> Suey <lordhunt@gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> >> 1. We currently have a vegetarian living with us.? We're serious 
> carnivores,?
> >>     
> >
> > The all-important first question: is this person an ovo-lacto
> > vegetarian (who will eat dairy and eggs), or a vegan (who will not eat
> > any animal products)?  If the former, then things like pasta and
> > cheese or omelettes are still "on the table", so to speak
> >
> >  
> > She actually will eat chicken on occasion, says chicken broth as a 
> base is acceptable, and does eat dairy.  The main issue is that she was 
> raised vegetarian, so her body can't process other meats, or at least 
> not comfortably.
> >   
> Fortunately, my children were not raised as vegetarians but a science 
> professor in junior high convinced them to save the world =-O ! but not 
> their mother!  For me cooking for vegetarians is twice the work cause 
> meat normally is easy but the balanced diet of a vegetarian is at least 
> two dishes so we have the pasta or dried beans like lentils, chickpeas, 
> broad beans, whatever and a plate full of veggies and then of course we 
> have to pay for the vitamin supplement. . .  

I'm presuming they went vegan (no eggs or dairy products)? 
I don't know much practically about managing a vegan diet, but if you're talking about people who will eat eggs and dairy I'd dispute most of this. 

I became mostly vegetarian as a poor student because it's cheaper than eating expensive meat, and less time-consuming than eating cheap meat (which is usually the yummy-but-takes-effort bits). If I'd been given a cow I would have eaten it, but this sort of thing doesn't happen much in the city!

Why do you think a balanced meal for a vegetarian is more dishes than for a carnivore? For both, a balanced diet is protein+carbs+fats, with enough variety to get the necessary vitamins and minerals. The protein (and often fat) source changes, is all. Quick example: stir-fried vegies with a bit of chicken + rice = complete meal. Stir-fried vegies with a bit of tofu + rice = complete meal.

A lacto-ovo vegetarian doesn't need to take a vitamin supplement unless their diet is limited in some other way in addition to vegetarianism (e.g. pickyness, or difficulty in obtaining a range of foods due to finance or geographical location), or they have particular metabolism difficulties (in which case I'd strongly question the vegetarianism decision).  A vegan will probably need to supplement B12, this can be done through diet (many foods are fortified anyway) but it's difficult. 

Margaret/Emma
(ooh, look, she just pushed my 'vegetarianism' button!)