What do vegeterians eat in oz????

[Growler]

Hi,

 

not wanting to cause an arguement, but doing an online shop to see the cost of everything and i could only find very few vegeterian meals. Yes i do eat seafood and prawns but looking at coles and foodland im going to really struggle finding decent vegeterian food that doesnt cost the earth. Anyone know of anywhere that has a decent selection. On the other hand my other half will be made up with all the meat available and reasonably cheap too! Where is a half decent place to shop without blowing our money?!

 

Thanks for your help everyone!

Edited October 25, 2012 by Growler
Shocked at my spelling!

[Guest Katangel]

Food shopping is definitely more expensive in oz compared to the UK. There will definitely be vegetarian foods there but i reckon it won't be cheap. Have you looked on woolworths site? That's another supermarket.

[Growler]

No im about to do woolworths ive done foodland and coles so far.....got a feeling its not going to be any better though x

[Guest moonraker1959]

My nephew is a vegetarian and he seems to manage quite well.You may find that you will have to cook your veggie meals from scratch more,and tbh,its probably going to be healthier than buying a veg ready meal.You'll also find growing your own easier which is a bonus too!

[NicF]

Yep, plenty of things available for cooking meals from scratch. I've found lots of variaties of things like lentils, beans and pulses, quinoa, barley, couscous and lots of fresh fruit and vegtables. I'm not vegetarian but I cook a lot of vegatarian meals. I don't eat things like sota or tofu though so I'm not sure how easy these are to buy. To be honest I've found that ready meals here aren't the best even for meat eaters.

 

It's really not worth comparing prices to the UK as it depends entirely on the exchange rate at the time and if the exchange rate was 2.5 dollars to the pound everything would seem cheap but you would still be earning the same once you were here.

[Diane]

You can get tofu (although I've not seen Quorn very much) and in terms of ready made stuff, you can get vegetarian sausages and patties, and kumara (sweet potato) "schnitzels" and the Linda McCartney stuff, things like that, but it's more about cooking your own stuff. There are a couple of very good, cheap vegetarian restaurants in and around Adelaide as well.

[Guest Guest75]

Cooking from scratch is the way to go.

With veg prices up and down you will always see variety by your buying.

 

Ready meals are awful here and very expensive, just not the market here.

 

Make in batches and freeze.

 

Talk to Lazy Cow on here , she is a vegetable.............errr Vegetarian.

 

 

Not quite in agreement about groceries being more expensive.

What you buy here will be different here+ when it's on special buy loads!!!!!

[jim and adel]

You'll also find growing your own easier which is a bonus too!

 

Can't agree with that. Certainly you can grow some different things more easily here (citrus is an obvious example) but for most garden fruit and vegetables there isn't a better place to grow them than the UK.

 

Jim

[Guest EllieM]

I am veggie and I my cooking/eating habits have changed completely- I eat a lot less meat replacements like Quorn veggie sausages or veggie mince but a lot more tofu (and a MUCH better variety here than in the UK). I agree with other posters- ready meals are not really an option and it is cheaper by a long way to cook from scratch. The central market has incredibly cheap high quality fruit and veg and there is an Asian food store in the corner of it with lots of yummy things to inspire. Make sure you are buying seasonal stuff as well- in the UK everything seemed to be the same price year round whereas I love here that you can see the changing seasons in the food available and the prices. I think the key is to buy what you see here rather than what you would have eaten in the UK. As the weather gets warmer that gets easier as salads and stir fries etc are more appealing!

 

In terms of eating out there is lots of amazing Asian food and most eating places have a few choices as long as you steer clear of the steak houses! Gouger Street is a wonderland!

[Northern Mick]

Forget about ready meals and get cooking from scratch. I actually can't imagine living on frozen/ready meals now! It is definitely one of the plusses of moving to oz that the ready meals aren't worth buying.

[jtct]

Lots of stuff available but NOT ready made! People do prepare a lot more themselves and, if you keep it simple it is as quick to make as pre-prepared and tastes heaps better. Some great food magazines for inspiration - Taste, Recipe ...... etc

 

Buy food 'in season' when its plentiful and cheaper too

Edited October 26, 2012 by jtct

[minty]

Just one thing though the steaks here are awesome. Give them a try

[Guest nakigirl]

No offence but I can never understand why a vegetarian would want to eat a meat substitute! To echo others posts, make real food from scratch, the produce is great here. Go to the central market or the farmers market and it is a vegetarian paradise.

[adelaidenow]

Australia home produces nearly all their own food, you will have no problem eating cheaply. I won't say well, as I don't believe you can eat well without meat, but that is my opinion.

