COMMON QUESTIONS TO VEGETARIANS/VEGANS

10 Most Common Questions (and answers) people who first find out I'm vegan ask me:

1. So you eat fish?
No. Fish is meat. People who eat only fish and vegetables are called pescetarians, from the root word “pesky” (just kidding hehe).

2. What do you eat?
Vegetables, tofu, beans, nuts, fruits, pasta, rice, (dairy free) pastries, (soy) ice cream, (veggie) sisig, curry, kaldereta, pancit, barbecue, franks, burger, (no cheese) vegetarian pizza, name it – there are vegetarian counterparts!

3. Where do you get your protein?
See food above. They give enough supply of all the nutrients the human body needs. With a meat-based diet, people overwork their systems, thus the diseases and early aging of the system itself.

4. Where do you get that discipline?
I wouldn’t call it discipline. It’s a life choice, a lifestyle. So it doesn’t involve “trying to stay away from meat”. Meat is on the table, it’s just not my choice to eat it.

5. Don't you miss meat?
No. You miss something good, nice, pleasant, happy. Meat isn’t any of these.

6. What's the difference between a vegetarian and a vegan?
A vegetarian can eat animal by-products (i.e., dairy, eggs, honey etc.).
A vegan do not eat any meat or any animal by-product

7. What made you turn vegan?
Difficult to give a short but encompassing answer to this (which is really – for animal rights, the environment and health). So I usually say, “animal rights,” which leave people wondering wtf I’m talking about. (YES ANIMALS HAVE RIGHTS TOO!) or “I’m an advocate of animal rights.” (which might appear highfaluting to some). It’s all about animal rights, plain and simple.

8. So you don't eat junkfood or drink softdrinks?
The question implies how people associate vegetarianism with a healthy lifestyle, which is good. But yeah, junkfood is still junkfood, it’s still not good for the body in the long run. There are several vegetarian/vegan options though. And yes, I do eat junkfood and drink softdrinks sometimes.

9. (In a restaurant, upon receiving their plates with meat dishes) Sorry, is it okay if we eat meat in front of you?
I’d rather not, but what can I do? I’m just glad there are some people who are polite enough to ask.

10. How is vegan spelled?

V-E-G-A-N. And it is pronounced as "vee-gun" (like in Vigan, Ilocos Sur)

So if you have any more questions, ask away! Vegetarian or not, ask questions you’ve been asked or you would want to ask a vegetarian.

A VEGETARIAN TREAT IN ZAMBO

If you’re vegetarian/vegan and you have a scheduled trip to Zamboanga City soon, don’t worry about what you’re going to eat there, because there is VE-G QUEEN.

VE-G QUEEN is a Chinese-owned air-conditioned buffet restaurant. They have 10-12 viands on their menu and freshly-squeezed fruit/vegetable juices. The viands include pure vegetable dishes and meat-substitute-based ones (their veggie meat is really good, not the rubbery sort), all of which have distinct flavors of their own (plus a little bit of a Chinese taste to them).

This is the first restaurant I’ve been to where you get the viands you want and put them on your plate. You then bring your plate to the counter and have it weighed! I don’t know exactly how much per gram costs, but I got a moundful of food (with around 8 viands) and only paid a little over a hundred. That includes rice, carrot juice, and a stick of bbq (which is priced differently).

VE-G QUEEN is not popular among the locals. Even our contact person was surprised in finding out that there is such a place in her own city that serves pure vegetarian. In fact, it is located in a narrow dead-end, not far from the central cathedral. You have to know it’s there to find it. It has been around for a few years, and is owned by a Chinese family who settled in the area. They also offer the usual organic products and promote “miracle vegetables” and alternative health medicines and practices.

It’s commendable how some entrepreneurs would think of setting up a business that is not quite popular in the community and yet, they still do just because they advocate for it and would want to spread the belief of vegetarianism.

So the next time you find yourself in Zamboanga City, you know where to go. Search the cathedral, look for the narrow dead end, and find yourself delighting in the tastes of a buffet of wonderful vegetarian food.

A VEGETARIAN TREAT IN ZAMBO

If you’re vegetarian/vegan and you have a scheduled trip to Zamboanga City soon, don’t worry about what you’re going to eat there, because there is VE-G QUEEN.

VE-G QUEEN is a Chinese-owned air-conditioned buffet restaurant. They have 10-12 viands on their menu and freshly-squeezed fruit/vegetable juices. The viands include pure vegetable dishes and meat-substitute-based ones (their veggie meat is really good, not the rubbery sort), all of which have distinct flavors of their own (plus a little bit of a Chinese taste to them).

