What do you eat?

[Deque]

We have here people all around the world from different backgrounds, believes, cultures. My questions to you are:

• Are you vegan, vegetarian, meat-eater, fish-eater, raw food eater, fast food eater, etc?
• Why do you eat the way you do?
• What is your opinion about veganism?
• What was your last meal?

I would describe my current eating habits as animal product reduced. Meaning: I eat meat and other animal products, but much less than most people in my culture. A usual meat-eater person here has some animal ingredients for every meal in the day, and meat at least once a day, often twice. I eat meat or fish once a week, most of my meals (including main meals) are vegan. I think it is bad for our health to eat too much meat. The huge amount of live stock that we have also makes it impossible to treat the animals well, and is bad for the environment; so I also reduce milk, eggs and other animal products. I actually put milk into coffee if it is bad coffee (the usual old beans or powder you can buy in supermarkets). I haven't found a good alternative yet (except for drinking only good coffee, which I prefer black).
Since I saw the movie Earthlings I am actually considering to become vegan, but I am not quite sure yet.
About fast food: I only make it sometimes, when I am alone and have stress for some reason. My son does not get any, and I always cook meals if he is around.

My last meal: African vegetable stew with peanuts, peanut butter, green beans, potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, onions.

This is what it looks like:

[TheWormKill]

I basically eat everything. I like meat and fish, but limit the consumption of said products to maintain my health. Thus, my diet mostly consists of vegetables etc. To sum it up, I follow what is considered a balanced diet.[size=xx-small ! important]1[/size]
Personally, I dislike the idea of veganism, but that's just personal preference, I wouldn't be able to live like that. Same goes for the other options you mentioned. But as long as someone keeps his beliefs to himself, I don't care what he/she eats.
As for why I've chosen this kind of living: It's healthy, it tastes good, I can afford it. Following your ideas, I am not a real meat-eater, but I still consume a significant amount of animal products, mostly eggs and milk-ish stuff.

[Pak_Track]

• I too, eat nearly everything.
• I don't really see any way of explaining that
• I'm unable to see any point in abstaining from eating animal products. One should eat them. Just not, say, three steaks a day.
• Egg fried rice

[Kulverstukas]

Yes, I saw the movie Earthlings as well, but couldn't force myself to watch more than 1/3rd of that - it was too gruesome for me :-/ however it doesn't stop me from eating meat. If you don't do it, there's plenty that will and the meat economy will not be crippled because of you alone.
About eating - well, I eat anything. I am not picky about food or its taste. If it's not rotten, raw or otherwise bad to eat, then I would eat it... IMO if you can't do that, you can't survive in the wild or woods. Try being vegan in the army lol. I'd like to see how vegetarians would live in the woods for weeks...

[frog]

I believe in a varied diet. I will eat w/e I can if money is tight, otherwise I eat steak dinners/sit down most of the time. I will eat pretty much everything (Fruits, Veggies, Nuts, Meat, Fish, processed..) and I don't have any qualms with vegans and their lifestyles. They could eat shit for all I care but in the end free will prevails.

I would like to try a fruit, veggie, nuts & grains regiment for awhile and see how my body adapts. The goal would be to grow as much of it as possible and use seeds that don't have Monsanto's genetic attributes.

Side note:
You don't have to cook all your food. When cooked, the amount of nutrients in the food decrease through the application of heat. This depends on the chemical structure, as some nutrients are more affected than others. Certain nutrients will break down easily under heat while others endure the process.

I'm not saying you should never cook your food, but there are many that can be eaten raw.

[Axon]

I don't have a specific type of food, I basically eat whatever I find delicious. But between meat,chicken and fish, I always prefer chicken.

[Deque]

Side note:
You don't have to cook all your food. When cooked, the amount of nutrients in the food decrease through the application of heat. This depends on the chemical structure, as some nutrients are more affected than others. Certain nutrients will break down easily under heat while others endure the process.

I'm not saying you should never cook your food, but there are many that can be eaten raw.

I didn't mean to say that I cook everything I eat, but that I prefer to prepare meals by myself instead of buying fast food.
I usually have 3 to 4 meals a day, of which one of the meals is cooked.

Yes, I saw the movie Earthlings as well, but couldn't force myself to watch more than 1/3rd of that - it was too gruesome for me :-/

At one point I stopped looking at it and just listened to the narrator. I couldn't sleep well for a few nights, but that was expected. It happens with other stuff too, sometimes even the news in the radio can trigger sleepless nights.

If you don't do it, there's plenty that will and the meat economy will not be crippled because of you alone.

Does that mean you also don't vote for elections?

[shadowwolf]

I eat basically everything. I don't actively pay attention to what I eat but I try to have everything in moderation. I limit my fast food intake to once a month but I probably eat it more like once every 3 months. I don't drink coffee and try to limit my caffeine intake.
I think that veganism is somewhat risky as far as eating balanced and true hardcore vegans really have to pay attention to what they eat. If you do it right than being a vegan is extremely healthy. I would never be able to be a vegan- I have to much Italian in me.
My last meal was pizza.

[Spectrum_963]

You guys are so friggin' healthy compared to me. I run on coffee, tea, noodles and the occasional sea food meal. And chocolate. And the chips I steal from my best friend. My mom isn't into fast food, therefore, I am not. I'm on Geoff with the whole 'one meal a day' thing.

I don't think little kids (or people who are still growing, at least) should be 100% vegans - they might not get some of the nutrients they need and they'll end up slightly shorter than the rest of their peers. But on the flip side, being a flat-out carnivore is not the best idea either. Your digestive tract'll just go to hell. Then again, I'm not really one to talk about what's healthy, but just my opinion on the matter. :|

[rincewind]

I eat so little, realy don't like it, never did. When I  eat something it's mostly from bakery.
About veganism, I think that is important to eat mixed food a little bit of everything, vegetables, meat, juices and so on.

[Kulverstukas]

<...>  Although I have once in my life met someone that refused to eat anything that wasn't once living. but this is rare. <...>

What the hell? what does that person eat then? fuckin' sand and dirt? can't eat plants, they are living organisms. Can't eat grain or any of its products, because you know... grain once lived... might as well get a shovel and eat dirt.

[Kulverstukas]

Oh, then I read that wrong

[Deque]

I made vegan pancakes today and they turn out to be very delicious.



One thing that I find weird is people thinking that vegan != varied.
Since I started cooking an preparing vegan meals, I realized how much variation there actually is. I eat more varied now than I did before I reduced animal products (even if I do not count the meals containing animal products).

PS: I would love to exchange awesome and easy made recipies. So if you have some, share them.

[frog]

I will argue that an herbivore or carnivore's diet is less varied than an omnivore's. Omnivore by definition implies variance.

[Deque]

Being omnivore just tells the capability to digest certain food, it is a biological thing. It does not mean that you actually use that capability.
E,g, human meat-only eaters are no carnivores just because they have the same diet as carnivores.
What I observed: A lot of people who are no vegans or vegetarians have a less varied diet than vegans, because they are not aware of the possibilities or just out of habit. Eating meat and plants does not mean it is varied if you eat the same all the time.