Vegetarian Playa Suggestions?

[CornStar]

Im newly a vegetarian, so I'm having to rethink this years food supply. Any suggestions as far as easy, simple, sustaining foods for the playa. To be honest cooking is something I try to avoid while I'm burning, so I'm looking for alternatives that will keep me up and going but that aren't anything too intense to have to deal with. Thanks

[Oldguy]

Try a Fiesta night. Tortillas keep well. Fry em up with veg oil, smear on some canned refried beans, some salsa from a jar, maybe a handfull from a bag of shreaded lettuce from the icebox. If you use milk products, maybe a little shreaded cheeze. Guacamole', peppers, tomatoes,... man I want tacos now...Maybe some spanish rice, a little sangria...Ole'

[Boijoy]

SpaghetteooOoOoOooooosssss...

[Token]

There is a thread below

viewtopic.php?t=29426

that has some good suggestions on food in general. There is some silliness too but you should be able to find what you are looking for.

[DoriumLux]

I only eat fish but here is a general list of crap I usually bring. I don't cook meals really and only use an ice chest. Trade joes is a good bet for vegetarian food.

Vegetarian Hot Dogs or Chorizo
Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
Tomato Soup
Tortillas for quesadillas and burritos
Eggs
Pancake Mix
Vegetarian Chili
Refried Vegetarian Beans for Burritos
Uncle Ben's Ready Made Rice
Salsa & Tortilla Chips
Cereal
Soy Milk
Vegetarian Lunch Meat
Avocados for sandwiches and salsa.
Canned Fruit
Prepackaged Indian Food from Trader Joes
Wheat Bread
Pita Bread & Hummus
Premade Tamales
Oranges
Cheddar Cheese
Crackers
Ready Made Tabouli & Cous Cous from Trader Joes

Damn it, I'm hungry.

[pizzamancer]

Bacon. Just give in and eat the bacon.

Soylent Green is also very good.

[somekind]

I was going to add that you can just pretend that bacon is a vegetable for one week.

[Ugly Dougly]

There was once a camp that made a shitload (bad choice of words) of tortillas and beans. Was it the Bean King?

[Trieste]

Oh the delightful vegetarian situation :)

My first year on the playa I survived on delicious ham sandwiches . . . protein, fat, salt . . . it was goodness. By the time I went out the second year I had decided eating mamals and birds was not something I could ethically do any longer.

I was surprised at how differently my body responded to the environment. My normal protein choices: portabella, beans, veggie proteins, etc. etc. just didn't cut it. I found myself craving foods that I generally abhor . . . like bacon, beef jerkey, grilled chicken breast, even a chicken sausage deal or other that was offered to me. I think that this is the result of two necessities: Salt and Protein. I don't know if I'm alone in this or not, but when I caved to those temptations I felt a lot better . . . my energy was better, and that made me feel overall better.

My advice is that you go prepared for your body to feel different than in years past because of this change and decide ahead of time if you're going to cave to those urges if they arise. (battling myself was the worst part).

My favorites though remain scrambled eggs on mornings I could manage it (teflon in good working order makes clean-up easy), smoked salmon, protein drinks (but not the overly processed type -- they will either work for you or make you feel awful). Lots of nuts, tempeh or seitan if you've come by a preparation method you like (there are some good recipes out there, try recipe zaar, or "Vegan with a Vengeance" has some good tofu preparation).

Good luck!

[The Bee]

Tasty-Bites!

It's heat-and-serve Indian vegetarian curry in a foil bag. Just put the bag in boiling water to heat, and then eat. They have a variety of flavors. I find them at my local health-food style grocery store. Trader Joes sells the same thing under another name. They are surprisingly tasty. Vacuum packed, so no need to keep refrigerated.

[Absolut Jeenyus]

I dont know how you veggie peoples do it... Anyhow I pulled this off of Tribe. Hope it helps...

Scooter X
offline 62
Re: Vegetarian questions?
Sun, August 17, 2008 - 8:08 PM
i'll echo what other's have said:

you can bring some perishables - just plan to use them up in the first couple of days. a nice salad is a good way to ground yourself after a day of setting up camp.

--meatless jerky (there are a few brands -soy, seitan and tempeh. either try them out first, or get a few in case you don't like certain flavors. you can always give away the stuff you don't fancy.) i haven't found any l like, but i keep thinking maybe it will taste better on the playa.

