[elle123]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Vegetarian doesn't equate with healthier. Overprocessed grain-based and tofu-based "meat analogues" are vegetarian, and are actually really unhealthy to include as a regular part of your diet.

That said, I'd love to see healthier options. Not merely vegetarian or vegan, but good quality meatless options. A GOOD hummus. Salads with home-made non-ranch (seriously what is the southern obsession with ranch dressing, BLECH) dressings. Pizzas with home-made sauce, and less cheese. Sauteed string beans with olive oil and garlic. More eggplant dishes (I wouldn't eat them but many people love that stuff and we need more of it). More balsamic glaze and less hollandaise sauce. More fresh, not thawed, Florida fish with fresh lemon juice and fresh dill instead of fatty creamy Sysco lemon sauce. Pan-cooked chicken in sauteed veggies instead of deep-fried breaded chicken. More whole-grain breads plus rye and sourdough breads for those looking to reduce wheat but not needing to eliminate it.

I personally eat mostly organic fruits and vegetables, especially preferring food that's not inundated with chemicals, however, it's substantially more expensive than the usual "slop" found on supermarket shelves. The point being, is that "cost" could be the reason why healthy organic foods are not on the menu.

[golfing eagles]

Originally Posted by Foxmd

It would be healthier to offer turkey meatloaf rather than beef meatloaf. There are many research articles pointing out health issues of mammal meat.

Do you have links to these "many research articles"???
Are they published in NEJM, JAMA or the Lancet? Are they double blinded placebo controlled multi-centered peer reviewed studies of at least 5,000 people?
More likely in the Outer Mongolian Jornal of Holistic Crap or the South Sudanese Journal of Nutritional Misinformation.

Amazing the human race isn't extinct after our ancestors dined on wooly mammoth and saber-toothed tiger.

[retiredguy123]

Originally Posted by elle123

I personally eat mostly organic fruits and vegetables, especially preferring food that's not inundated with chemicals, however, it's substantially more expensive than the usual "slop" found on supermarket shelves. The point being, is that "cost" could be the reason why healthy organic foods are not on the menu.

Where do you buy these organic fruits and vegetables, and how are they different from the organic "slop" in grocery stores?

[USOTR]

Vegetarian is not healthier..
How about a menu for all of us on a low carb diet?

[cjky2k]

Originally Posted by retiredguy123

Pizza with less cheese. I'll vote for that. Most places put so much cheese on pizza, that I stopped buying it.

You can just ask for less cheese. We do. Of course you do have do have that particular restaurant’s pizza once to know how much cheese they usually use!! But you can definitely ask them to cut the cheese by 1/3 or whatever you think is right for you. Not sure about a “pizza place” but works at the country clubs.

[MandoMan]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

Vegetarian doesn't equate with healthier. Overprocessed grain-based and tofu-based "meat analogues" are vegetarian, and are actually really unhealthy to include as a regular part of your diet.

That said, I'd love to see healthier options. Not merely vegetarian or vegan, but good quality meatless options. A GOOD hummus. Salads with home-made non-ranch (seriously what is the southern obsession with ranch dressing, BLECH) dressings. Pizzas with home-made sauce, and less cheese. Sauteed string beans with olive oil and garlic. More eggplant dishes (I wouldn't eat them but many people love that stuff and we need more of it). More balsamic glaze and less hollandaise sauce. More fresh, not thawed, Florida fish with fresh lemon juice and fresh dill instead of fatty creamy Sysco lemon sauce. Pan-cooked chicken in sauteed veggies instead of deep-fried breaded chicken. More whole-grain breads plus rye and sourdough breads for those looking to reduce wheat but not needing to eliminate it.

