Some Vegetarians won't even put their veggie burgers, etc on the same grill with meat. I do! To me, it's more important to be social at this type of gathering than to worry about a minute contamination.



I use MSF Grillers at cookouts, because they don't stick to the grill. Not Vegan though.

I am one of those veggies that wont cook or have my meatless food cooked on a grill with meat--it disgusts me and my family and friends understand that..and i do worry about contamination one min contamination is one min too long for me. I usually bring a veggie dish to the bbq for everyone to enjoy and that ensures i have a good meat free dish.



peace and love



jenn

Usually when our omni friends have a bbq we bring our own food - but always enough for everyone. The last time we brought a whole load of seaweed tofu and veg skewer thingies and they were a big hit and were more popular than the meat!



I too would put my veggie burger on the same grill as meat and agree that the social aspect (and also to avoind hurting other peoples feelings) is important. That's why even though I don't eat eggs (as in boiled/fried/etc), I eat cake if it's someones birthday.

I'll put my burger on the grill though I always joke a bit that I don't want the other burgers to touch it... my friends DO try to accomodate me to the best of their understanding...

I'm a lifetime vegetarian (now vegan) and have NEVER eaten meat and I still cut the omni's some slack in situations like this. I'd rather keep the message that I'm sending as positive as possible.



I always bring at least one, maybe more, REALLY yummy vegan dishes. (Potato salad with Veganaisse is ALWAYS a hit and no one even knows it's vegan!!)



My friends DO try, (and that's why I still HAVE so many friends and why they DO try - I make an effort not to hurt their feelings if at all possible and still maintain my choices and convictions) they just don't always "get" how anal we veg*ans can be...

At our home I always clean the grill after every use anyway so I just cook my stuff over to the side.

Over the extended families homes, they generally try to keep my food separate which I appreciate.

I've never been invited over friends homes for BBQ's. My guess is they think I would naturally just not want to be over there. lol Dinners, yes, BBQ's, no.

Being that my husband and mother eat meat, our pans and dishes have all had some contact with meat. They're cleaned after every meal though so it doesn't really bother me. If they want to make meat for their part of dinner, I generally cook mine first and they use the pan second.

I wouldn't want my food to come in direct contact with meat juices, but, on high temperatures like a grill, the juices are pretty much non existant on the actual grill. I'll be honest and say I have *never tasted any meat tastes on my veggie burgers when they were cooked on the grill with other meat nor has it ever made me queasy after eating it. That's enough to convince me that no actual juices are lingering on my food.

Mary

For my family's last 4th of July BBQ (and they're the biggest omnis in the world!) I simply bought one of those el-cheapo disposable grills from the grocery store and let my mom cook the delicious and wonderful marinated grilled portabello mushrooms she prepared, vegan veggie dogs, and vegan burgers on the uncontaminated grill. I made sure to bring my own buns that were both vegan and whole grain (and the others loved them as well) and it was no big deal for my mom to leave animal products out of the beans. I splurged and picked up a vegan chocolate mousse cake from Whole Foods (which everyone loved) and we had ourselves a grand ole BBQ that both meaters and vegans alike indulged in (a bit too much, perhaps). The key is to stick to your values but make them easy to accommodate, like by bringing your own grill. Though my family grumbles about my veganism, I think that they were perversely proud to get to say to the non-family members at the BBQ "Oh, that's our vegan daughter over there." Weird, I know.

I hadn't even thought about that. Why make my life more difficult? I'd just grill a veggie burger or a portobello mushroom.

I slap on some 'bellas, pineapple, zuccini, and potatos. I don't care if I get my food 'contaminated'. I'm a social creature.

I've been to a couple of cookouts, most of the time I eat the side dishes if I forget to bring veggie burgers. If they are kind enough to have veggie burgers or I bring my own I don't mind if it's cooked on the same grill. I have one good friend that cooks mine in a far corner away from the meat.



When I grill at home, I grill veggies for everyone, veggie burgers for those that want it first.

I also would just put mine with the rest...



But a thought if you're not 100% comfy with that. A little bit of foil over the grill with your food ON it can keep the flavors separate, without much fuss. Still get something hot, if you want it, and you aren't sacrificing your beliefs to do so. And again, a little bit of foil, everyone has on hand!

I would never cook my veggie burger on the same grill w/ the meat. Meat gets stuck to the grill, animal juices get on the grill, so easy for meat to touch the veggie burger, and I'm sure unless you did it yourself people would often not be careful about using the same spatulas/utensils.



It is usually so easy to just sneak off and go stick the veggie burger in the microwave! Then you can still be 'socially acceptable' eat your burger w/ the rest of everyone. And if they do notice using the microwave (which most often they dont) most people I know have fully understood that I don't want my burger cooked right there w/ the meat.



I know they may taste a bit bitter on the grill/stove, but they're certainly not BAD in the microwave and it's a sacrifice I'm more than willing to make...

I think it's all in the attitude. You can abstain from using the grill & still be a fun guest. I just stick to the fruit salad & keep moving around fast so no one notices I'm not "one of them". Also it helps to detract attention away from your eating habits with little diversions.



example

Carni: "Hey DeflatorMouse, can I grill you a burger?"