--nachos. I crave salty crunchy fatty things, and this year i'm making dashboard nachos with the tiny cans of sliced peppers, sliced jalapenos, sliced olives, instant refried beans, tortilla chips, salsa, and cheese (the cheese will keep for 4 days in my cooler). i'll make up a big batch (one bag of chips) and share it with the rest of the camp. cooks on dashboard on an aluminum-foil covered piece of cardboard.

--canned soup - minestrone, with some crackers. its good heated up or not. (heat on the dashboard...)

--instant hummus and instant tabouli (you can bring a small can of diced tomatoes, or just one real tomato), with crackers and some nice olives.

--Target sells wine in mini juice boxes (aseptic boxes - just like the mini soy milks)

--salty nuts/trail mix- its easy to share, and goes well with beer.

--bagged popcorn. lots of camps show movies... but they never seem to have popcorn.

--i've learned to limit my intake of TastyBites. sometimes they don't seem to agree with me. (bad combo of heat, spice, and high-salt, high-fat foods and then add drugs and alcohol...). Last year I brought three and ate 1-1/2. This year I'm bringing one packet, and some pre-cooked rice (Trader Joes). I'll heat both by putting them on the dashboard of my car. (I'm all about dashboard cooking this year!)

--Clifbars -- I save these for emergency rations. i stuff one in the bottom of my camelbak in case i'm in the middle of deep playa and get hungry. i don't like to eat them at camp -- too gummy. you have to be really hungry to eat one in the heat. they get soft. (i go through about 4/week at home.)

[DoriumLux]

Im newly a vegetarian, so I'm having to rethink this years food supply. Any suggestions as far as easy, simple, sustaining foods for the playa. To be honest cooking is something I try to avoid while I'm burning, so I'm looking for alternatives that will keep me up and going but that aren't anything too intense to have to deal with. Thanks

I'd like to add that it is important to take B12 vitamins on or off the playa as a vegetarian. There are plenty of fruits and vegetables that are hearty enough to take to the playa as long as you keep them out of the sun. I always work in apples, oranges, presliced fruit and don't forget to eat your beans!

[DoctorIknow]

Tasty-Bites!

Go to their website and sign up for their newsletter. For years they have a sale right about now and you can get cases of the stuff. The variety for vegetarian is vast, a little less broad for vegan.

No one can resist the Bombay Potatoes. The lentil things are good, too. The Thai stuff ain't bad. Not very good are any of the rice things, they taste 100 years old...

I had people camping with me who had vast reserves of frozen meats and fish who beg me for Tasty Bites as there are times they just don't want to take the time away from the playa. And, it seems everyone agrees a body needs much less food out there than one thinks.

It's cool that so many people love putting great efforts into making fantastic meals, but me, I just want it to be really tasty, full of calories, quick and little clean-up.

This is the total extent of what I take, and I never want for anything else:

---TastyBites
---apples
---bananas
---peaches
---Blueberries
---raw almonds
---soymilk (the small, one use containers)
---museli
---rice cakes
---roasted almonds with tamari (a great snack and good for the sodium, three pounds)
---peanut butter
---almond butter
---honey bear
---protein bars
---those gel suck things with caffeine
---coffee
---brown rice
---aduki beans (cook in the rice: 1 or 2 parts beans, 4 parts rice)

[jcliff]

NUTS! I swear I lived on almonds last year. Easy to grab on the go, high in protein, and the salt helps to replensih electrolytes. Nutter Butter cookies also taste strangely good on the playa.

[jcliff]

NUTS! I swear I lived on almonds last year. Easy to grab on the go, high in protein, and the salt helps to replensih electrolytes. Nutter Butter cookies also taste strangely good on the playa.

[meincoif]

I've burned once as a vegetarians and three times (and counting) vegan. It's easier than it may seem at first.

Here are my easy/no cook necessities:

-Veggie bacon & sausage. No they aren't the "real" thing, but I love 'em.

-Soymilk (in fact, even the omnis in my group use this on the playa. No refrigeration needed until it's open!)

