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Colombian tasty treats without meat?

Hey everyone
Am coming to Colombia soon and I don't eat meat (vegetarian.) I want to sample the local food as much as possible and want to know what local foods do not have meat as an ingredient ... savouries, sweets, anything.
thanks for all your help!

By island girl on Mar 9, 2008, 10:09 in Friendly Talkzone.

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:10:

And is the street food safe to eat there, I have a fairly strong stomach!?

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:20:

You can try Arepas, different types of breads(pan de yuca, pan de bono, etc.) , bocadillos, arequipe(dairy ok?), and lots of different types of fruits.

As far as the street food, like anywhere else it just comes down to the individual vendor's preparation practices.

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:21:

yes dairy is fine
thank you!

adrimm says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:21:

Fruits. Colombia has the most dizzying array of fruits.

Unfortunately the traditional main course meals pretty much all involve meat, and those that don't include meat are flavored with meat or chicken broth...For traditional dishes you'll be most relegated to starchy traditional side dishes like patacones, fried yucca, etc, and sweets.

One thing that you can try that is good and veggie friendly is Arepa filled with choclo, queso y huevo. It sounds odd, but is very very good. You might also be able to find meatless empanadas.

For breakfast maybe huevos pericos.

I haven't had trouble with street food. In many places they grill corn in the evenings.

adrimm says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:23:

Most veggies I know are pretty strict, but if you are not, this might be one of the few times to make an exception.

Many of the soups are fabulous, but contain meat. Maybe you can fish the meat out and then have the soup?

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 10:33:

I try my best to not eat meat but Im not some sort of veggie fundamentalist ... Like when I was in honduras or cuba, I would eat lots of beans, stewed etc and never really asked for the finer details of the stock/cooking liquid used ... cuz in a lot of places people will say its meat free even if it is cooked in chicken broth ... alot of people see meat free as free of chunks of meat ....and im not about to try starving :)

Papi de Alejo says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:24:

I admire your practicality. Wish I could try to go meat free for a significant period of time. Like you, I am from the islands and just about everything there is based on meat. It's kind of hard to make a choice between your culture and your health unless it is of the utmost importance. I loved all of the different fruits that existed in Colombia. In fact, I can say that my diet there was based mostly on fish and fruits. Enjoy yourself.

PdA

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:44:

do you eat fish? because in Colombia specially the north we eat lots of fish

engage brain before opening mouth

cali373 says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:47:

patacones and arroz de coco.

Smile if you are a thinker!

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:47:

uhmm delicious cali373, y mojarra frita

engage brain before opening mouth

nueva york bombero says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:52:

Damn, Yo tengo hambre!!! I'm going to Taganga for dinner......... anyone in???

jorgegdiaz says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:54:

Pumpkin Salad, Pumpkin cake, all sort of beans, lentils soup, garbanzos sudados, sopa de verduras (vegetables soup), buñuelos ... yuo´ll be fine

Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 12:55:

gezz jorgegdiaz you are making a time bomb there hehehe

engage brain before opening mouth

jorgegdiaz says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:00:

... por que Kat?

Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day.

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:03:

beans, lentil soup, pumpking seeds, garbanzos ... make sure she is in a well ventilated room heheheh

engage brain before opening mouth

jorgegdiaz says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:05:

oh !!
... she could be the first island girl orbiting the moon?

Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day.

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:40:

oh dear!
Keep the input coming guys and Ill let you know that after 15 years of primarily eating beans and bean based foods, I have developed some sort of enzyme that makes me ahem able to digest legumes quite easily! Its true!
so I will not be anti-social!

And kat1 yes I eat fish so I am not a "real" vegetarian i suppose but I adopt the moniker because it gets the point across that I do not eat pork, beef, chicken etc.
Cheers guys you're makin me hungry and I don't even know what all that stuff is .. time for google!

Robert Jorge says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:42:

If you eat fish - you got it made. Lots of sidewalk restaurants serve fish.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:45:

Chicharron is an excellent replacement for meat - low in fat high in protein.