This is the first restaurant I’ve been to where you get the viands you want and put them on your plate. You then bring your plate to the counter and have it weighed! I don’t know exactly how much per gram costs, but I got a moundful of food (with around 8 viands) and only paid a little over a hundred. That includes rice, carrot juice, and a stick of bbq (which is priced differently).

VE-G QUEEN is not popular among the locals. Even our contact person was surprised in finding out that there is such a place in her own city that serves pure vegetarian. In fact, it is located in a narrow dead-end, not far from the central cathedral. You have to know it’s there to find it. It has been around for a few years, and is owned by a Chinese family who settled in the area. They also offer the usual organic products and promote “miracle vegetables” and alternative health medicines and practices.

It’s commendable how some entrepreneurs would think of setting up a business that is not quite popular in the community and yet, they still do just because they advocate for it and would want to spread the belief of vegetarianism.

So the next time you find yourself in Zamboanga City, you know where to go. Search the cathedral, look for the narrow dead end, and find yourself delighting in the tastes of a buffet of wonderful vegetarian food.

BLISSFUL BELLY

With the absence of cholesterol, fats, and other toxins from animal meat, and cruelty and evil in slaughtering animals, vegetarian food is truly delicious, healthy, kind, and environment-friendly. And there is a vegetarian restaurant which has pushed these good karmas further.

Located in the Llanar Bldg along Xavierville Avenue in Quezon City, Blissful Belly boasts of popular local dishes made vegetarian, cooked with less oil and salt and made with commercial pesticide-free ingredients. Its owner, Dr. Omar Arabia, is a licensed oncologist who practices integrative medicine – the marriage of traditional, naturopathy and homeopathic treatments. The food served in his restaurant is practically medically supervised. His patients, as well as vegetarians and raw and organic food consumers, compose the regular customers.

Regular viands on the menu are kare-kare, kaldereta, togue, curry, soups, and the famous (and addicting) tofu sisig, complemented with organic brown rice, for only P80-P100 per meal. There are also fresh fruit shakes and juices, the most popular and healthiest of which is the lettuce-apple juice, and sugar cane juice (I remember my childhood days when I used to chomp on real tubo and squeeze all the juice out). Desserts served include cakes (carrot, prune and carob – or chocolate-like flavor) and eggless and dairy-free pastries. Other organic products are also on sale – baking needs, wheat germ, Bragg’s products, teas, even toothpaste and hair dyes.

I’ve been to almost all the veggie places in the city, and enjoyed all of them definitely, and Blissful Belly remains my favorite. It is only Blissful Belly food which I can describe as truly “bursting with flavor.” The food tastes alive, and it gives one the sense of experiencing the fruits of the earth at their rawest and truest flavors – pure and unadulterated essences. Your belly will be truly blissful!

BLISSFUL BELLY

With the absence of cholesterol, fats, and other toxins from animal meat, and cruelty and evil in slaughtering animals, vegetarian food is truly delicious, healthy, kind, and environment-friendly. And there is a vegetarian restaurant which has pushed these good karmas further.

Located in the Llanar Bldg along Xavierville Avenue in Quezon City, Blissful Belly boasts of popular local dishes made vegetarian, cooked with less oil and salt and made with commercial pesticide-free ingredients. Its owner, Dr. Omar Arabia, is a licensed oncologist who practices integrative medicine – the marriage of traditional, naturopathy and homeopathic treatments. The food served in his restaurant is practically medically supervised. His patients, as well as vegetarians and raw and organic food consumers, compose the regular customers.

Regular viands on the menu are kare-kare, kaldereta, togue, curry, soups, and the famous (and addicting) tofu sisig, complemented with organic brown rice, for only P80-P100 per meal. There are also fresh fruit shakes and juices, the most popular and healthiest of which is the lettuce-apple juice, and sugar cane juice (I remember my childhood days when I used to chomp on real tubo and squeeze all the juice out). Desserts served include cakes (carrot, prune and carob – or chocolate-like flavor) and eggless and dairy-free pastries. Other organic products are also on sale – baking needs, wheat germ, Bragg’s products, teas, even toothpaste and hair dyes.

I’ve been to almost all the veggie places in the city, and enjoyed all of them definitely, and Blissful Belly remains my favorite. It is only Blissful Belly food which I can describe as truly “bursting with flavor.” The food tastes alive, and it gives one the sense of experiencing the fruits of the earth at their rawest and truest flavors – pure and unadulterated essences. Your belly will be truly blissful!