-Instant oatmeal & cereal

-Chili (we like Cincinnati-style over spaghetti)

-Lentil soup

-Chips, salsas, bean dips

-Rice 'n' beans

-Tasty bites (quick Indian foods in pouches)

-Tempeh (to quickly pan fry in oil & soy sauce and eat with couscous)

-Banana chips, trail mix, nuts, and dried fruits

-Dry mix hummus, sloppy joes, falafel, mashed potatoes, and veggie burgers

-Clif/Luna bars for quick energy snacks

-Fruit (watermelon!) and veggies to eat the first couple of days (or longer if you have access to cooler/fridge)

[cherie]

I'm a vegetarian. I totally lose my appetite on the playa so I don't eat very much, but here's some things I bring with me:

cereal and milk (or soy milk. You can buy individual shelf-stable (no refrigeration necessary) packages of milk or soy milk)
clif bars
pbj
jars of fruit
trail mix
block of cheddar, crackers, tomatoes

That's pretty much what I eat all week. Normally, I promise you, I eat more than 99% of the boards (I'm an ultrarunner so after a 50 mile run, I'll devour everything vegetarian in sight!), but I lose my appetite so much food is somewhat of an afterthought. I don't think abt protein as much as I think of fruit and veggies...so I got some Trader Joe's applesauce, peach slices in jars -- those were great. I brought bags of baby carrots as well -- yum!

[Absolut Jeenyus]

And, it seems everyone agrees a body needs much less food out there than one thinks.

I must have missed that meeting.

[theCryptofishist]

And, it seems everyone agrees a body needs much less food out there than one thinks.

I must have missed that meeting.

I'm sure you were there. It was the same on where I was thrown out for suggesting that the vote on "'Leave No Trace' Means You Gotta Swallow" was rigged.

[draco880]

I'm looking forward to my first burn this year, and since I've always been a vegetarian I don't have to worry about craving dead things once I get there. I'm chiming in to note that some of the powdered meal replacements these days are pretty good; I really like Vega, especially in a soy milk or that quasi-soy milk with coconut in it. My camp managed to borrow a generator from someone better financially endowed than us, so we'll actually have a blender to make it in, but I've done it in a shaker-cup or a jar with a marble in it, and it works pretty well. remember to take the marble out before you drink it, obviously.

[AntiM]

We have a two-speed handcrank blender.

[DoctorIknow]

The TastyBite company said I could distribute a 10% discount code, good 'till end of year:

TB39TEN

Even with shipping, it may be cheaper than TraderJoes, and there is certainly more variety and most grocery stores never have more than a few on the shelves anyway.

[draco880]

[quote="DoctorIknow"]The TastyBite company said I could distribute a 10% discount code, good 'till end of year:

TB39TEN

Even with shipping, it may be cheaper than TraderJoes, and there is certainly more variety and most grocery stores never have more than a few on the shelves anyway.[/quote]

Awesome, thanks for posting that. Also, shipping is free on orders over $65 right now, according to their website.

[sebastopol sassafrass]

three veggie things i adore eating while on the playa:

stonewall's jerquee - delicious veggie jerky bites that satisfy my salty protein hunger attacks. i always wish i had brought more. they also make a great gift, as they come in little compact packages.

wild rice pilaf - a camping meal packet (just add hot water - i can't remember the brand) that is soooo good. i usually grab these at rei. there are tons of other veggie meal package choices that are great such as mac n cheese or pad thai.

trader joe's dried mango - yum.

[Oldguy]

Pickles, I loves me a vinagery pickle. About the only way I can stand a tofu dog is with pickle and lots of mustard.

Vegetarian vegetable soup is fine, I usually load it with pepper or Ranchero Cooking Sauce. I like mild picante sauce on my bean burritos.

I'm not a vegetarian, but food is food even if it ain't meat. When I was a kid, meat was expensive so we often did not have it. Pancakes for dinner, biscuits and sorgum in the lunch pail, sweet corn and watermelon picnics. And beans, tons of pinto beans with catsup, and thin bean soup with cornbread and greens. My mom was great at streaching a buck.

[Quenifer]

Tasty Bite Indian meals, canned soup/beans/nuts/peanut butter and apples..keep it simple, full of protein and salt..you need it out there

[Blurry]

Hey, old thread, great advice :) I'm planning on attending my first burn next year, and already have a million questions popping into my head about preparation. This thread helps a ton :)