La vida es una rutina

Monpirri says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:45:

Island girl, if you are planning to visit Barranquilla I know an excellent vegetarian restaurant there. I just need to send an email to get the name of the place which I have forgotten.

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:52:

hey alma de norte isnt chicharron basically pork cracklings? I kow in mexico they also had something with the same name (or similar) that were like these turbo shaped fried corn snacks that I would pour Valentina sauce on and enjoy ???

buggy says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:53:

chicharron low in fat ? Chiste ?

“Ojos y oídos para Norteamérica / para su propio pueblo, sordo y ciego" Pablo Neruda

Desideria (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 13:53:

Alma, you're kidding, right?

"I have opinions of my own, strong opinions, but I don't always agree with them."-President George W. Bush

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 14:01:

well the pig was vegetarian

engage brain before opening mouth

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 14:01:

Blimey ! Do you need to ask? ;)

La vida es una rutina

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 14:02:

Seek out "Loto Azul", in Bogota

La vida es una rutina

kat1 (Moderator) says on Mar 9, 2008, 14:34:

well island we have so many nice vegetable, fruits, free range eggs, fish, and soya products you will spoil for choice :)))))

I remembered in exito they sell tofu..

engage brain before opening mouth

adrimm says on Mar 9, 2008, 15:00:

Mute, Sancocho, Mondongo, Ajiaco.. all nice thick soups (you'll be picking meat out of them them tho).

Man Tequila says on Mar 9, 2008, 15:21:

Jet Chocolate tastes like it has hardly any meat in it at all.

Chicharrones aren't really meat, but in fairness, me and Canadian Customs disagree on this puntito.

Best choice is the wonderful batidos -- shakes of your favourite fruits en agua or en leche. Try mango, lulo, guayaba... all the other ones. Try drinking champús.

Good fish, coconut rice, fried crunchy things. I am not the biggest fan of yucca or plaintain, but you will see lots of this. My experience is few countries do salads well (Japan, Canada, the US, Greece, France...) You might find tofu in the stores, the bigger cities have lots of vegetarian options, but you won't routinely see tofu in restaurants.

Choclo arepas can be divine, especially with cheese. Lots of beans in Colombia.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

island girl says on Mar 9, 2008, 15:48:

monpirri i might be passing thru Baranquilla on my way from Cartagena to Santa Marta
let me know thanks :)

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:13:

"Chicharrones aren't really meat, but in fairness, me and Canadian Customs disagree on this puntito."

Mr T,

I can't believe they had it away with your little porky snacks - we know where they ended up - huh!

How are the cravings?

La vida es una rutina

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:23:

Well, if you're not a proper veggie and eat fishys, may I suggest a trip to Salento, where you can sample fresh trucha prepared in about a trillion different guises. Here is Trucha con Queso y Champignones - cheap too.

La vida es una rutina

Man Tequila says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:25:

Customs took 20 bags of microwave chicharron, damn straight I know where they ended up.

The regular version is equal amounts fat and protein. These microwave babies were both delicious (hot from the oven) and 90% protein. They did miss one bag, I'm saving it for when I'm next tempted to scour the countryside for sties and mudbaths.

I find a steady diet of bacon keeps the cravings at bay. ;)

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:27:

Has your medical training ever required you to perform skin grafts?

La vida es una rutina

Man Tequila says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:34:

Yes sir. Lemme at those porkers.

In Mexico, I've seen pieces of chicharron bigger than a sofa cushion, though. Big graft.

A buddy in med school was an Indian fellow who finally escaped from vegetarian home. Started eating meat, a pound of bacon a day. Became a cardiac surgeon. And he wants to do MY bypass when the time comes.

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:38:

jajajajajaja!!!! sweet! Life's all messed up - how is life?

La vida es una rutina

Man Tequila says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:40:

Messed up, thanks for asking. Back to work, dreaming of Colombia.

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 16:40:

Good! jeje.

La vida es una rutina

redradish says on Mar 9, 2008, 17:00:

Check out the restaurant Quinoa y Amaranto on Calle 11 in Bogota (La Candelaria neighborhood), great vegetarian lunches, by far the best I've found in Bogota.

