Sunday Confessional: I Served My Vegetarian Friends a Dish That I Made With Chicken Broth!

I'd forgive you. I'm all for vegetarians - I was one for six years and I think it's a wonderful way to eat - but to be honest, at restaurants or when someone else is cooking for you, you've got to be flexible. I think you probably should have told them the truth, though. Hopefully they would understand and let it slip by.

If you want to improvise a veggie broth, boil some carrots, onions, and a bunch of spices in a pot to make your own. But since you were in a pinch, probably didn't have time to do this! It's always better to tell the truth, but true friends will forgive your blunder.

I wouldn't feel horrible it was a simple error and you were in the middle of cooking the dish. If your friends eat out they also could have been served something not vegetarian friendly and might not been aware of it.

NO. I am a vegetarian and although I would forgive restaurants for doing this, it would take me LONG time to forgive a "friend", especially since I've been a vegetarian since birth and am for religious reasons.

I wouldn't tell your friend. It just highlights your mistake and they may not understand the "in a pinch" argument. I forgive you, though. I agree with the poster who said about the food @ a restaurant... I wonder if it's always 100% veggie there. Same thing applies here... you did the best you could.

You really should have told them ahead of time. Regardless of whether or not you were in a a hurry, it would have showed respect for your friends, who obviously trusted you. At this point, I wouldn't tell because they may forgive you but the trust will not be there. Just don't throw any dinner parties, unless you double check for everything ahead of time.

Vegetarians are so picky about what they eat. Its so tiring to me. I would rather do my taxes than listen to someone talk about dangers of red meat. I eat it because it tastes delicious and its high in iron, but who cares. The fact that you went through a lot of trouble to try to please them and made a slip is OK with me. Their lucky to have a friend going though all those hoops to begin with.

LOL...who cares? People get upset over stupid things these days. No one died, no one got hurt. I would just forget about it. If they find out and complain remind them that some people don't have friends or money to eat!

NOT FORGIVE. As a vegetarian - I always ask restaurants to check and avoid soups for this reason. And I don't care about the dangers of red meat, I just don't want to eat dead animals or any associated pieces. For a "friend" to serve this to me knowing I won't even touch a piece of meat with my fingers is unthinkable.

I wouldn't worry about it since it's done and over with and it was an honest mistake. And this is an instance where you learned a lesson! You now know to double-check your kitchen for the proper ingredients before cooking for vegeterians again

NOT FORGIVE. As a vegetarian, I always (politely) ask restaurants to check for hidden ingredients and avoid soups for this very reason.
#7 - This has nothing to do with the dangers of meat, it is a personal, moral reason for me, as I do not want to eat any dead animals or associated parts. And how is it a big hoop to just let someone know what you put in their food? I would have rather gone hungry.
#8 - Just because this is not a big deal to you, does not mean it's not to someone else. As I mentioned to #7, this is a MORAL issue for me, and I would prefer not have the poster as a friend and go hungry rather than eat a killed, helpless animal.

How is it an honest mistake? The poster knows exactly what they did.

I'm not a vegetarian, but I'd respect my friends enough to not lie or mislead my guests. Sure, yes, the restaurants they go to may serve things like that (without telling them), but I thought as a friend you'd not stoop to that.

I don't know if your friends will 'forgive' you or not, it's really up to them. I know I would forgive if I were your friend (and a vegetarian), but it just annoyed me that they wouldn't have 'fessed up when I came over to their dinner party, so I could've made a choice whether to stay with the salad only or eat the dish you're making.

I'm not vegetarian, but I severely allergic to beef and mildly allergic to pork. My beef allergy is severe enough that even cooking chicken on the same grill beef was on makes me sick for 2 days. Same if chicken and beef are on the same place and the beef juices get onto the chicken.

You never know what reasons people are vegetarian. I can't count how many times I've eaten "vegetarian" dishes and been sick for days. Allergies to types of meat are rare, but real.

Well OP, just take a look at these angry vegetarians. Your friends may understand, or they may freak the hell out like those anons. I'm not gonna say "who cares it's not a big deal" because obviously it is to them, which is why at this point you should just let it go. Sure, you could have given them the choice before they ate the dish, but it's too late for that now. They can't un-eat it. Just be more prepared next time.

As far as I'm concerned, if no one got sick or anything just let it go. What they don't know can't hurt them.

Dude, not cool. You should have told them, or improvised a quick veg broth. It's not like it was an accident or anything, which I would totally forgive.

