Vegetarian

I am making the transition into vegetarianism, and want to try to avoid gelatin and other 'hidden' animal products.

For example, frosted Mini Wheats contain gelatin so I would not be able to eat them.

What are some other 'hidden foods' you have found?

 

O.O I just found out about Frosted Wheats a few months ago. I've never liked them, but my mom buys them quite frequently for herself. I also read the ingredients on a bag of mini ravvioli pasta that I used to LOVE, LOVE, LOVE when I was a little kid (I called them "square noodles") and found out that they had animal rennet in them. Luckilly, I haven't had those in a year or two either. Gelatin is in most commercial flavored yogurts (Yoplait and Dannon). Worcestershire sauce and Ceasar dressings have anchovies, in case you didn't know. Oh, and most red food dyes are made from carmine - a small insect.

Here's a list of common "hidden" animal ingredients:

http://www.caringconsumer.com/resources_ingre dients_list.asp

It's difficult to decipher some of it, especially since most of the items CAN come from plant sources. Plus, I'm not sure when this list was last updated, but as time goes on, I think more and more companies are using plant-based alternatives. I usually avoid food that has ingredients that MAY come from animal sources unless the company has publicly stated that the ingredient in question does not come from animal sources. I do make some exceptions though, because sometimes it's just not likely that an ingredient would be sourced from animals. It all comes down to your personal comfort level.

If you find a particular food that you're unsure of, doing a search online or e-mailing/calling the company can usually alleviate your concerns if the ingredients label is too cryptic. Hope this helps!

EDIT: Oh yeah, and I just wanted to mention, if you're anything like me, some of this will blow your mind at first. But I want to assure you that you will eventually just get a feel for it.

I'm vegetarian and I've been making a transaction to vegan recently. I was browsing stuff vegans can't eat and I found that Boston Markets Mashed Patatos have gelatin.  I was so upset about that. =P

Original Post by amn2008:

I'm vegetarian and I've been making a transaction to vegan recently. I was browsing stuff vegans can't eat and I found that Boston Markets Mashed Patatos have gelatin.  I was so upset about that. =P

 A LOT of restaurants put cheese in their mashed potatoes, or at least cream, sour cream, and butter.

I just noticed this morning that my MULTIVITAMIN of all things contains gelatin. 

MANY multivitamins have gelatin - gotta pay attention to those ingredients. I take a vegan one, formulated for teens. They sell it at Whole Foods.

Many packaged breads have eggs and/or milk in them.  Someone on this site posted that nearly all mass-produced breads are vegan, but I have independently verified that is not true.  Check the label before you buy.

My Aunt and Uncle found out the hard way that many things have whey. My baby cousin was allergic to all milk products. When he ate them his throat would swell and he had a hard time breathing, resulting in him crying all the time, expecially at night. The docter had told them to avoid milk, but myAunt didn't realize that many breads have whey. Even the tiniest bit would trigger a reaction.

Original Post by fuzzys:

Many packaged breads have eggs and/or milk in them. Someone on this site posted that nearly all mass-produced breads are vegan, but I have independently verified that is not true. Check the label before you buy.

I can't even tell you how irritated I am with how insanely difficult it can be to find bread that doesn't have some sort of dairy/egg derivative, and usually when I find one, it has honey in it. GRRRR!! I've spent WAY too many times in the bread aisle at grocery stores that usually ended up with me swearing at the loaves of bread like a crazy person. Even most of the bread in the bakery isn't vegan. I've only found 2 kinds of vegan bread that I can fairly easily find at a grocery store. What a pain. MILK AND EGGS ARE NOT NEEDED TO MAKE BREAD!!! Apparently, bread is a very emotional topic for me...     

Orange fanta! I was really surprised when I found out about that one, luckily I never liked/drank it anyway. It's usually additives that aren't vegetarian/vegan friendly so if you eat clean most of the time and be sure to label read when you have processed foods it shouldn't be a problem. Here's a list of common veggie "stumbling blocks" from the vegetarian society website:

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/stumbling.html

Some pop tarts contain gelatin. Idk which ones because I don't eat them but my friend is a veg and he eats the unfrosted strawberry ones.

be aware that altoids have gelatin in them!

Baked BBQ Lays definitely have animal fats.  *sob*.  As do Chips Ahoy.

Basically, processed food should ALL be considered suspect until you read the labels.  

Also be aware of seemingly innocuous things like rice and fries and such at restaurants.  Rice is almost ALWAYS cooked in chicken broth and many places still cook fries in lard...ask your server, and really use your judgment as to whether they're telling you the truth.  I would NEVER lie as a vegetarian, but there are many servers who are too busy to care to find out the truth.

Then again, I may have served caffeinated coffee to someone who wanted decaf before

i was strictly vegetarian for 2 years and tried vegan for a few months.  eventually i realized i wasn't getting enough nutrients in my diet, and i grew weak and pale. i found it very difficult to avoid certain foods, and even more difficult to eat out, plus it was hard for my family & friends to accommodate my eating habits. it is not the easiest of diets, but it certainly is a conscious one! i too despise the animal industry, though now i eat free range poultry and fish as part of my diet, and i feel healthier, because that is what my body needs.

some people take vegan more strictly than others, so it depends on how strict you want to be. some things are ok in my eyes - such as honey, a byproduct of bees - although i agree gelatin is nasty, coming from horse hoofs. but what about earthworms? they eat/poop the soil that grows plants, so in a way, plants are a byproduct of animals too. everything that grows or thrives is intertwined with animals, so it is nearly impossible not to have their byproducts be a part of your food. hang in there, and feel out what works best for you. just make sure you take your vitamins and get enough protein. best of luck!

Boston Markets Mashed Patatos have gelatin in them

im a vegetarian cuz after i seen some vids of slaughter houses ..... i cryed all night

i wish they didnt have to go through that :(

One that made me really mad was Balance Bars.  Fish gelatin?  In a protein bar?  Is that really necessary?

medveditsa- i know!! when i found out about that, i was soooo mad- i had loved those!!

blecccch. fish gelatin. grossssss.

In response to the comment about plants being an animal byproduct....my understanding if veganism is that ethical vegans do not eat animal products and byproducts because they/we think that it is wrong to abuse and kill animals which are sentient beings.   Since worms are not being bred specifically to create worm castings, and they are not being abused, there is no reason to avoid plants, which after all, are plants.  Not part of an animal, and therefore not an animal byproduct.