[Caravaggio]

This takes off from another thread about vegetarian diabetics.

To our vegetarian members who were once non-vegetarians, is there anything non-vegetarian that you (still) miss or crave?

[Evermont]

Generally, no.

I recall feeling a little deprived for the first week or two, hard to remember exactly because it was many years ago. Then something happens and the thought of meat becomes repulsive. The sight of it or smell of it becomes completely unappetizing. This was at it's worst for first few months then moderated over time. It still comes and goes but mostly I'm just neutral about meat simply preferring not to eat it.

There are a few exceptions though. Sometimes a well crafted steak commercial or something will strike a familiar old nerve. Catching a faint whiff of some steaks on a distant grill can be more enticing than getting a full blast up close. Not sure why. DW, also vegetarian for 22 years seems to have a particular weakness - watching her brother dig into all-U-can-eat crab legs. Strange how the circumstance is so specific for her.

There are times when we crave a certain dish, like a Bacon-Lettuce-Tomato (BLT) sandwich for example. If you make it vegetarian by leaving out the bacon (BL?) - it just ain't the same. Also, Mexican dishes that would normally include "taco meat" are sometimes just fine without it, but other times they seem to be missing that key flavor. In both of these cases there are simple vegetarian substitutes that "fill in the holes" very nicely.

[Neuromancer]

I guess I'm what they call "flexitarian"...most of the time my diet is vegetarian based, however I occasionally eat fish or chicken once a week, each...and I eat cheese and eggs and so on...every once in a great while I'll cheat with a hot dog (only Nathan's, Sabrett's, or Hebrew National) or maybe hot Italian sausage as that was alway one of my favorites, but usually not more than a few times a year...considering that the latest studies show that a diet heavy in beef will increase your risk of colon cancer by 35% I no longer have any cravings for beef whatsoever, and after seeing a few scenes from "Fast Food Nation" about how they handle and process ground beef (loaded with e coli) makes me gag at the thought of eating it in any form...

[Caravaggio]

A good friend is a vegetarian. Tried to give up eggs and cheese too but can't stand his cravings for cheesecake. He found a restaurant that makes burgers, chicken, turkey, even steak, using tofu (I think it's tofu). Now, he's a happy man. I do wonder (though not out loud) whether he really is a "vegetarian" since in his mind he is eating "meat". .