Comment by erikpukinskis | Hacker News Reader

Comment by erikpukinskis | Hacker News Reader

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> You can take just about any vegetable, add salt and pepper and oil, and shove it in the oven

I eat a lot of vegetables and I want to encourage people to eat them, but I think you’re over-selling it.

You can literally grab a hunk of 80% ground beef, slap it on a hot skillet, smash it, flip it once, and it’s done. Sprinkle a little salt and that’s a very tasty very easy to eat very nutritionally complete food.

Same is true for eggs and a handful of other non-vegan things.

Vegetables are just not the same. I am a pretty lazy cook and still, if I want to cook broccoli I need to get out a cutting board, chop it, throw away the parts that are too tough to eat, then put oil in the hot pan, add the broccoli, turning it several times so it cooks evenly. I’m probably putting a lid on at some point, and/or adding a little water.

It actually requires quite a bit of finesse to end up with broccoli that’s as easy to eat as a burger.

And that’s not a complete meal. You could live off plain burger patties but not plain broccoli. So you’re going to have to add some other stuff: nuts and grains, rice and beans, etc.

And I wouldn’t say any of that is hard but I think we need to be honest about the effort involved. It doesn’t solve anything to pretend it’s easy and then have people give try it and get completely lost.

> You can literally grab a hunk of 80% ground beef, slap it on a hot skillet, smash it, flip it once, and it’s done. Sprinkle a little salt and that’s a very tasty very easy to eat very nutritionally complete food.

This is what I do with several vegetables, and many more after simply cutting off the stalk/hard bits on one side. That takes about two seconds, and takes as much time as forming a patty from ground beef. I'm not overselling it, I'm not selling anything, I'm describing my own experiences. For example I don't turn or otherwise manage my broccoli any more than I would an egg or steak. If anything, I spend more time tending to an egg than I do any of the vegetables I cook along with it.

> It actually requires quite a bit of finesse to end up with broccoli that’s as easy to eat as a burger.

I disagree. Cut once at the base, drop them in an oiled pan, season and cook, shaking the pan every few minutes. Bon appétit, I do this on a weekly basis. I don't even blanch. I do this with most vegetables that I cook as sides.

> And that’s not a complete meal. You could live off plain burger patties but not plain broccoli

That's a straw man. The argument has never been you should only live off of one vegetable, that's preposterous. Eat a variety of greens, and if you're a vegetarian, make sure to eat lots of legumes, hemp, etc. I personally use a mix of pea and hemp protein, both of which are complete proteins and roughly mimic the composition of whey when I mix them. It takes two seconds to dump this protein into a smoothie.

> And I wouldn’t say any of that is hard but I think we need to be honest about the effort involved

Cooking vegetables is incredibly low-effort, it just sounds like you aren't used to it. Many cultures outside the US are, however. You're also downplaying all of the downsides that come from a meat-centric diet. I don't know how we can have an honest conversation about "overselling" things when you're also overselling things in return.

Your idea of effort, being someone who has worked as a cook and as a ready to eat meal food prepper, may have you be mistaken as to the ease relative to some populations cooking ability. Most people I know never get past sheet pan roasting and rarely do much more, and many others do not cook outside convenience food at all.

I cook 2-3 meals a day. I incorporate a lot of veggies. Days that I eat meat are easier if I want a decently balanced meal. I’ve eaten vegetarian for half a year. I’ve eaten vegan for a month, done a few whole 30s. I’m no slouch in the kitchen, but I also have to cook for people with autism and a lot of texture icks. I’ve taken cooking courses in Thailand. For me, veggie based meals that are healthy and have enough protein are often more effort and time than a plate of chicken nuggets and roasted veggies and similar ilk.

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