A Message to Vegetarians and Vegans

This is something that's been bubbling to the surface for a while.


If you choose to be vegan or vegetarian, I will totally, one hundred percent, support you.


If you want to tell people about how healthy you feel since you went vegan or vegetarian, great!  Share your experiences and tell people all about your dietary choices if you want. That’s totally cool and I think it’s great for people to get their opinions heard.


But please, for the love of scientific integrity, DO!  NOT!  LIE!  TO!  PEOPLE!


I am so sick and tired of hearing vegan/vegetarian scare tactics and blatant misinformation.


The human body can digest meat and we are perfectly adapted to do so!


Eating meat was a crucial part in evolving the large brains we have today!  It was the intake of animal fat and protein that gave us the nutrients we needed to evolve our larger brains.  It’s what separated our ancestors from the other great apes.


"But the human digestive tract is nothing like that of other carnivores! We more closely resemble herbivores! Clearly we were meant to eat veggies, not meat!"


Human beings are OMNIVORES.  We evolved to eat both meat and plant matter. Early humans were not picky in this regard. They hunted animals, they gathered whatever vegetables, tubers, nuts, and berries were available. If they could keep it down, they probably ate it.


And during the winter months, when vegetation was scarce, our ancestors relied almost exclusively on animals for sustenance.


Our digestive system is the reason you don’t have to keep throwing up your food and re-eating it all day, or keep constantly grazing, just to get through the day like herbivores do.  You can skip a meal or two if you have to, and if you ate a particularly filling and nutrient-dense meal beforehand, you’ll be perfectly okay with this!  This is the carnivore part of your digestive system at work.


If you want to be vegan or vegetarian for moral reasons, more power to you. I think it’s admirable for you to take up the cause, and I agree that our food industry is despicable and needs a major overhaul.


If you want to be vegan or vegetarian because of your objection to society’s reliance on unhealthy foods, good for you! It’s difficult to stick to a non-traditional diet with the way we’re constantly bombarded with all sorts of unhealthy foods everyday. It’s admirable of you to take the extra effort for your health.


But for crying out loud, stop lying to people about our biological make-up. You’re only undermining your own points and pissing off potential meat-eating allies (such as myself!) in your fight for cruelty-free farming and/or healthier food options!

My Personal Thanksgiving Stuffing Recipe

As many of you know, I'm a professional chef.  I created this recipe over the last decade.  I've carefully tested it, experimented with it, and refined it until it has reached its current form.

Feel free to make use of it yourself.  And if you do, tell me how it worked out for you.

Ingredients:

16 oz stuffing cubes

6 tbsp unsalted butter, plus more for greasing the pan and topping

1 lb fresh sage sausage, casing removed

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cooking apples (I usually use Rome or Golden Delicious), peeled, cored, and chopped

1 to 2 ribs celery with leaves, chopped

1/2 tsp kosher salt

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted

2 eggs, beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F

2. Put the stuffing cubes in a large bowl and set aside.  Butter a 3-quart casserole dish.

3.  Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the sausage and break up.  Cook until it loses most of its pink color, but not so much that it's dry, about 5 minutes.  Add the sausage and pan drippings to the stuffing cubes.

4.  Melt the remaining butter in the pan.  Add the onion, apple, celery, and salt.  Cook until the vegetables get soft, about 5 minutes.  Add the broth and parsley and bring to a boil.

5.  Pour the vegetable mixture over the stuffing cubes and toss until evenly moistened.  Mix in the walnuts and eggs.  Loosely pack the dressing into the prepared pan and bake uncovered until the top forms a crust, about 40 minutes.

6.  Drizzle 2 tablespoons of turkey drippings or melted butter over the top.  Continue to bake until the top is crisp and golden, about 20 minutes more.

7.  Allow stuffing to stand for 5 minutes before serving.