Enough is Enough! Where is the protein for us vegetarians?

Enough is enough! I’ve stood by silently through the cauliflower “steak” and the portobello “burger” trends but this is just too much. This is an absolute outrage!

Jackfruit, while nutritionally fine, is not meat.

Cauliflower is not meat.

Mushrooms are not meat.

And that’s okay! Great even!

What isn’t great, is the notion that these items are a replacement for meat and are therefore nutritionally equal. They aren’t even close. Remember the food pyramid? (Or maybe it was just a triangle? Mind blown) Either way, mushrooms & cauliflower hang out in the vegetable square while meat hangs in the protein square. Hold on. Is it a square or a trapezoid? Shoot! Perhaps I was a little too quick to profess “I’ll never need to know this stuff!” to my high school geometry teacher. Regardless. The little protein box includes items that are not animal sourced. Vegetarians and those on the veg spectrum #vegspec deserve a complete and balanced meal just as much as meat eaters. Is this the restaurant industry trying to thin the herd?  

Why does my blood boil at these seemingly harmless food trends? I’m glad you asked.

This is a big deal because if you’re consistently consuming meals where one food group – animal sourced or otherwise – isn’t represented at all, you’re setting yourself for deficiencies and possibly death.

Yes, death. This is truly a life and death matter people! I wouldn’t go as far to say that restaurants that include these falsehoods on their menus should be charged with murder…I mean, out loud….I wouldn’t say it out loud. I value the facade of sanity that I carry around.

So, back to jackfruit. Please refrain from putting the word “pulled” next to a fruit to convince me that it’s meat. I don’t want to be convinced. A complete meal should include a protein and slapping words we tend to associate with meat in front of a fruit or veg doesn’t miraculously make that food contain protein. Beans, nuts, lentils, tofu, quinoa, amaranth, peas, tempeh… and more could be and should be added to a dish that doesn’t contain an animal protein. Otherwise, it’s just a plate of vegetables. 

A stands for Abigail

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