When Anna affectionately called Food Network “the Meat Network”, I laughed. But sitting in my room watching Aaron Sanchez put back together a butchered cow on Chef vs. City I couldn’t help but notice how right she was. It made me question whether my buying 2 years worth of Food Network Magazine to start 2010 was a good idea. Over the Summer, I like to think Food Network Magazine has began to redeem itself(though I wish I’d stop getting constant spam mail to renew a new subscription. But you be the judge and tell me how this all reads to you.
1. They’re acknowledging new and different diets
Imagine my surprise of opening up the latest issue of the magazine to find within some of the first pages a spread on raw zucchini pasta. It seems that the Food Network acknowledges that bleached wheat noodles covered in a meaty sauce isn’t what we’re all looking for all the time.
The article goes on to mention Ani Phyo and the raw food movement. Pretty cool, no?
2. They put me in their magazine(and I talked about tofu, too!)
Remember back in June when my comment was in Food Network magazine(reprinted above)? Well, besides the fact that that was generally cool, I was also in because I made a point about the lack of tofu recipes in their magazines. They countered by including 2 recipes with tofu in that issue(and hopefully more to come).
And, yes, you’re going to hear me talk about this until the day I die.
3. Most of the recipes can easily be made vegetarian/vegan
Some animal products are easy to substitute out these days with the countless vegan or vegetarian options becoming available. take the following recipe, for instance.
This curried sweet potato-apple soup(besides sounding ridiculously delicious) seemed veg-friendly enough, until you read down the ingredient list…
Chicken broth. Not a problem, though, to the savvy vegetarian who knows that vegetable broth makes a great substitution to any soup or stew(and if you don’t have either of those like I tend to not, you can substitute 1 cup of broth with 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup soy sauce). Go the extra mile and make this recipe vegan, too, by substituting Earth Balance for the butter and using a non-dairy milk.
4. They answer health questions for all of us
Some food topics are just universal, like should we eat soy? or which is better for you:: raw nuts or roasted nuts. The answers to both of those and more questions can be found in the September issue of Food Network Magazine.
5. (Vegetable) food porn
Let’s face it: At the end of the day, what are food magazines good for except major, professional food porn? Maybe the beef satay is a little too kinky for you(read: not vegetarian). But the roasted ratatouille, herbed peas and rice, and mashed parsley potatoes still look good enough to make you want to lick your magazine. Would that be so wrong?
What’s your reaction to any/all of this? Are you a vegetarian? Have you been turned off by the Food Network?
Great points! I love the food network, and I’m a vegetarian! Right before I went veg. in January, I got a subscription to Cooking Light magazine. A lot of their recipes are not vegetarian, but I still love looking through the mag.
[Reply]
kalin Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 9:59 am
cooking light seems to have a better veg focus than a lot of food magazines-i like that they’ve started to focus on showing meat eaters ways to eat less meat. a lot of omnivores i know wouldn’t take well to being told to have no meat, so showing creative tasty ways to make meals with less meat is a great thing
[Reply]
I’m also a part-time vegetarian with a subscription to Food Network Magazine. I recently decided not to renew my subscription, more because I simply didn’t have the time to look at them that I wished I had. It does seem to me that they’ve become more veg-friendly over the past year or so and hopefully the trend continues.
Great post!
[Reply]
It’s funny, because even as a vegetarian, I’m not turned off by the Food Network– my mind just automatically asks, “Okay, how can I make this veg” when I see a meat-based dish that looks good to me.
It does bug me that on occasion, I’ve seen Food Network chefs/cooks prepare “vegetarian” meals that still have seafood in them. I know some “vegetarians” still eat fish, but that’s really being a pescatarian! I’m not usually strict about labels, but for some reason, that distinction (or lack thereof) really gets on my nerves!
[Reply]
well, i’m not a vegetarian, but i do enjoy vegetarian meals from time to time. I feel like foodnetwork does a good job of being balanced in what they present for the most part. i also don’t think that they’re required at all to create meals without meat in them either…i’m sure i’ll get some feedback for that, but it’s true. vegetarianism is a choice, and while it’s convenient for others to make recipes that meet those requirements, i feel like it’s something that you accept when you make the choice to no longer eat meat.
i like what anna said about automatically thinking about how to make a meat-based meal vegetarian. everyone does that for whatever their dietary requirements are, and i don’t really see how it’s any different for one over another?
[Reply]
Heather (Heather's Dish) Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 11:50 am
p.s. after re-reading i see that this sounds kind of rude…not my intention at all! so sorry if it sounds bad!
[Reply]
eatmovelove Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 10:05 pm
I don’t think that was rude. I think it was well-said!
[Reply]
I’m a vegetarian but I still love Food Network. You can make a meatless version of nearly everything. Well, maybe not Tur-duck-hen, but you get the idea.
Oh, and speaking of magazines – EVAN EVAN EVAN! You’re in Rachael Ray’s Every Day! Eeeps! I almost jumped out of my seat when I saw you. You were published in the “talk” section under “what’s your morning routine”.
Dude, FN and now RR mag too? You’re becoming quite the celebrity here.
[Reply]
Ian Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 12:07 pm
both of which are BIG DEAL magazines
with totally different groups of subscribers!
[Reply]
eatmovelove Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
How did he get in? Is it a letter to the Editor/Magazine?!