Alma del Norte says on Mar 9, 2008, 17:04:

Is that the place with the mezzanine that gets rammed for almuerzo?

La vida es una rutina

roquero says on Mar 9, 2008, 17:43:

Island Girl, as a fellow vegetarian, I can tell you it is difficult but not impossible to find vegetarian fare in Colombia
There is a chain of restaurants called Crepes & Waffles that offer lots of great options and tasty food for veggies, they are in most of the major shopping centers in the big cities.
In Medellin there is a chain called Lebon that has similar offerings and is also very good.
Of course, there's always pizza, although Colombians for some strange reason don't put tomato sauce on their pizzas.
Barranquilla has lots of Lebanese restaurants, many of which have veggie options.
If all else fails, ask your server if they can prepare items especially for you- I even had a well known restaurant in Medellin prepare a Bandeja Paisa for me, veggie style!

poco says on Mar 10, 2008, 00:06:

Hummm,, vegetables,, No real problem,, that is if you like rice. No meat chinese meals are served at chinese restaurants. Surprisingly they have LOTS of chinese restaurants, at least in the rural towns. The price asked can be between 4 and 8 mill pesos for a large lunch.

Nuts are semi-common. This is a picture of someone holding my nut bags.

"Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent" - Isaac Asimov

lampltr says on Mar 10, 2008, 05:10:

Poco, mama mia jajaja! One can also try the local natural herbs, the 3 leaf type to place in salads.

morphus says on Mar 10, 2008, 05:21:

Avocado with salt is good.

ColombianoGringo says on Mar 10, 2008, 09:14:

"Of course, there's always pizza, although Colombians for some strange reason don't put tomato sauce on their pizzas."

Huh? Where have you been eating pizza?

Monpirri says on Mar 12, 2008, 05:34:

Islan girl, we visited Delicias Vegetarianas restaurant in Barranquilla, it's more like a house converted into a nice and cozy restaurant.
Here's the information from their daily email:

PASTELES Y HAYACAS PARA EL DIA 14 DE MARZO .
APARTA LOS TUYOS.

UNETE YA. ENCUENTRAS EL GRUPO EN FACEBOOK Este link: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=8793903300

DELISALUD
DELICIAS SALUDABLES
RESTAURANTE VEGETARIANO

BIENVENIDOS AL MUNDO DE LAS DELICIAS VEGETARIANAS.
'DONDE TU VIDA TENDRA SABOR, COLOR Y ALEGRIA.
LUNES, 10 DE MARZO

MENU

_CREMA DE VERDURAS

_ARROZ INTEGRAL

_MINI CHUZOS DE GLUTEN Y TOFU CON SALSA

CHIMICHURRI

_ENSALADA CRIOLLA (PEPINO, TOMATE, CEBOLLA, LECHUGA BOGOTANA)

NOTA: NUESTRAS SALSAS SON TOTALMENTE NATURALES
HECHAS EN DELICIAS SALUDABLES.

Horario de Atencion: Lunes a Sabado de 11.30 a.m a 6 p.m
TELS. 373 9020 Y 358 3333 - CEL 300 - 800 38 55 CEL 317 - 430 10 38

BARRANQUILLA CRA 46 NO. 81 - 54
deliciasvegetarianas at gmail.com

Annette Taddeo for US Congress 2008

Man Tequila says on Mar 12, 2008, 10:08:

Colombians put a bit of tomato sauce on their pizza, just not the uber amounts I would use when preparing a pie. I always get extra sauce when ordering.

Mango or avacado with salt. A tasty snack.

poco says on Mar 12, 2008, 11:26:

Quote: Mango or avacado with salt. A tasty snack

Hot dog,, I'm soon to be doubly blessed. Maybe not real soon as the Mango tree is only a foot or so high but the avocado tree if FULL of fruit and this year they are staged,, yep, I've harvested some BIG ONES and many buds are coming in behind. Who knows, might be a perpetual avocado tree, maybe Monsanto can clone the seeds?

wish I had a dancing avocado.

"Violence is the first refuge of the incompetent" - Isaac Asimov

island girl says on Mar 12, 2008, 11:29:

you guys rock :)