[ian mc]

Thats why some items are so expensive here take when the banana trees got hit with bad weather the price shot up to $14 a kilo when they should be $2 a kilo they would not import them so we had to pay exsesive prices.

Australia home produces nearly all their own food, you will have no problem eating cheaply. I won't say well, as I don't believe you can eat well without meat, but that is my opinion.

[jimmyskinner]

They import grapes and they're crap......

[adelaidenow]

Who does? mine are Australian.

[NicF]

The grapes I bought from Woolies the other day were American. I didn't think it was the right time of year for grapes here?

[jimmyskinner]

Who does? mine are Australian.

Woolworths and Coles sell American ones while aussie ones are out of season, think aussie ones will be back soon

[Lazy Cow]

Lol! It's getting ever easier to be vego here. When we first came over the range wasn't that good - pretty much the Sanatorium canned range and Fry's frozen schnitzels ...and then Fry's seemed to disappear too (mega bum!).

 

Anyway, for those vegos that liked meat and are only vegetarian because their conscience demands it (yay! ) there is a huge amount of 'meat' things....frozen schnitzels, burgers ('beef' or southern-style 'chicken'), nuggets, 'meat' pies, pasties, 'sausage' rolls, sausages of various types, 'chicken' strips, mince, 'meat' chunks even 'fish' fingers -although I've only seen them once! Then there's the usual range of canned TVP substitutes, refrigerated minces, sausages,cold sliced 'fritz', 'bacon' rashers, lentil burgers, falafal etc. Linda McCartney stuff can be found, but not consistently in my local stores but the best, though sadly not vegan, is the Quorn stuff from the UK. Nice but a bit pricey, I think. For example two little schnitzels with broccoli cost nearly $6 unless you are clever and buy them when they are on offer ( is it me, or is that little emoticon guy a bit sleezy with his wink?)

 

Now the problem is vegan foods but even those are getting easier to find and, of course, the yummy Fry's range is all vegan.

 

As for grapes... I believe that nationally 'our' grapes are available sometime between November and May (depending on variety) so outside that time they import them from the USA. I don't buy them if they aren't Australian nor do I buy American oranges, but each to their own

 

LC

[Rich & Chit]

Why not cook it yourself?

[jtct]

So the the consensus seems to be:

 

What to vegetarians eat? Freshly home cooked good local produce in season. If you've relied on prepacked/ready-made you may need to make a few changes!

Big bonus is you'll be even healthier without those extra fats, sugars and salt!

[Lazy Cow]

Why not cook it yourself?

 

Everyone knows it's better to cook from scratch but this thread seemed to be concerned with what vegetarian alternatives are available here....and, as listed in my earlier post lol, there are now a fair few.

 

I haven't eaten meat for about 30 years and I've never been bothered with having ready-made meat alternatives but it is defo kinda nice to be able to make chilli or bolognaise sauces with 'mince'. Meat alternatives allow me to feed a teenage vegetarian, myself AND dupe my non-vego partner ( I reckon my younger child's head would spin and he would vomit pea soup if he accidentally ate 'pretend' meat lol!).

 

I think many people who give up meat do so because it's morally and environmentally responsible. They often actually miss bacon or snags at a barbie or ham in sandwiches so having substitutes available is great for them.

 

I almost feel like I have to defend myself so, FWIW, I have always cooked from scratch (yes, even my babies food) and I use local produce that is in season. Snaps for me, hey .

 

LC

[Diane]

Hey LC, I'm the parent of a recently converted teenage vegetarian - got any good recipe suggestions?

[Guest moonraker1959]

Can't agree with that. Certainly you can grow some different things more easily here (citrus is an obvious example) but for most garden fruit and vegetables there isn't a better place to grow them than the UK.

 

Jim

 

I'm surprised by that Jim?I lived in the country in SA and most people I knew (including myself)grew alot of our own food.Infact I was so fanatical(er.....keen lol)that the only time i ever needed to go into a supermarket was for meat products and cereals,and some supplies like flour to make my own bread ect.When I moved to the UK I actually found it harder tbh.The growing season is shorter here(UK)and if you don't own a greenhouse(we don#'t)then you're pretty much stuffed!It can get on my nerves having seedlings and my seed spuds parked all over the window sills which I never had to do in Oz.I can't grow tomatoes here to save my life,but when I lived in SA,they were one of my easiest crops and wow I used to always have a glut of those!Even sold them to the local pubs/take out joints.I have a trad english garden here,and as much as I enjoy my veg growing,I would definately say its easier in Oz.