[janmommy]

Me and my daughter are vegitarians what is the vegi food like over in NZ? Is it the same over here in the UK?

[SarahEDH]

hello Jan

I can't speak to UK veg food, being from the U.S., but I've found the previous veg discussions on this forum to be very helpful. You might try doing a forum search on "vegetarian" or your favorite food items to see the previous threads -- there's a lot of good stuff on here.

Sarah

[colindp]

Unless you are happy preparing vegie meals from scratch you will be very dissapointed, my son is vegetarian and we found that there were no pre-prepared meals available. There is a far greater variety in the UK....

[Carol]

I hate to say it - but Colin is right.

I'm not even vegetarian and I miss the veggie stuff I used to get in the UK!
No Quorn anywhere in NZ. And I really miss Linda Mc's stuff.
:-(

[Lupin]

But delicious tofu sausages and lots of tofu, tempeh etc everywhere. Plenty of plant milks and cheese (although mostly full of rennet).

More the problem is the amount of gelatine in yoghurt and ice cream here but there is plenty without. There's also a nice vegetarian pizza that paknsave do with pulses on top and they also do delicious pizza bases.

[jess]

We like Sanitarium fake bacon rashers ($6 NZD) and veggie hot dogs ($8 NZD) from Pak N' Sav and the Woolworth's one town over. (Not the tinned - ick - but the plastic wrapped in the fridge section). I have not been lucky enough to find a veggie pizza like Lupin mentioned anywhere - my Pak N' Sav doesn't seem to carry it.

Soy milk, tofu and vegetarian cheeses are readily available. In the US most groceries didn't carry veggie cheese, but I see veg. edam at every store, and veg. cheddar, colby, etc. at a few.

Hardy's (http://www.healthyliving.co.nz/stores.asp) - a health store - carries a dried TVP crumble that you rehydrate to make fake ground beef. Works just as well as the frozen Morningstar Farms equivalent I had in the states.

Most veggie sausages are mushy - I think they are made to be the equivalent of regular kiwi sausages which apparently have a different soft consistency. I don't like them, but they're around...

See this thread (http://www.emigratenz.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9915&highlight=vegetarian) as well.

[swissmissdesigner]

I am semi-vegetarian (I eat fish) .
I have to tell you that I always prepare my food fresh, that is not a big deal to me.
My experience is that veggies especially organic ones are more expensive in NZ than in the States.
When I asked for a Vegetarian meal at restaurants I often got fried veggies which is not exactly healthy.
Otherwise I think food in general is really good in NZ, but veggies and organic foods are probably more expensive than in the States.

[andrewandjane]

were a family of veggies and tend to prepare most of our food ourselves, working our way through a book called a 1000 vegetarian recipies. mainly for cost reasons, but theres plenty you can get(but not the vast variety of the UK) and cant find veggie gravy here yet!. suasages and burgers are readily available in most supermarket. if youve got the cash theres plenty of veggie stuff once you start looking so wouldnt worry too much about it.

[aggelon]

The Basics gravy mix in Countdown is actually Vegan

[ellenmelon]

1. whoever said they ate fish and were still vegetarian...you're lying! your a pescetarian :)

2. i havent had trouble eating out or cooking at home. there are vegetarian/vegan restaurants in wellington and anywhere ive gone into has had vegie options.

just wanted to pop in my personal opinion.... im a vegetarian of 7 years but ive never eaten meat replacement products as they taste gross and i dont see the point of eating something similar to meat which ive conciously decided not to eat...

[katmat]

Countdown (Highland Park Auckland) have some Birds Eye frozen items- corn fritters, vegetable fingers, hash browns. Handy to have in for the times I am in a hurry and dont have time to cook.

[swissmissdesigner]

"1. whoever said they ate fish and were still vegetarian...you're lying! your a pescetarian "


I wrote: "semi-vegetarian" why is that a lying?

[Lupin]

1. whoever said they ate fish and were still vegetarian...you're lying! your a pescetarian :)

2. i havent had trouble eating out or cooking at home. there are vegetarian/vegan restaurants in wellington and anywhere ive gone into has had vegie options.

just wanted to pop in my personal opinion.... im a vegetarian of 7 years but ive never eaten meat replacement products as they taste gross and i dont see the point of eating something similar to meat which ive conciously decided not to eat...

:roll

[ellenmelon]

"1. whoever said they ate fish and were still vegetarian...you're lying! your a pescetarian "


I wrote: "semi-vegetarian" why is that a lying?

i was poking fun. hence the smiley face.

