Hey everyone - I've been going back and forth between being a strict vegetarian and particular about my meat sources for two years or so, but I am continually surprised by all sorts of foods that are not vegetarian. I know many marshmallows, corbreads, and Oreos are no good, and to look out for lard or gelatin, but does anyone know of other foods or ingredients to watch out for? I recently heard Goldfish might not be vegetarian? If anyone has any suggestions for ingredients to stay away from or a list of products that are not vegetarian, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!
As a vegetarian, I have to say it really makes you look at the crap that goes in some of our products. It's actually quite interesting. I would stay away from most "pre-packaged" or easy access items. There's too many too list that do contain animal products. Cake mixes, cookies, chips etc. Some things that aren't too common: Some brands of Orange Juices are fortified with Omega-3 which comes in the source of fish oil, anything that contains Red-dye. Caesar dressing, but actually a lot of creamy dressings, jellies and jams unless they've had a vegetarian gelling agent added to them ie) Agar Agar, margarine (you can buy vegan versions), store bought mass-manufactured breads contain additives that make them have a longer shelf-life, they may also be fortified with Omega-3 amino acids in the same way as some of the orange juices, cheeses, a lot of your frozen quick fix meals. There's quite a lot actually. It makes you really think about what actually goes into our food. Best advice would be to buy as fresh as possible. Didn't come from the ground or grown on a tree, then it's probably not good. I think that's actually good advice for non-vegetarians as well. Try and make your own products, I have lots recipes for things like vegetarian marshmallow cookies, jams/jellies, etc. etc. It's really easy to make your own products, and actually tends to be cheaper. Hope this kind of helps!
Just for the record, omega-3s can also come in the form of flax oil, which is totally vegetarian (and a tasty alternative to butter on things like baked potatoes)... but frozenandbroken is right, there are all sorts of things you have to look out for, depending on how strict you're going to be.
I am mostly vegan, so I usually stick to fresh fruits and vegetables. However, when I have a craving for processed vegetarian food, I usually buy products from health food stores that are labeled vegetarian or vegan. It all depends like they said above how strict you want to be. If you go to google and search hidden animal ingredients list, you should be able to find quite a few sites.
I only eat fish and chicken along with fruits and vegetables. I agree that you should stay away from packaged goods as much as possible because they put all sorts of stuff in them to keep them fresh and for taste.
Some cake mixes and hostess products have beef fat. Some white sugar uses bone char (animal bones) for the white color. Red candies have beetles. Same with jello. A lot of orange juice have fish oil. Re-fried beans = lard. BBQ flavored chips have chicken fat. especially lays. Its gross but true, i hope i helped!