How about properly steamed vegetables instead of sauteéd vegetables (that is, fried in oil). Frozen vegetables are more likely to be cooked at peak ripeness than “fresh” vegetables picked when less ripe to allow for shipping. Sourdough bread is white bread and so less nutritious. I like eggplant a lot, but when fried, it really soaks up a lot of oil—that’s why it tastes so good. I’d welcome good vegetarian cooking in our restaurants, but I question some of your ideas of healthy eating. You are definitely right that vegetarian doesn’t necessarily equate with healthy.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by BrianL99

That would be too easy and then the vegetarian's wouldn't have anything to complain about, online.

Same as those who want "Indian Food" or "Thai Food" or any of the other less popular dining options.

Don't people understand that restaurants strive to appeal to a reasonably broad range of customers and not specialize in food that less than 2% of the residents want to eat? It's funny how restaurants actually want to be successful and make a profit.

One needs to only walk around The Villages, to see that the majority of residents prefer fatty, fried foods and lots of it. Maybe a nice dessert, too.

I find it odd that more posters don't understand this.

We spent a lot of time eating Indian and Thai back in MD and I really like Ethiopian but those flavors just aren't a good fit for the palates in the Villages. I wish I had those options golf-cart accessible but I accept that any such restaurant would be short-lived here. Fortunately, there is a nice variety to be found in Gainesville, Ocala, Tampa, and Orlando.

(Yes, there is Thai Ruby and we go there frequently)

[BobGraves]

About 10 years ago I drove my 96 year old Uncle to the funeral mass for my 98 year old Aunt. We got there early so we stopped at a diner for breakfast. I thought he would order a bowl of oatmeal or cottage cheese with fruit or some other "healthy" food but he had the corned beef hash with fried eggs and finished every last bite. I asked and he told me he has bacon and eggs almost every day. My 87 year old mother is still going strong after smoking 2 packs of cigarettes for most of her life (she does have some emphysema). She told me stories of her childhood where, being very poor, their dinner consisted of a slice of bread spread with lard. Growing up she cut the whites off of her eggs, gave them to the dog and only ate the yolks. Bacon, pot roast, meat loaf, corned beef, sausage, and many other "mammal" meats were and still are staples of her diet. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, my Aunt "Sissy" just celebrated her 105th birthday this past January. She was raised on these same lard sandwiches. She never smoked and has "A" beer every St. Patrick's day with her corned beef and cabbage. Growing up, I've been to her house for dinner countless times and I've seen what she eats when we go to Baumanns Brookside resort in upstairs NY for our annual family reunion. Here's a hint, it ain't vegan or vegetarian.
When finding"studies" on diets, check where the funding came from. Dig deeper into how they classify things such as "meat eater". One such study classifies a meat meal as a big Mac, French fries, and soda. And then claims it was the meat that caused the heart disease. It couldn't be the triple layer sesame seed bun, the "special" sauce, the fries that are fried in seed oils at high temperatures, or the high fructose corn syrup soda. Nah, that couldn't be it. Meat is not your enemy. In fact it is the most, readily available, nutrition dense food you can eat having all the necessary nutrition, including amino acids, that your body needs. Stay away from seed oils, starches, sugary cereals, highly processed foods, sugary sauces. JMHO.

[airstreamingypsy]

I don't eat mammals, haven't for approximately 30 years. I do however eat fish. I have no interest in being vegan, frankly it's too much work and I like things that I could no longer eat, like cheese. I don't et mammals for moral reasons, but a benefit is I have outlived everyone in my family.

[BostonRich]

We did have a Sweet Tomatoes and my wife used to enjoy the huge salad bar but they closed down a few years ago. It is now a Chipolte.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Big difference between eating vegetables and eating vegetables exclusively , but you already know that

Evidence right here that most people don't understand the word "vegetarian."