For next time: http://www.fitsugar.com/Save-Vegetables-Peelings-Make-Low-Sodium-Homemad...

The link is to a fitsugar post on saving veggie scraps and using them for homemade broth.

It's a white lie. No one died, it was a complete mistake. Don't tell them, it will be pointless.

Your intentions were to make your friends a nice meal, not to intentionally go against their wishes. Forget about the whole thing. There are a lot more important things to worry about in life. Do not tell them. But do not ever let it happen again either.

@anonymous1 - If you are vegetarian for religious reasons then your religion should also teach you how to forgive. I'm vegetarian too and vegetarianism is also part of my religious. But chicken broth is not that big a deal. It's not like she served chicken and said told them it was vegetarian.

nobody got hurt, so don't worry about it! what they don't know won't hurt them.

You had the choice of fessing up before you fed it to your friends. It's too late now, but next time if you need to prepare a specific dish for a specific group of people, you might want to be more careful and more resourceful (Google is great any time you're in a bind for ingredients and need to find a suitable substitute).

What she doesn't know won't kill her. So don't tell her.

It seems like you could have tried a little harder to exclude the chicken broth.

You did what you hard to do and most importantly, you tried. You have to remember you can't please everybody in this world. Getting mad at you for a little chicken broth into their mail would be a really finicky and ridiculous thing to do, in my opinion. I personally wouldn't tell them. I mean, sometimes you have to do things like this. That's life.

*meal, not mail. LOL!

not forgive.. not cool. I'm born vegetarian, never eaten meat. I've been trying to switch so recently discovered that beef broth makes me physically ill. Since it's over and done with, don't fess up (it'll just make things tough between you & friends).. but in the future, tell them in advance so they can avoid the soup.

Am I the only person that thinks this same anonymous person is repeatedly posting? There's the same language over and over. Can't be a coincidence - people give themselves away by the way they type.

I think vegetarians are sometimes jerks about it. When you go out to dinner with them in groups they tend to take over the whole event with their pickiness. It's obnoxious, and I think it's for attention-getting reasons.

I just think it's a very mild thing. It's not even meat, it's boiled bones - broth. No big.

Vegetarians are self involved spoiled people who have money and choices. My guess is a typical vegetarian would be city born and raised who never once stepped foot on a real farm or put even their hands in soil. I was born in a farming community, where I helped farmers with dairy cows, crops and yes, farmers who raised animals for slaughter. No one feels sorry for a dam cow or pig up there. That's how people up there survive and make a living. My husband's brother is a butcher and once a week he brings meat to the table. We are forever grateful and I don't turn up my nose like some kind of spoiled snob who can't appreciate that it's food for our survival. Or let my son starve for the likes of an animal.

I wouldn't have had a problem with it as a vegetarian. My attitude has always been that if someone is going to the time and effort to prepare food for me, I'm grateful. Besides, I feel like it's worse for food to go to waste than for my eating preferences to be upset.

^ I'm a new anonymous poster, for the record. O & I'm not just saying that.

I am vegetarian. I've been so since I was 12. I've known many more pickier omnivours then myself. I just don't eat meat, pretty simple and basic. To say that "I think vegetarians are sometimes jerks about it" is a bold statement, as is the "attention-getting" bit. I call BS on those, just in my own opinion. If we were trying to seek attention, don't you think all of us who are posting anonymously would be posting unanonymously? But think what you will, I'd say your views are very subjective and rather ignorant and rude. I respect anyone who eats meat, why can't more people respect vegetarians?

And that would be getting to the point of the whole debacle here. Respect. That and trust. She lied to her friends. It doesn't matter that it was chicken broth and they were vegetarians. She knew what she was doing, so it wasn't an accident. She clearly feels bad about it, but I can imagine her friends walked away with a few sick days. (I know I would because it's happened to me before when I've tried to not be so "picky" and eat something that might have chicken or beef broth in it to keep things running smoothly while eating at other people's houses... )

If it were me, I would be upset. I'd forgive but I wouldn't forget and I definitely wouldn't trust her to make me a "vegetarian-friendly" dinner again unless I was over helping or something. I wouldn't freak out either. It would just hurt my feelings because I would feel like they didn't care much about me or who I am.

Whoa! Where did my post go? Aww... lame...

Well, now I'm a little pissed. I was all calm and rational before but damn - the above poster (dikke kus) said some things that were a bit ignorant.