[Sam B]

We cook from scratch, always have done, so no difference on that score. Worse for eating out though, definitely in the Waikato anyway - meat eating centre of the universe. There are veggie options, but they are often v limited, and we have had many of those shock-horror-meat-all-over-our-plates when our dinner arrives moments, although they are always happy to take it back to the kitchen and scrape it off and then pretend they have recooked our meal in 30 seconds....

[anna_c]

I'm not vegetarian, but I only eat vegetarian food at home and normally choose vegetarian food when I eat out.

I haven't had any problems. I've only found one restaurant in Wellington with no vegetarian meals (Coyote, if anyone's interested).

There are some products you won't be able to get, but there'll also be new ones.

There are less meat substitutes but there are still a fair number, and I don't eat them anyway (I don't consider tofu a meat subsitute because I make tofu meals, not meat meals with tofu substituted).

And there are vegetarian ready meals easily available.

I was just writing up a list of vegetarian friendly restaurants in wellington - I'll dig that up and post it here.

[janmommy]

thanks everyone :raebanana

[John Z]

We cook from scratch, always have done, so no difference on that score. Worse for eating out though, definitely in the Waikato anyway - meat eating centre of the universe. There are veggie options, but they are often v limited, and we have had many of those shock-horror-meat-all-over-our-plates when our dinner arrives moments, although they are always happy to take it back to the kitchen and scrape it off and then pretend they have recooked our meal in 30 seconds....

There are so many Indian restaurants in NZ, did you try the one on (west-side) Victoria Street, Hamilton? The owner looks like he's had a bad night al the time (he probably looked that way at 24.00 hrs. and we all know what could happen then...), but the food was good and there was an overall pleasant atmosphere.

(BTW, just a bit surprised, but maybe I misunderstood: when you read the menu you can read whether there's meat in it, so why would they have to "take it back"?)

Cheers, John Z.

[John Z]

"1. whoever said they ate fish and were still vegetarian...you're lying! your a pescetarian "


I wrote: "semi-vegetarian" why is that a lying?

Come on Anna, you can't be half-a-vegetarian.
Either you are or you're not. :)

John Z

[jess]

I was just writing up a list of vegetarian friendly restaurants in wellington - I'll dig that up and post it here. I would love to see that! Many thanks!!! :D

[olivia]

I haven't eaten any meat for 17 years and i was a little worried after research about the choices in veggie food i would have here as i ate quite a lot of quorn in the UK. We moved here (nth of Chch) 7 months ago and i do find that the choice in ready made meals and meat substitutes is nothing like what you could get in the UK, BUT i have also pleasantly surprised myself by finding i don't miss them too much and as a result i do actually make more things from scratch like veg curry or chilli and i can even make a few soups too. i use more lentils and beans than before but as far as i am concerned this can only be a good thing.

Also, i think the general choice in ready meals is alot less, whether meat or veggie, as kiwis do seem to cook most things themselves.

There are still some things i eat like the sanitarium veg bacon rashers that someone else mentioned which are yummy for a treat.

I see from your blog you are going to Wellington and having never been there i can't comment on places to eat there but we've eaten out quite a few times in rangiora and in Chch and i've not yet had a problem finding veggie food on the menu. And if you're ever down in Chch try Dux de Lux, it's a veg & seafood restaurant and does really nice food.

Olivia

[Jo Jo]

When I was in NZ at Christmas I noticed that a lot of foods that are vegetarian in the UK aren't in NZ because they contain animal fat/ gelatine (oven chips spring to mind - I have such unsophisticated tastes!) I ended up reading the ingredients of all the pre-prepared food we picked up - haven't had to do that in the UK for years.

[martinp]

As veggies we were disappointed with the vegetables we purchased in supermarkets. They looked nice, but had little , or no, flavour. This was especially true of potatoes, tomatoes and root veges like carrots, parsnips etc.

Now we have found our local markets, we no longer purchase veggies from the supermarket. Market veggies taste fantastic, just like they should, and OK they may not all look perfect, but hey, you are eating the content, not the appearance, and the cost is much lower than the supermarket as well.

[olivia]

When I was in NZ at Christmas I noticed that a lot of foods that are vegetarian in the UK aren't in NZ because they contain animal fat/ gelatine (oven chips spring to mind - I have such unsophisticated tastes!) I ended up reading the ingredients of all the pre-prepared food we picked up - haven't had to do that in the UK for years.

