I'll let you know the brand), and the other was The Redwood Co Gourmet Meat Free Fish Style Fingers which I got from The Organic Market and Cafe at Stirling. I had these with a very boring green salad that consisted of mixed lettuce and cucumber. However, it was a very tasty dinner. I'm still undecided as to whether I liked the lime and thyme quinoa side dish or not, I think I will need another tasting. The 'fish fingers' didn't taste like fish, they tasted more like Fry's Vegetarian Crumbed Schnitzels but had the flaky texture of fish. They were pretty tasty. This meal was vegan :)
Snacks
We had afternoon tea at The Organic Market and Cafe in Stirling which is an awesome shop. They sell lots of vegan groceries, cakes, pasties etc as well as lots of free-from foods. And, of course, everything is organic. The shop consists of a fruit and vegetable section, grocery section, and cafe. The grocery section is great and has lots of tubs and barrels full of different flours, legumes, etc and you can make your own peanut butter there. They also sell organic alcohol. However, they do sell meat, dairy, etc as well so some people may not like that. At the cafe I had a chocolate fudge brownie that had icing sugar on the top, and a pot of jasmine tea. I was so caught up in the atmosphere of such a lovely day though that I forgot to take a photo so instead, here is another of my artistic drawings.
Fruit salad (vegan).
Lunch?
I don't know if you would really call it lunch, it was more a 1pm snack so that I didn't pass out in the car driving into the hills with Mum for a walk and afternoon tea. I really need to stop myself when I'm getting really into something and make myself eat, in this case Wii Fit. Anyway, I had Nuttelex and Vegemite on toast (vegan).
Dinner
I was looking forward to a quick and easy microwave meal in the form of Sun Rice Thai Vegetable Curry. I looked at the ingredients to see if it was vegan for the purposes of this blog and found that it contains fish sauce and shrimp paste! This goes to show that even after 5 years of being vegetarian, you still can't always pick which products are going to have sneaky killers in them, even those that look so vegetarian like this one. The moral of this story is, check your labels. I now paid money for food I won't eat. Take a look at this packet, and avoid it.
After the sad experience of having my much awaited dinner snatched away by sea-kitten killers, I had a bit of difficulty thinking of an alternative, missing ingredients, not enough time, etc. I finally settled to try two things I've never had before. One was some sort of quick cook quinoa lime and thyme flavoured side dish that I got from Coles (threw the packet in the bin, next time I'll let you know the brand), and the other was The Redwood Co Gourmet Meat Free Fish Style Fingers which I got from The Organic Market and Cafe at Stirling. I had these with a very boring green salad that consisted of mixed lettuce and cucumber. However, it was a very tasty dinner. I'm still undecided as to whether I liked the lime and thyme quinoa side dish or not, I think I will need another tasting. The 'fish fingers' didn't taste like fish, they tasted more like Fry's Vegetarian Crumbed Schnitzels but had the flaky texture of fish. They were pretty tasty. This meal was vegan :)
Snacks
We had afternoon tea at The Organic Market and Cafe in Stirling which is an awesome shop. They sell lots of vegan groceries, cakes, pasties etc as well as lots of free-from foods. And, of course, everything is organic. The shop consists of a fruit and vegetable section, grocery section, and cafe. The grocery section is great and has lots of tubs and barrels full of different flours, legumes, etc and you can make your own peanut butter there. They also sell organic alcohol. However, they do sell meat, dairy, etc as well so some people may not like that. At the cafe I had a chocolate fudge brownie that had icing sugar on the top, and a pot of jasmine tea. I was so caught up in the atmosphere of such a lovely day though that I forgot to take a photo so instead, here is another of my artistic drawings.
Friday, January 6
What is vegetarianism and veganism?
So I guess the first thing to discuss (briefly) are some of my beliefs surrounding vegetarianism. There are so many reasons that vegetarianism and veganism are awesome and I can't possibly write them all here or go into much depth, I could lecture on each one for days!
So first off, what is the difference between being a vegetarian and being a vegan? Well, vegetarians, as a general rule, do not eat anything that required an animal's death to make. There are different 'types' of vegetarians such as laco-ovo-vegetarians (they eat dairy and eggs), lacto-vegetarians (they eat dairy but no eggs), and ovo-vegetarians (they eat eggs but not dairy). Some people say that they are vegetarian but they still eat fish. This does not make them vegetarian. Similarly, some people say they are vegetarian but they still eat fish and 'white meats' such as poultry and pork. They are even more not-vegetarian! I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian as are most vegetarians. This obviously means that they do not eat meat. But I have found that many people do not understand what this really means. I have had many people say to me "But you eat chicken". No. "What about fish?" No. "But fish aren't animals!" Let's go back to the biology classroom for a moment. There are 3 and a half forms of life on this planet. There are animals, there are plants, there are fungi, and there are viruses (I only call this half a life form though as their inclusion in the definition of 'life form' is disputed as they need a host cell in order to reproduce their DNA). A fish is not a fungus, nor a virus, and is clearly not a plant. Therefore, it's an animal isn't it? And animals (mostly) have brains. Brains of any size or shape feel pain, they have to, how else would animals know about danger? The brains of more complex animals (that includes fish!) would at least feel fear (I believe other emotions too but let's not get into that argument), and their physical sensations would basically be the same as ours. Therefore, yes, all animal flesh etc is out of the question.