I'm not rich. I'm not spoiled. I am vegetarian. Have been since I was 12. I live up north in the country. I live near several farms & have been on farms before & had many friends who had farms growing up. I'm not rude about my eating habits. I'm not a "jerk" about it, as another poster put. These are the most subjective and ignorant statements I've heard in awhile about vegetarians! I'm actually VERY self-conscious about my vegetarianism, especially for where I'm living (in the country). Tell someone I don't like meat (because my stomach normally can't handle it) and I get ridiculed! It's awesome to know that no matter where you go people can't respect you for who you are.

To get to the point of this whole thing - she lied to her friends. It could've been that all of them were lactose intolerant and she served them a dairy-based soup made with an actual dairy product and said it was soy. It doesn't matter, she lied. Also, there is no comment on how any of her friends felt after the meal. I would've been sick. But, luckily, I've never felt like that I mattered enough to tell this to the people who knew I was vegetarian & served me something with chicken or beef broth/stock in it.

Oh, and I am a new poster who is posting anonymously. Not looking for attention, thanks. Just looking to have my opinion stated because I feel like this is all very biased and hurtful to a lot of people. I don't mock and make fun of anyone for anything they do but it's okay to state that every vegetarian out there is a snob or a jerk or is self-centered and spoiled?

I certainly didn't say that all vegetarians are jerks, nor do I think they are. But I do think that sometimes you make group gatherings all about your personal eating choices. Look at this topic! You're so offended by a friend who didn't make a meal to your particular specifications. How ungrateful! I think you're the bad friend, not her.

It's like, if you're going to be so draconian, make your own food at home and leave us out of it.

dikke kus, I'm not a vegetarian but I hardly think they will sooner starve than eat an animal. The reason why people can be vegetarians is because there are so many other options. Just because no one cares about animals where you come from doesn't mean it's dumb for other people to care about animals. Given how people treat them in this world, it certainly doesn't hurt that there are *some* who actually care. Open your mind a little.

OP, since you feel guilty now it's really up to you to confess or not. If I were your friend, I'd probably be ok with it, then again, I might be biased because I'm not a vegetarian. Who knows if they actually have allergic reaction toward chicken broth or whatnot.

In addition to that, reading this post it I just don't understand the complete disrespect of a lifestyle.
I'm far from being a vegetarian, but I really respect their choice for abstaining from eating meat, etc. And I respect their passion for it (although I don't understand it).

This can easily be about another topic that can instigate passionate feeling, like pro-choice and pro-life.
As a pro-choice myself, I doubt I'd like being called a baby-killer, just because I sincerely/passionately believe in woman's right to make a choice (and other reasons why I'm pro-choice).

Why does it make it ok to ridicule other people's lifestyle (in this post: vegetarianism) and passion by calling them 'jerks' or 'draconian' and such? Why resort to name calling when someone makes a pretty decent argument about vegetarianism?

Please don't misrepresent my opinion here. I certianly don't think being a vegitarian makes you a jerk. I totally respect that choice. I've considered it myself, but have come to the conclusion your body needs the real deal to run.

I am saying that making yourself the center of a situation when it's inappropriate is a jerk thing to do. Look, we've all made meals for large groups of people. How stressful is that? We've all forgotten ingredients, we've all had things go wrong. She panicked. She made a mistake. Is forgiveness possible? Sure!

Also? If you're going to get on a high horse about broth, then you'd better not wear leather or use any other animal byproducts or you're a hypocrite.

I don't think this should be a type of person type argument. It wouldnt matter if every vegetarian on the planet was a self centered *sshole, the point of this is that the submitter knowingly lied to their guests. It really has nothing to do with the food or the people. She chose to put the broth in, and then lie to them instead of fessing up, cooking something else, recooking it if a trip to the store would have ruined it, etc.

I don't think the poster should tell their friend, becuase it really wont make any difference at this point. They will be pissed off, and they have the right, and the whole it was inconveinent for me isn't going to bode well when she lied and violated something they care about. This isn't a resturaunt. This is a friend point blank lying.

not forgive. because it wasn't a mistake. you put the chicken broth in (yes, in a pinch, i understand why you did that), but to then not tell your friend...that's pretty shady.

i am vegetarian. i think it's funny that the vast majority of non-vegetarians who posted think we're all being whiny and unreasonable that we'd be upset that you knowingly fed us chicken broth. but why would you do that? you had no other food in the house you could feed us?
that said, it's happened now and there's nothing you can do to undo it - just please please please don't do it again.