This is so true. Hash browns are made with beef fat and my Oh bought me a ready made tomato pasta dish from the supermarket which looks lovely but has beef, chicken and pork in it. Why, i have no idea.

Olivia

[swissmissdesigner]

JohnZ: "Come on Anna, you can't be half-a-vegetarian.:D
Either you are or you're not."

Definitions of some other confusing terms :nice1

Semi-Vegetarian: Eats less meat than average person. See also PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN.

Pseudo-Vegetarian: Claims to be vegetarian, but isn't. Often used by VEGETARIANS to describe SEMI-VEGETARIANs, and PESCETARIANs.

Pescetarian: Similar to VEGETARIAN, but also consumes fish. (often is a person avoiding factory-farming techniques...) See also PSEUDO-VEGETARIAN.

Fruitarian: Same as VEGAN, but only eats foods that don't kill the plant (apples can be picked without killing plant, carrots cannot).

[britchik]

Not forgetting " Chickenarians " too !
That be me !!

[StevieD]

Good post this, missed it until now. As an ex-pat UK person with wife and 2 kids who are semi-veggie (they eat fish too) who used to eat the quorn mince as a substitute in UK, I would say that it is neither disappointing or going to set the world alight if you are into processed veggie stuff. Most of the derivatives we have tried have been abysmal, but, there is so much fresh veg and fruit that you can't help but eat well if you cook from scratch.

Nobody mentioned the Bin Inn chain, they sell a lot of the TVP stuff at reasonable prices.

One thing that we have noticed here is that the tinned pulses and beans are so different to the UK. They seem harder, not as mushy, and there is definitely a taste difference. Better off buying your own dried pulses and soaking them overnight. Just as good and cheaper to boot.

Fish is plentiful and varied, and is not bad cost at all. It is difficult to adjust to the fact that prices are per kilo, which is an awful lot of product!!

I'm sure you will be fine. You will adjust as my clan have done, even though they do sometimes yearn for a bit of Quorn mince for pies or meals.

I have contacted Quorn by the way, and they have no plans for now or the considerable future to sell their produce in Australasia. Maybe if there are enough people to badger them they may change their mind, but they don't see it as a viable market.

Regarding the indian restaurant in Hamilton, there is an ad on the radio that cracks me up when I hear it - wonder if that is the miserable guy mentioned?
Will have to go in and see him now....

Steve

[ellenmelon]

Not forgetting " Chickenarians " too !
That be me !!

Pollotarianism would be the word you're looking for :D hehe. i was a pollotarian before i went full vegie. its probably the one thing i miss...that and bacon!! :laugh

[martinp]

Somehow people who eat fish in NZ are classed as veggie, why is that?

Vegetarian, as a term, means you eat vegetables, not something that has had a brain and suffers pain.

If you care for some animals such you will not eat them, why not include all living creatures in your edict?

[Sam B]

Why can't people just call themselves whatever they want to call themselves and eat whatever they want to eat, it doesn't do anyone else any harm. I eat fish, but I still call myself a veggie as it's a quick way to say I don't eat meat if someone's cooking for me. We shouldn't have to justify our diets or how we explain them to each other.

John Z - lots of cafes and restaurants here have meals that sound meat free but turn up with meat in them, like bacon bits on top of nachos that were described as having salsa and sour cream on them, but no mention of bacon, that's what I meant. Think every restaurant in France ever, and you'll know what I mean.

There is a great Indian restaurant in Hamilton on Peachgrove Road called the South Indian Restaurant, and half the meals are veggie, it's yummy. Doesn't look much from the outside, but mmm,mmm.

[John Z]

Regarding the indian restaurant in Hamilton, there is an ad on the radio that cracks me up when I hear it - wonder if that is the miserable guy mentioned?
Will have to go in and see him now....

Steve

Imagine my avatar without the tongue hanging out and you've got the picture, really!

Awaiting a tastefull report :cheers

John Z

[StevieD]

Is he that ugly John??? :laugh

[John Z]

Is he that ugly John??? :laugh

I don't think he's ugly, but it's just the expression. ;)

D*mn, now everywaikatobody's of to Victoria street...:exit
But on second thought: he ain't open yet :laugh

John Z

[John Z]

Psst, anyone heard of Steve yet?

How did he survive the miserable-veggie-weekend confrontation?

John Z

[Familyofmonkeys]

We found birdseye Vegi fingers and sweetcorn fritters (just like UK ones) in Foodtown at the weekend!!