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THE VANCOUVER COURIER FRIDAY, MARCH 11, 2011
food talk
Longtime vegetarians give Gardein products stamp of approval
Continued from previous page of meatless protein and rice in one of three flavoured sauces: Thai, Sicilian or Burgundy. To sample the goods, I recruited longtime friends Pat, John and Jeff Davis. The Davises have been ovolacto-vegetarians (meaning they include eggs and dairy products in their diet) for 40 years and are extremely suspicious about most convenient veggie products.
My second group of human Guinea pigs was the family of Courier assistant editor Fiona Hughes. She was a pesco-vegetarian (she included seafood in her diet) for 15 years prior to meeting her meat-loving husband Noah. Hughes tried to maintain her vegetarianism after hooking up with her husband and having her first baby but gravitated towards meat out of the frustration of preparing three different meals. That baby, now
six-years-old, is known to stick her tongue out at anything that smacks of tofu—except cheese-laden veggie dogs—while her pre-school brother simply needs to have mystery protein food on his plate identified before ploughing into his meal. Overall the verdict was positive. The kids showed their approval by cleaning their plates and the adults were impressed with every product except the Sicilian-flavoured Trio,
which they found bland. “So often vegetarian food is tasteless and unappealing,” John Davis told me. “But these Gardein items are definitely not the usual fare; they’re excellent.” Hughes felt that she could incorporate some of the items into the family’s dinner menu repertoire and have everyone eating the same meal. Noah, however, wasn’t as keen as the others. “If I’m going to eat vegetarian food, I’d rather have my wife’s
spicy tofu stir-fry than anything that simulates animal protein,” he said. There are vegetarians who feel the same: they’re not interested in simulated meatless products. An intense meat dislike steered them towards vegetarianism. That said, Gardein products, which cost between $4.49 and $5.99, won’t be their cup of tea. Linda Watts is a registered dietitian. Send questions to wattslin@ gmail.com.
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