pandya_m

Hello Friends,
I am just worried about the food in Oz...
I am a pure vegge (Vegitarian). I refrain from having egg even (just no no for beef, steak, chicken, etc). Hope that should not be a problem.
My couple of visit to US was good, I coule manage good veg. food. Hope it does not differ much with Oz...!
Anyone who can tell me about veggie ready made food?

Widdi

oh dear oh dear!!!!

MMMM - well my experience is this,

My girlfriends a veggie - the cities and coastal towns are great - even better than uk with Veggie delis and falafel counters etc -

but once you leave the suburbs - take a packed lunch!!

Most shops just sell meat pies and chiko rolls -

Unless you can live on milkshakes (which are great)

Pollyana

Its been discussed a lot before, and there are mixed opinions, most people thought it would mean less "ready meals". Do a few searches cos I know its come up a lot.

Big Ellie!

If products (in shops & restaurants) are veggie, do they label them clearly like in the UK?!

Widdi

Not the Veggie culture in OZ like UK

More healthy eating shops.... - you should be ok in the cities and Byron Bay

pandya_m

Hey, I am relying on those green and brown tick colors on the container or pack of foods. I identify the food with color tags, veggie (green ticks) and non-veg (brown ticks). Hope its not missing in Oz... And restaurants do understand that veggie is veggie (no beef, no steak, no eggs etc)

Laurie1st

I am a vegetarian (though, I do eat eggs), and my fiance is a vegan (no meat or dairy at all). We had no problems at all in the cities, most restaurants catered to vegetarians to some degree. He had a little bit more trouble than I did because he doesn't eat cheese, but he did alright. In the country town it was a little more difficult, and we did pack lunches for several days, but even still we would have been able to find something if we needed to.

pandya_m

very much thanks for your replies

atlantatoaus

HI pandya
I am a pure vegetarian I dont eat egg also same as you
I believe you have more choices for vegetarians in sydney than we have in Atlanta.Lots of indian eatiers in Sydney too .
So no worries
priya

Ceri

Ready made food in the supermarkets and shops are far and few between. There is a very small selection in Coles , Woolworths ,Bilo fridges. You'll get sausages, burgers and bacon. Frozen meals - basically, not a lot. The odd frozen burger and stuff and that's about it.

For anyone who was veggie in the early eighties ( before it got fashionable and before Quorn, Linda McCartney and things) , when there was hardly any ready made veggie food in the supermarkets in the UK, when you had to shop in Health food shops for powdered burgers and beans etc - horrible tasting stuff. . Australia is a bit like that, not a huge selection like what it is like in the Uk today. Here in Aus they have very far and few between ready made stuff in the supermarkets, just a little selection of food.

Cheese there are two veggie ones on the market in the main supermarkets such as coles, vegige cheese and Nimbin cheese.

Australia is a very meat eating country. Restaurants , you'll always find veggie food served in those ( I doubt you're going to eat every meal of the day, each day in a restaurant), but supermarkets are very poor for ready made veggie stuff. If you're expecting heaps of ready made veggie stuff stuff like they have in Asda and Tesco's - forget it. Tins , there is a small tin selection in the health food bit of the supermarkets - sausages, nut loaf, and mince etc.

Regarding is it labelled well ? The ready made veggie food designed for the veggie market is labled well, everyday products (like ready made chips, biscuits etc etc) is not. Some have "suitable for vegetarians" written on it - most products, you get used to reading the labels.

You'll find you'll have to make a bit of your own stuff, as it is so poor here regarding convient ready made veggie stuff in the supermarkets. If I can make veggie food up, anyone can All it means is making your own stuff up when you have some spare moments and freezing it for convient meals.

cheers

pandya_m

Thanks Priya for the feedback
Ceri, thanks for the quick overview.

sophia

As many posters have just said, the ready made vegetarian meal section really leaves a lot to be desired I'm afraid. Ceri, most of the veggie sausage, burgers etc have got egg albumen in them so Pandym won't be able to eat them.

I am a lacto-vegetarian (no meat, fish or eggs, but do have dairy so not complete vegan...yet!) and I have to really be careful and read labels very carefully over here.

Most cheeses contain animal rennet and almost all yoghurts contain gelatine! and although it's happening slowly, very little food is actually labelled whether its suitable for vegetarians. Even if it is, I would still check carefully, I got a recipe booklet from one of the large dairys allegedly containing all "vegetarian" recipes....well all the desserts without fail contained Gelatine!!! hmmm!!

I live in WA and find that eating out is not too bad. I just have to think ahead. The indian restaurants cater well for vegetarians and there is the Hare Krishna place and the Happy Buddha too. Once you've settled where you're going you'll soon find you cope ok!!

This is a useful site for E-numbers if you're not used to looking! Bit scary reading tho!! :scared:

animal derived food additives

love sophia xx

saraliz

You definitely have to read the labels!!!! As Sophia says, most yoghurts contain gelatine (along with many desserts), frozen chips contain beef tallow, lots of cheeses have rennet, etc., etc. I really miss the clear labelling you get in the UK!

Also, a lot of people seem to assume that since you're vegetarian you'll eat fish (this really drives me crazy!!). So if you're in a restaurant and asking what the vegetarian options are, make it clear to them if you don't eat fish.

pandya_m

I am hopeless case in cooking.
I think I need to learn some cooking from my mama....
Its will be cheaper and good for me.

btw, my religion prohibits eating non-veg, but milk, honey, curd are still ok.

atlantatoaus

hi mukesh

from my experience in the US most ppl dont understand what constitutes vegetarian and what doesn't so rule of thumb always ask what is in the food,read all ingredients before buying anything
and LEARN TO COOK much cheaper you save a lot of money at the end.
I guess most ppl learn when you are left to fend for your self so no worries
you will too.
regards
priya