[Reply]
I’m not a vegetarian, but I do eat that way most of the time. While I don’t always want to see whole cows broken down, I’m not all that bothered by the mass quantities of meat recipes because I always use recipes as a launching point and I see what kind of changes I can make to have the recipe suit my needs!
[Reply]
I both agree with it all (especially food porn = best way to spend a night instead of work) and subscribe
[Reply]
HOLY COW!!!! I just opened up my Rachel Ray magazine while eating breakfast this morning and I saw your face and your yummy sounding morning routine!! I was home alone, but I literally yelled…”Oh my gosh, I know him!!”
Very exciting. Congrats. Have a happy Saturday.
[Reply]
I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 13, and I wasn’t into cooking then or even had cable, but over the past few years (I’m 28 now) I got into the Food Network big time and although I agree that a lot of their recipes are heavy on meat, what I’m usually more concerned about is how heavy on FAT they are. However, as someone who has been trying to only eat whole foods, I use their recipes as inspiration for making it whole-foods-only and vegetarian. The chefs have great tips and definitely push me down paths I wouldn’t have otherwise tried.
So awesome that you were in these mags in some way!!!
[Reply]
Epicurean Vegan Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 9:40 pm
I agree–the fat in these recipes are outrageous! It seems like Paula Dean and Bobby Flay see who can make the fattiest meals out there. I’m all about comfort food, but there’s no reason why it can’t be healthy too. I can watch these shows and see ways to veganize the recipes, so it’s not a big deal. With that said, however, it would be nice if they had a vegan/vegetarian show–I think it’s high time for that.
[Reply]
I’m glad to see that it’s making some really great changes and answering really great questions. I have never actually read the magazine, but it looks like they are really caring what the readers demands are and right now its vegetarian, vegan and raw
[Reply]
I don’t watch food network, but I don’t eat meat, and I think most American chefs do make heavy food. I know in CA, there is a Raw food trend, but again CA has a lot of trends going on. I do believe that a healthy diet with grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables is still the best.
[Reply]
I love that you wrote in, and they responded! I think a lot of people, rather than write into the magazine to ask them to cover other things, just don’t pick up the magazine at all.
[Reply]
I’m a veg and I love Food Network! As you say, so many of the recipes I see on TV are easily modifed to fit my needs. I’ve never read the FN magazine, but now I’m thinking I should start!
[Reply]
That’s awesome that you got a shout in the mag! I’m not a vegetarian, but I really don’t eat a TON of meat and I’m trying to really focus more on veggies, so yeah, it would be nice to see recipes with more variety. I like tofu, but I usually don’t eat it in the healthiest way…like, if I order Thai, I’ll get the tofu and glass noodles. I have no clue how to cook it myself though…what types of meals do you make with it?
[Reply]
“mention Ani Phyo and the raw food movement. Pretty cool, no?”–YES that it very cool!
And many recipes can be adapted to be vegetarian with a fair amount of ease and vegan, yes, that too. It’s just the avg person who’s probably reading that mag isnt savvy enough in the kitchen to know where to begin. They want it spelled out for them.
The issue I have w/ mags like that is dairy is prolific, even more so than meat. As is sodium b/c in order to make things “taste good” and be “healthy”, i.e. no meat or dairy, most ppl add tons of sodium or garlic. Or gluten.
so yeah, that’s why I dont subscribe but I still love food mags of any kind, they are fun!
[Reply]
eatmovelove Reply:
September 4th, 2010 at 3:44 pm
Good point.
[Reply]
So….would you believe this is the first month I’ve even had The Food Network station on my TV??…it’s A-Mazing…;). I like Ace of Cakes, and the competitions.
…but if I have to cut down my cable package, I’ll probably lose it
[Reply]
My beef (yes, pun intended) w/ FN is the lack of cooking shows on during the weekends & at night. I can only handle so many cake & chocolate challenges, before I just want to see some cookin’ happening, something I would actually be willing to whip up for dinner or such.
I eat meat & enjoy it. Different shows, on FN, are more veggie-friendly, than others. Fact of the matter is they cater to a majority of viewers, which are meat eaters. Even as a meat eater, I would love to see more meatless entrees, that would appeal to a wide variety of people.
[Reply]
I’m not a vegetarian but I do like to go meat-less twice or more during a week so I always appreciate when magazines like these have vegetarian options. That sweet potato soup totally caught my eye too. I love Food Network magazine. (I’d be so excited if my name was seen in it too!)
[Reply]
I subscribe to this magazines and always find veggie sides that even carnivores like me will eat. Love the veggie porn!
[Reply]
I love watching the Food Network, not for all the meat and dairy in the recipes, but for the creativity for which I steal to make my own versions (evil laugh)! Cool that you got your suggestion printed in their mag and they actually responded with recipes!
[Reply]
Awesome post! I did not even consider those points ( I eat meat). Including different diets will help people think about healthier ways to eat!
P.s You are officially too famous!
[Reply]
food network mag is my absolute favorite! it’s so informative and fun! and very colorful. that’s awesome that you were in it. i have all the issues!
[Reply]
I’ve stopped subscribing to most magazines but miss the recipes. I might have to check this one out…after all they area cool enough to include a question from you
[Reply]
I don’t know . . . just seeing Guy Fieri’s big mug is enough to make me throw up a little in my mouth. And Paula Deen enrages me.
Also: http://foodnetworkhumor.com/
[Reply]
Zucchini pasta, love it! I really want to try that out!
[Reply]
LOVE FN magazine!
[Reply]