Student Life | Issue 40

“DO YOU JUST EAT SALADS
NOW?”
Well, that is more typically aimed
at vegans but when I decided to
become vegetarian, I had that
comment or a variation there
of at least 5 times. If you think
about what you have on your
plate (probably some kind of meat
based product, a side which could
be potato-based and then maybe
some vegetables) and then take off
the meat part, you still have the
side and the vegetables. And, as
much as I would eat a meal which
consisted of onion rings and a salad
with chilli lime dressing, there are
plenty of things you could replace
the meat with. You could use a
meat replacement – I think fake cod
is surprisingly good – but you can
also take meat-based dishes like a
lasagne and use other items instead.
I’d actually suggest even those who
still want to eat meat try out stuff
like vegetable lasagnes because it
adds some variety to a classic dish.
“DOES FAKE MEAT TASTE LIKE THE
REAL THING?”
I won’t lie. I’ve had some borderline
traumatic experiences with meat
substitutes. Once I had a not-chicken
burger which replicated all the worst
possible attributes a piece of chicken
could have and none of the nice stuff.
To add insult to injury, the coating
wasn’t even nice. However, I’ve found
it was a pretty isolated incident. I
continue to be surprised by how
nice a lot of that stuff is. In terms
of accuracy, I’ve found that really,
REALLY varies between who you ask. I
think there are a lot of products which
really do taste like the real thing and
some get every aspect (including
texture and appearance) spot-on
however, whenever I try a new one,
I always get into a headspace of just
thinking about whether I like how it
tastes rather than how accurate it is.
“What do you order at restaurants?”
Thankfully for us veggies, the vast
majority of restaurants now serve
vegetarian options. Sometimes it
is a case of there being only one
option which can be disappointing
if you don’t like said option but
most of them have at least a couple
of different options. Nando’s in
particular has had a lot of different
menu items for a while now. Fast
food joints have also dipped their
toes in the meat-free waters of
vegetarianism, even if at an extremely
cautious pace, but I will admit
sometimes it is a ‘guess I’ll just order
chips’ situation.
I hope that scratching the surface of
this dietary choice has educated you
a little bit on what it is actually like
for a vegetarian beyond what some
stereotypes might make you believe.
Seriously, fake cod can be convincing
in an almost scary fashion.
58 58 •• MARCH ISSUE 2019 40 •• STUDENT LIFE LIFE