That's pretty easy, no meat. But beware! There are some sneaky animal-death products to watch out for that are not so obvious!
Gelatin: This is made from animal skin and bones. It is found in many products that you wouldn't think of, I have been vegetarian for 5 years and I'm still discovering it in some of my food so I suggest if in doubt, read the packet! Mainly it is found in jelly (obviously), lollies, marshmallows, some puddings, and some yogurts or custards. It can be substituted for vegetable gums etc which are all animal-friendly so read the packet :)
Rennet: This is an enzyme obtained by doing something icky to the stomach lining of a newborn calf, lamb, or kid. It is used in cheese production, mostly for hard cheeses. Again, check the label as some brands use non-animal rennet. I have found that cheap brands usually use non-animal rennet, such as Coles, Woolworths Select, and Devondale. I use Woolworths Select cheese slices and Devondale shredded cheese. Soft cheeses such as feta, ricotta, and cream cheese are generally ok but I still check the label to be sure. The main problem I have is with finding parmesan cheese that has no rennet. The only brand I've found is South Cape Fine Foods' Australian Parmesan Cheese which I get from Coles or Woolworths, I think it's Coles. However, it only comes in a large wedge which we don't eat fast enough. For this reason I'm thinking of trying vegan parmesan cheese substitutes but I'm hesitant after I had a horrible experience with another vegan cheese. Something that has recently been brought to my attention is the possible inclusion of rennet in some chip flavours. Some flavours use 'cheese powder' or whey but don't give the ingredients for these, which could include rennet. It's up to the individual whether they want to avoid possible trace ingredients such as this, personally I am undecided on the issue. You could always ring the company's customer information line and enquire about the ingredients used in the supplier's cheese products.
Pepsin: Like rennet, this is derived from the lining of pigs' stomachs. This is used in a wide range of foods for a wide range of reasons so read the ingredients.
Cochineal, carmine, or colouring (120): This is a red dye made from crushed insects. Some people are allergic to it and it is one of the dyes that can cause hyperactivity. It can be used in products that say 'natural colours' because it is not synthetic. Mainly watch out for Asian foods, lollies, and cosmetics. Read your labels.
Suet or lard: This is animal fat and is used mostly in baked goods such as shortbread and mince pies.
Chitin: This is derived from the exoskeletons of animals such as crabs. It is used as a thickener and stabilizer in some foods.
Aspic: Another type of gelatin.
Isinglass: This comes from the swim bladder of some fish and is used to clarify some types of alcohol, such as wines and beers. Guinness uses isinglass as do most stouts.
Musk or civet: An oil which is scraped or otherwise collected from the anal and genital glands of musk deer, muskrats, beavers, civet cats, or otters. It is used in perfumes though animal rights campaigners have made it unpopular. 'White musk' is not animal derived.
Leather: Though it obviously comes from dead animals, many people do not think of leather as being non-vegetarian. Shoes, jewellery, clothing, bags and furniture are the main sources of leather in our lives.
Vegans do not consume any products that come from animals. This means all of the above plus dairy, eggs, honey, beeswax, and wool. There are other products that vegans avoid, as are there more vegetarian ones that I have not (knowingly) come across. The PETA website has a great list of these things if you want to avoid them.