DM: "HEY EVERYONE WATCH ME DO THE MACARENA ON THIS PICNIC TABLE"

(that usually works. especially if theres no music)

My dad either cooks veggie things first or scrubs the grill in between for me. I've never actually BBQ'd on my own. My bf and I are moving in together this summer and were talking about having BBQ's, and we'd get a seperate small hiibachi for my veggies and then he could have his grill for his dead stuff.

You know, I've just now realized that I don't have any friends that have BBQs. Even in the summer, all activities are indoors, and that usually means pizza or something. I need some more outdoorsy friends.



I've been to family BBQs, and at the last one, I ate food that I brought and didn't grill anything. It's because of the smell, I don't want to be near the grill or eat anything that came off of it. No one says anything, since I thankfully have fairly understanding relatives who don't care that I'm not eating meat.

I'm one of those who doesn't get anal about my veggie stuff being cooked on the same grill with the dead animal stuff. Last year, I went to a 4th of July BBQ at the house of my parents' neighbors, and I made sure I got the veggie burger and tofu hot dog that I wanted. They were cooked on the same grill; I didn't care. I had a great time mingling and talking to people, and that's what it's all about.

Most of the time when I was bbq'ing with friends it was on my ex's bbq. The meat was allowed on the bottom grill and the top rack was the veggiezone. A seperate spatula is also required, I'm pretty anal. My friends know this about me and love me anyways. A few of them are giving the veg lifestyle a try, I feel like this guy without even trying.

It's kinda the same issue as going out to eat at a vegan/veggie friendly place. You don't know what utensils and stuff have been used, you don't see where your veggie burger was placed on the grill. It's just really hard too eat in public without 0.00% contaimination

If you really want to be the topic of conversation, make a solar cooker and not only cook veg, but also cook using the sun!



http://solarcooking.org



http://journeytoforever.org/sc.html



A basic solar cooker needs two boxes, one inside the other with spacers (like little cubes of wood) to keep a layer of air (you can also put in insulation.) Then line the inner box where you will cook with tin foil, and put a glass lid on top. Stick your dogs/burger/bread/stew etc., in there on a heat proof dish, and Viola! fuel saving Solar cooking!



It is inexpensive and saves on charcole briquettes-- If you are really ambitious you can use the solar cooker as a "summer kitchen" and save a little money by cooking much of your food outdoors using the sun.

<<< (Makes a mental note to invite DM to her next backyard BBQ..)

I can't handle veg burgers. That's why I'll usually bring either 3 bean salad or tabbouli to the BBQ.



If it's a BBQ that we're doing, however, we'll usually have all kinds of grilled veggies going on like potatoes, scallions, avocadoes, tomatoes, portabello mushrooms, jalapenos, sweetcorn still in the husks, bell peppers, etc (it changes depending on what I can get and what I'm in the mood for ).

I usually have my tofu burgers grilled on the top rack and the meat burgers grilled on the bottom rack. That way, the meat juices will not drip on my tofu burgers and I can still enjoy the BBQ. If I don't have tofu burgers, I usually eat all the salads and such. In fact, once my one of my parent's friends had a BBQ and they made all sorts of delicious veggie dishes just for me! It was very nice of them! Unfortunatley, some of the dishes had fish, but it's not their fault since they didn't know that I don't eat fish.

What do I do at a BBQ? You mean besides drink ?



I've always done the method that was mentioned before with the foil, and I always cook my own so I know I don't have anything to worry about. My mother has a big cookout in October each year, and when I go to that I just bring my own stuff, and will usually just cook it in the house and bring it out and eat with everyone else when they eat.

I take bites out of chips and put them back in the bag when no one is looking.





not really.. I did catch a kid doing that once, though. Heh.

Hey I used to know the Electric Slide too

We wrap our veggie burgers in foil. Simple. ;-)

The last BBQ I was invited to, I ate beforehand and just showed up for the company. At that point, most of my family didn't know I was veggie yet, and I wasn't ready to face food issues head-on in "public." I munched some chips & salsa, raw veggies, etc while I was there.



Now that I'm more comfortable, I would probably either bring some kind of non-grilled dish to share, or I might bring my own goodies to grill and take a don't-ask-don't-tell policy as far as grill/spatula contamination. I don't intend to make a stink about cleaning grills or spatulas-- that's just way more uptight than I care to be. One way or another, I'll avoid that.



And I definitely want to be invited to any BBQ where DeflatorMouse is dancing on the tables!

I bring my own individually wrapped burger and toss it in the microwave.

What I've always done is to place my veggie grilled product on a different sheet of foil to be placed on the grill. However, when push comes to shove, I'd rather not hurt someone's feelings; so, if it does get "contaiminated," I just smile, says it okay, and move on with life.

I don't mind if my food is cooked on the same grill. I don't like it if my food touches meat directly, but whatever.



Most of the time, though, people are nice enough to cook it seperately anyway, even though I don't ask. Even though I don't mind, it's really sweet of them.

If I'm a guest, I just eat fruit or salad or chips, etc.



When I've helped with school functions, I've made sure we provided Halal and vegan dogs, and those items were heated on the grill in separate pans.