Hi,
Mazza here from Ireland.

With the recent pork scare, i am feeling pretty happy and smug at being on the diet. People are amazed when i tell them i have never eaten pork or meat. So many food scares in recent year from pork, beef, chicken. Its nice to think i dont have to rely on meat and that no animals have been harmed in the production of my food.
Mazza

I know what you mean Mazza. Unless there is a sudden outbreak of ‘Mad Carrot Disease’ I reckon we’re pretty safe!! 

I must admit though I do love the smell of bacon frying, but then I also love the smell of freshly cut grass and I don’t feel tempted to eat that!!

Thanks for your reply Danno.
The only bummer is that it can be quite a chore describing the diet to a waitress when eating out - a long rhyme of i cant eat this or that or ..... . I try to cut it short by saying my diet is much the same as a vegan. I usually end up eating salad, vegetables with maybe 1 exchange of chips (6) and fresh fruit salad. But a few months ago i had the best meal ever because i know i can have basically all fruit and veg and with this meal, it was a bit of a mystery tour as i had figs and melon and aubergines etc. It was great! 
mazza.
Ps i like the smell of bacon frying too but if i was off the diet for one day i would much prefer to eat chocolate and cheese and tomato pizzas rather than meat.

Hey Mazza

I’m off to friends for dinner and a bit of a party tonight and I’ve just made my own meal up which she’ll just stick in the oven for me and I’ll with everyone else. I much prefer this to trying to go out for something, going out for a drink is no problem (relatively!!) but at least this way I don’t have to contend with moody waiting staff who would rather be out on the town then explaining to me (in detail!) what a meal is made up of!

Have a good one and all the best for the new year.

Danno

Hey Danno,
Wishing you a happy new year. Ate out there a few days ago. Kept it simple with soup ( veg - 1 exchange aprox)  and salad ( sauces on the side). Thats a good idea you have there - also sometimes it is fun for everybody to prepare their own meal together in the kitchen - while gossiping of course!
mazza

I am a beginning vegetarian and I am a bit lucky as there are several vegetarian eateries in my location. I feel relieved that I don’t need to worry about the pork, beef and chicken problems.

Danno - Dec 16, 2008 02:07pm

I know what you mean Mazza. Unless there is a sudden outbreak of ‘Mad Carrot Disease’ I reckon we’re pretty safe!!  :lol:

I must admit though I do love the smell of bacon frying, but then I also love the smell of freshly cut grass and I don’t feel tempted to eat that!!

Haven’t seen any mad carrots but don’t forget about the tomato and spinach scares in the last year or two. Just make sure you are still washing all your veggies!

While fruits/vegetables don’t seem to suffer from this problem at all, that’s usually only the case in developed countries, when I traveled to some poorer countries I got some of my food confiscated when I was returning at the airport as I wasn’t aware that some of the items I had contained fruit flies and other nasty substances so while it wasn’t mad cow disease, it was still harmful. So definitely read the health guides about those foreign nations before eating some of the fruits/vegetables there. I didn’t get sick though so perhaps they might have overreacted a bit or I could have just gotten lucky…

That is a good point.  I do think that other foods have problems too and can cause problems for you.  Perhaps the fruit grower sprays pesticides on their fruit to keep the bugs off.  You can still get things that can harm you into your body by non-meat products.

Just another note about washing your fruits and veggies I read a story recently about a baby who got really sick eating grapes from Chile. There was some sort of poisonous spider on them and it bit the baby!

I’ve also heard that fresh produce can be a killer (literally and figuratively) in developing countries. In general, though, you’re much better off eating meat.  People are always shocked when they see the documentaries about meat industries and things like that and I laugh because I don’t have to worry about it.

You are right about that we watched a documentary about the meat industry in the United States awhile back and it was pretty horrifying and very eye opening!

I learned one way of making sure to make the raw food safe to eat. Soaked or washed the fruits or vegetables with a vinegar-water solution. It will kill off any critters living in the food and it will also neutralize the chemicals that is attached on the outer parts of the food due to pesticides and fertilizers.

Thanks for the tip Tony I had never heard that before. I am certainly willing to give it a try since I don’t particularly want my baby eating pesticide if we can avoid it!

We can also dip the vegetables in hot water for a quick moment to kill of or neutralize any harmful substances. With fruits, I normally peel off the skin and eat only the flesh of the fruit.

That is a great tip Tony, one I’ve never heard of before either.  Soaking the fruits in a vinegar and water solution.  I wonder how that kills the critters on the inside of the fruit?