But don't worry about what you don't want to eat, and think about all the things you do want to eat: everything else! If you're just starting out being vegetarian, vegan, or cooking for a vegetarian or vegan, don't worry. It will get super easy once you get some regular brands that you buy, realise how much food actually is vegetarian and vegan, and get intuitive about what products might contain animals ingredients. My best advice is, if in doubt, read the label. Also, Google is your friend. Happy eating :)
So first off, what is the difference between being a vegetarian and being a vegan? Well, vegetarians, as a general rule, do not eat anything that required an animal's death to make. There are different 'types' of vegetarians such as laco-ovo-vegetarians (they eat dairy and eggs), lacto-vegetarians (they eat dairy but no eggs), and ovo-vegetarians (they eat eggs but not dairy). Some people say that they are vegetarian but they still eat fish. This does not make them vegetarian. Similarly, some people say they are vegetarian but they still eat fish and 'white meats' such as poultry and pork. They are even more not-vegetarian! I am a lacto-ovo vegetarian as are most vegetarians. This obviously means that they do not eat meat. But I have found that many people do not understand what this really means. I have had many people say to me "But you eat chicken". No. "What about fish?" No. "But fish aren't animals!" Let's go back to the biology classroom for a moment. There are 3 and a half forms of life on this planet. There are animals, there are plants, there are fungi, and there are viruses (I only call this half a life form though as their inclusion in the definition of 'life form' is disputed as they need a host cell in order to reproduce their DNA). A fish is not a fungus, nor a virus, and is clearly not a plant. Therefore, it's an animal isn't it? And animals (mostly) have brains. Brains of any size or shape feel pain, they have to, how else would animals know about danger? The brains of more complex animals (that includes fish!) would at least feel fear (I believe other emotions too but let's not get into that argument), and their physical sensations would basically be the same as ours. Therefore, yes, all animal flesh etc is out of the question.
That's pretty easy, no meat. But beware! There are some sneaky animal-death products to watch out for that are not so obvious!
Gelatin: This is made from animal skin and bones. It is found in many products that you wouldn't think of, I have been vegetarian for 5 years and I'm still discovering it in some of my food so I suggest if in doubt, read the packet! Mainly it is found in jelly (obviously), lollies, marshmallows, some puddings, and some yogurts or custards. It can be substituted for vegetable gums etc which are all animal-friendly so read the packet :)
Rennet: This is an enzyme obtained by doing something icky to the stomach lining of a newborn calf, lamb, or kid. It is used in cheese production, mostly for hard cheeses. Again, check the label as some brands use non-animal rennet. I have found that cheap brands usually use non-animal rennet, such as Coles, Woolworths Select, and Devondale. I use Woolworths Select cheese slices and Devondale shredded cheese. Soft cheeses such as feta, ricotta, and cream cheese are generally ok but I still check the label to be sure. The main problem I have is with finding parmesan cheese that has no rennet. The only brand I've found is South Cape Fine Foods' Australian Parmesan Cheese which I get from Coles or Woolworths, I think it's Coles. However, it only comes in a large wedge which we don't eat fast enough. For this reason I'm thinking of trying vegan parmesan cheese substitutes but I'm hesitant after I had a horrible experience with another vegan cheese. Something that has recently been brought to my attention is the possible inclusion of rennet in some chip flavours. Some flavours use 'cheese powder' or whey but don't give the ingredients for these, which could include rennet. It's up to the individual whether they want to avoid possible trace ingredients such as this, personally I am undecided on the issue. You could always ring the company's customer information line and enquire about the ingredients used in the supplier's cheese products.
Pepsin: Like rennet, this is derived from the lining of pigs' stomachs. This is used in a wide range of foods for a wide range of reasons so read the ingredients.
Cochineal, carmine, or colouring (120): This is a red dye made from crushed insects. Some people are allergic to it and it is one of the dyes that can cause hyperactivity. It can be used in products that say 'natural colours' because it is not synthetic. Mainly watch out for Asian foods, lollies, and cosmetics. Read your labels.
Suet or lard: This is animal fat and is used mostly in baked goods such as shortbread and mince pies.
Chitin: This is derived from the exoskeletons of animals such as crabs. It is used as a thickener and stabilizer in some foods.
Aspic: Another type of gelatin.
Isinglass: This comes from the swim bladder of some fish and is used to clarify some types of alcohol, such as wines and beers. Guinness uses isinglass as do most stouts.
Musk or civet: An oil which is scraped or otherwise collected from the anal and genital glands of musk deer, muskrats, beavers, civet cats, or otters. It is used in perfumes though animal rights campaigners have made it unpopular. 'White musk' is not animal derived.
Leather: Though it obviously comes from dead animals, many people do not think of leather as being non-vegetarian. Shoes, jewellery, clothing, bags and furniture are the main sources of leather in our lives.
Vegans do not consume any products that come from animals. This means all of the above plus dairy, eggs, honey, beeswax, and wool. There are other products that vegans avoid, as are there more vegetarian ones that I have not (knowingly) come across. The PETA website has a great list of these things if you want to avoid them.
But don't worry about what you don't want to eat, and think about all the things you do want to eat: everything else! If you're just starting out being vegetarian, vegan, or cooking for a vegetarian or vegan, don't worry. It will get super easy once you get some regular brands that you buy, realise how much food actually is vegetarian and vegan, and get intuitive about what products might contain animals ingredients. My best advice is, if in doubt, read the label. Also, Google is your friend. Happy eating :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)