Vegetarians???!

[Sallyh]

We had a fantastic (and free!) BBQ after church yesterday, great salads, steak and sausages. But I realised that you never see veggieburgers on a BBQ, or a vegetarian BBQ option.

 

(Don't tell me off for being unAustralian, I love Sam Kekovitch and threw lamb on the barbie on Australia Day, plus FIL rigged up his big flag on the hills swingset!!!).

 

Just suddenly wondered, do we have fewer vegetarians in Australia then? In the UK if we had a barbie, I'd always make sure we had veggie stuff for a few friends who were vegetarian (and I do know one vegan family from PIA!). But people never cater for it do they?

 

So - what do you think? Kind of just wondering for fun really, are there fewer vegetarians in Australia and that's why we don't really cater for them? Although at least yesterday the salads were great, but it wouldn't really have been a full lunch...

[Guest Guest75]

There is some vegetarian stuff knocking about.

Heavily promoted on TV is the Vege Delight range or something - not very appetising looking though.

 

Pete (Django) on here is a vegetarian,he might know a little more.

[Diane]

Made me laugh on TV this morning (I think) when there was one of those quick recipe ads. It was for Vegetarian Slice but the ingredients included chopped ham!! Hmmmm, wouldn't impress my veggie sister if I served that!

[jomark]

what gets me is when i have taken my own veggie food to someones bbq they insist on cooking it for you but then they put it on the bottom of a pile of meat in one of those warmers, which really defeats the object ......(i always offer to cook my own but being a women and going to a aussie bbq thats not the done thing lol)...

[Guest rachinadelaide]

Made me laugh on TV this morning (I think) when there was one of those quick recipe ads. It was for Vegetarian Slice but the ingredients included chopped ham!! Hmmmm, wouldn't impress my veggie sister if I served that!

 

 

We've come across that sort of thing a lot!!! We have been told that the pre-made cheese salad sarnies are vegetarian (they often have ham in them....we have come to the conclusion that in SA ham is a salad vegetable). We have been offered chicken several times and people are always really surprised when we turn down fish 'but fish isn't meat, vegetarians eat fish don't they?'

 

It is harder to be a vegetarian eating out in Adelaide than it was in the UK. Many people don't fully understand the concept and fewer agree with it!!

We went on the Pichi Richi train ride and when we stopped at Woolshed Flat for lunch we queued to get our food (which was advertised as 'a variety of pies') and when we asked do you have anything vegetarian the guy responded 'what do you want a 3 course meal?' (we took that as a no) but the really bizarre thing was a couple of people in the queue behind us started muttering about bloody vegetarians...

 

We are lucky that the friends we have are very understanding (I s'pose that's why we are friends with them!!) and when we go to the great aussie BBQs we get our food cooked in foil and a clean set of tongs are used to handle it.

 

I think there are fewer vegetarians in Australia, both numbers wise and percentage wise. I have no stats to back this up though!!

[Guest Yvonne & Neil]

I totally understand. I now cook my own veggie food and bring it with me. I won't eat anything that has been cooked next to meat.

[Guest AngPhil]

One of my friends and her two kids were vegetarian before arriving in Auz. She has had big problems eating out and has been regularly offered chicken and fish. In the UK the meat and the veggie stuff were always seperate, but it is much harder here. If you go for a BBQ at the beach, there could be only one BBQ plate available and when everyone is chucking on their meat, it is hard to keep it all apart.

When they got here my friend let the kids decide if they wanted to try meat, they both tried it and are both now meat eaters. However, my friend was distraught when her youngest daughter put Pepper Pig in her play kitchen and shouted I love eating meat!

[NicF]

Think the UK 20 years ago, particularly the north of the UK and you will probably be close to the attitude to vegetarianism here. It does exist and there are some places that cater well for vegetarians but it's not exactly mainstream. I'd say it is more accepted than on my first visit here 12 years ago, but it's still very much a minority thing.

[Guest PixieC]

I do some BBQs (through Noarlunga Rotary) and always try and plead the case for vegetarians but the male Aussie of a certain generation do not seem to 'get it' yet one time when we were cooking for a community service 'do' with goodies provided by the team we were supporting, they had veggie burgers. There were as many carnivores if not more than the vegetarians asking for the veggie burgers. It's my experience that many people like vegetarian food but mustn't seem as if they do lol. In my neck of the woods ( a few mins from MacLaren Vale) there are lots of vegetarians and there is always a vegetarian option on local menus

[Guest Claire-n-tel]

flinders medical centre's vegitarian menu includes chicken and fish when they sent me chicken to eat i said to the lady i had asked for a veggie menu she told me "but vegitarians are allowed to eat chicken and fish!".........oh, ok then!

[Guest RedT]

I actually think it's easier to be vegetarian than last time we visited. There is now a whole range of Quorn products available (thankfully as the Sanitarium and Fry's products aren't great). I've found BBQ chefs more than happy to accomodate me and they always offer to do my stuff first (which I've brought with me of course) before the meat is done. What is funny is that when I've brought a pack of four burgers hosts always think I'll eat all four because 'there's nothing to them'! I do find myself answering the 'but why are you veggie' question all the time. After ten years in London and four in Scotland where people weren't bothered anymore it seems strange to be going back to explaining it to people who are genuinly interested but also don't seem to have met a veggie before!

[Guest PixieC]

I hope you put in an official complaint, that is just ridiculous let alone disregarding your beliefs.

[Guest guest8040]

This thread and the seemingly aus attitude reminds me of a royle family episode where Antony brought his new girlfriend home and they all oohed and ahhed as she was veggie. Nana said to Barbara 'but she'll be able to eat wafer thin ham' - lol. I'm glad I'm ex veggie as I found the uk menus often repetitive in my 8 years as a veggie (if i saw another pub choice of veg lasagne, mushroom stroganoff or leek and potato cheesy bake i would have gone mad). Two pregnancies with mad cravings for bacon ended my vegetarian days!

[Guest moonraker1959]

Its funny.I do eat meat but when we eat out,I usually go for the vegie option!lol I probably would be a vegie head(and I mean that affectionately!)if my OH did'nt like meat so much.I work full time,and I ain't about to start making two diff cooked meals a day!We do eat alot of fruit and veg though,and meat is'nt always the main attraction.I can remember in Oz.My good mates needed a hand to do something around their place.We offered to help,which took all day and in way of appreciation they offered us dinner.I'll never forget OH's face when they dished up veg soup with crusty bread!(Yes they were Vegetarian).Yes he ate it but on the way home we stopped in the local take out for half a chook and chips lol lol

[Guest Yvonne & Neil]

I was delighted when I found that Woolworth in Hallett Cove have a good range of vegetarian food in the chilled section (macro) still takes me ages to do a weekly shop due to checking the ingredients of all other food items.