Lettuce and onions, but hold the meat

September 24, 2008
By Greta Myers
Staff Writer

The Great Depression had soup lines, the military has rations, and college students have Ramen noodles.  While Ramen’s flavor packets make a mockery out of beef, chicken and pork, its meat ancestry renders it off-limits to vegetarians.  However, the no-frills food’s mushroom flavor offers an acceptable version to student vegetarians. Ashleen Woods, president of the Vegetarian Club at UIS, considers the mushroom flavor, along with Ramen’s first cousin, macaroni and cheese, staples in her meatless diet.

“I used to think making macaroni was hard,” said Woods, who is a senior majoring in English and Art. “I don’t know why.  All you do is rip open the box and boil the noodles.”  Along with being a vegetarian, Woods is a Beatles fan and an Aldi shopper.  Although these labels seem like a random link, one led to, and the other grew out of, Woods’ meat-free lifestyle.

“I liked the idea of trying not to hurt animals,” said Woods of her decision to become a vegetarian in the 7th grade.  Her pescetarian (vegetable and fish eating) mother influenced her choice as well.  Woods grew up listening to her Mom’s old Beatles records and was inspired when she learned three of the “Fab Four” did not eat meat. Ironically, Woods’ favorite Beatle was the group’s only omnivore, Ringo Starr.  “He just couldn’t do it,” said Woods.

At the UIS cafeteria, Woods chooses the vegan vegetable soup and french fries.  “I didn’t know they had this,” she said, picking up a container of soy milk. “This is an improvement.”  Woods said she usually eats lunch at her home in Lincoln.  Her food choices, she said, “are based, a little, on what I can afford.” Shopping at the low-overhead Aldi foods, said Woods, is helpful. “I’ve got the quarter!” Woods said, referring to Aldi’s coined system of having the customers corral the shopping carts instead of paying a worker to do it.  

Woods said that with all the meat replacements available, she doesn’t miss meat.  However, there is one thing she still craves.

“I miss the rice crispy treats, made with marshmallows,” Woods said, while sitting at Mary Jane’s Café, at the bottom of Brookens Library, which sells the dessert in pieces as thick as a big city phone book.     

Marshmallow contains a gelatin derivative that is made from the marrow found in animal bones.  Woods said that she substitutes this with the animal–free, liquefied, marshmallow fluff, which works fairly well, if frozen. She said that although she gets tired of always checking a product’s ingredients, it is worth it when she finds a 100% vegetarian food.  

"Did you know Oreos are vegan?” Woods said, “It has no dairy.  It’s all chemicals!”

Though Woods has given financial support to, and  will distribute pamphlets provided by,  People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, she is not a fan of the organization’s more militant side.  “Nobody likes it shoved in their face.  It’s the same way as religion,” she said. “We’re not Bob Dylan,” Woods joked, about trying to emulate the poetic protest singer, “We’re not that good at this.   We’re not that clever.”

But vegetarian students can learn how to survive in a cash-strapped, animal-centric and often times, kitchen-less environment, although that means they’ll have to get crafty. Two of  Woods’ more impressive food coups  include the acquisition of a surplus-sized  box of veggie burgers and a basically bottomless jar of cookies shaped, oddly enough, like animals. 
Once  vegetarian students adapt, said Woods, they’ll be ready for almost anything.

“At the end of the world,” said Woods, “there will be cockroaches, Aldi shoppers, and Keith Richards.”

Students interested in vegetarianism are invited to a free veggie BBQ, hosted by the vegetarian club, on Friday, Sept. 26, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Quad, in the center of the UIS campus.  Woods and other members of the club will be there to answer questions and hand out brochures about animal-free dining. 

In honor of World Veggie Day (October 1) the group will also host a sushi party on Sept. 30, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Housing Commons on campus.  Students can learn how to make vegetarian sushi at the event.  Food, drinks and entertainment will be provided.  For more information about these events, contact Ashleen Woods at awood03s@uis.edu

What is a vegan anyway?

When a trendy neighbor boasts that her whole household (including a bloodhound dog) is vegan in the British film, Shirley Valentine, the title character quips, “I thought you were Church of England.”  Although veganism is more common now than it was in the '80s (when the comedy was made), the term is still relatively confusing to Americans.  Simply put, while a vegetarian may at times have, say, a stack of traditional pancakes with a tall glass of milk, a vegan’s diet prohibits all animal products, including dairy, eggs and honey.