Vegetarians don't eat vegetables exclusively. Not all foods that are not beef, fish, pig, or bird, are vegetables.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

have not in the past, not in the present and never in the future. Not minimally, ZERO

Originally Posted by golfing eagles

Wow, yet another oxymoron. I believe that's three in under 20 posts

How would you know, if you've never been to one, don't currently go to any, and refuse to ever go to one in the future? Your opinion is based on a very limited, myopic understanding of the term.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

How about properly steamed vegetables instead of sauteéd vegetables (that is, fried in oil). Frozen vegetables are more likely to be cooked at peak ripeness than “fresh” vegetables picked when less ripe to allow for shipping. Sourdough bread is white bread and so less nutritious. I like eggplant a lot, but when fried, it really soaks up a lot of oil—that’s why it tastes so good. I’d welcome good vegetarian cooking in our restaurants, but I question some of your ideas of healthy eating. You are definitely right that vegetarian doesn’t necessarily equate with healthy.

Sourdough is less unhealthy than regular white bread. Sauteed is better than deep fried. Pan-seared is better than deep-fried. When we are looking at dining out options - the goal would be to try "less unhealthy" menu selections, not "healthy" menu selections.

Most options will be unhealthy to one degree or another. Sure steamed foods are healthier, as opposed to less unhealthy. But steamed foods are bland, and require sauces or seasonings which may or may not reduce those foods to becoming less healthy. If the end result is less unhealthy, then - when spending extra money to eat it at a restaurant instead of making it yourself, it'd be great to start out with less unhealthy foods that are prepared and served to be delicious. Steamed broccoli is not my idea of delicious.

[Sledneck]

would love to at least see a restaurant that fried in beef tallow instead of seed oils.

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

Originally Posted by BobGraves

About 10 years ago I drove my 96 year old Uncle to the funeral mass for my 98 year old Aunt. We got there early so we stopped at a diner for breakfast. I thought he would order a bowl of oatmeal or cottage cheese with fruit or some other "healthy" food but he had the corned beef hash with fried eggs and finished every last bite. I asked and he told me he has bacon and eggs almost every day. My 87 year old mother is still going strong after smoking 2 packs of cigarettes for most of her life (she does have some emphysema). She told me stories of her childhood where, being very poor, their dinner consisted of a slice of bread spread with lard. Growing up she cut the whites off of her eggs, gave them to the dog and only ate the yolks. Bacon, pot roast, meat loaf, corned beef, sausage, and many other "mammal" meats were and still are staples of her diet. Oh yeah, I almost forgot, my Aunt "Sissy" just celebrated her 105th birthday this past January. She was raised on these same lard sandwiches. She never smoked and has "A" beer every St. Patrick's day with her corned beef and cabbage. Growing up, I've been to her house for dinner countless times and I've seen what she eats when we go to Baumanns Brookside resort in upstairs NY for our annual family reunion. Here's a hint, it ain't vegan or vegetarian.
When finding"studies" on diets, check where the funding came from. Dig deeper into how they classify things such as "meat eater". One such study classifies a meat meal as a big Mac, French fries, and soda. And then claims it was the meat that caused the heart disease. It couldn't be the triple layer sesame seed bun, the "special" sauce, the fries that are fried in seed oils at high temperatures, or the high fructose corn syrup soda. Nah, that couldn't be it. Meat is not your enemy. In fact it is the most, readily available, nutrition dense food you can eat having all the necessary nutrition, including amino acids, that your body needs. Stay away from seed oils, starches, sugary cereals, highly processed foods, sugary sauces. JMHO.

I can't speak for everyone else in this thread, but I don't vilify meat. I'm a happy omnivore and enjoy a juicy steak, a chicken parm dish, and hot lobster roll as much as any other proper American does.

HOWEVER - as an omnivore, I ALSO like foods that don't contain meat. Like a non-mushy falafel in a syrian (not greek, those are horrible) pita with tahini and lots of fresh ripe diced tomatoes and crunchy lettuce. And baked macaroni and cheese with a crunchy dusting of breadcrumbs on the top. And oatmeal with raisins and butter, or a swiss-cheese omelet with sauteed mushrooms and onions for breakfast. And peanutbutter and strawberry preserves on wheat bread for lunch. All these things are "vegetarian."