If no one got sick I wouldn't fess up, but I sure as hell wouldn't do it again.

Some of us who've been vegetarian for a long time will get violently ill if we eat meat, even broths. I have sent food back at restaurants because, despite assurances it was vegetarian, it had chicken broth in it only to have a waiter fess up when told I can taste it. That's pretty low when avoiding meats could be due to an allergy.

As for the whole poor farmers don't become vegetarian, I grew up in a family that made $4,000 a year in the 1980s and needed a garden in the summer to survive. I became vegetarian quite young because I spent summers as a child having to kill my own seafood and making pets out of the local ducks only to see people eat them. Eating a cow is as nauseating to me as eating a horse or a cat or a dog (which much of the rest of the world will do, but most Americans find distasteful- does that make us a nation of spoiled rich snobs?).

Running out of vegetarian broth was an error; choosing to lie to your friends, and potentially causing them a night of distress, was seriously poor form.

Well you've certainly put your self out of the broth and into the frying pan. First thing I noticed to consider is were they all vegetarian or were some vegan. If there was one or more vegan in the group God help you if they find out honey, lol. Vegetarians on the other hand can run a wide variable. Kinda like Liberal Democrat vs. Moderate Democrat and everything in between. Was the broth at least organic? Bottom line though you served something that can really go to the core of peoples values and if they find out you did it knowingly I hope they're the most understanding of friends.

All the vegetarians who commented on this sound like such huge intolerable assholes, that next time I would serve them meat on purpose, if I were you.

For crying outloud, listening to you, you'd think she killed your babies. I'm allergic to garlic, and sometimes my friends or family serve it unbeknownst to me. I get sick. I don't care. I don't need to "forgive them". I'm the one with the special need, and I have to live with people's mistakes, not make them feel bad about it.

It's just broth!

I think you feel bad because you didn't tell them more than anything else; but seriously, honey, seeing the reactions of the crazies here, you were right to keep it tight.

"It's just broth" would be a very serious issue to a dear vegetarian friend of mine.

I've cooked for many, and have always found it respectful to consider guest's dietary habits/sensitivities (whatever you wish to call them and whatever anyone's shoes are made of) very important when hosting. Better planning was needed here. Bullsh*tting guests was beyond unsavory.

Wow, I really am shocked at some of the responses on here! Is it really fair to judge a whole group of people based on their diet preferences, calling them names and denouncing their character? Yikes. I know some vegetarians who yes, of course, are overly dramatic and picky, but I also know some meat eaters who are the same way! Instead of criticizing someone for what they eat, I think we should have more compassion and tolerance for those different than us, vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike! Ethically, I don't think it was right what OP did, since she knowingly used the broth without telling her guests, but from now on, I hope she is more careful and considerate when serving others with different diets than her own! Phew!

I wouldn't tell them, but then again I feed Veggies beef jerky.
It was an honest mistake, and you didn't have time to dash for veggie stock.

It was definately not okay to feed them the dish without informing them, it was made with chicken broth. But obviously everyone's okay and it would probably be worse for them to know they ate it now.

I too think, vegetarians can get annoying but so can other people that put ketchup on every dish you prepare (like hubby, I wanna kill him sometimes or don't eat vegetables. When having guests I always try to consider their habits but if you choose to eat a certain way be prepared to get a smaller selection of dishes.

Oh, another thing by the way, would've been if any of them was not eating meat for religious or health reasons. In kindergarten they kept trying to get muslim kids to eat pork. That was so completely wrong!

Are there really religions out there that forbid chicken? People seem to be bringing religious beliefs into this a lot, but I don't think chicken falls under that category....
Also, don't mix up chicken and beef. Everyone seems to be playing up the whole "I ate beef and got violently ill!" thing, but chicken broth won't make you sick. Not even life-long vegetarians. It's easily digestible. In fact, it's mainly water and vegetables.
The only problem here is that she lied to her friends.

As a vegetarian I would find it extremely difficult to forgive you sorry, you obiously did it on purpose and even failed to inform your vegetarian guests that it had chicken broth! I would really feel cheated, yea its not like killing your babies, but it took me a lot of work to become a vegetarian and put a lot of effort into it since I became a vegetarian for moral reasons more than health reasons. What you did is so messed up, ugh

I'm a veggie, and I'd be more concerned about it getting them ill. I have been a veggie for almost 15 years, and a small bite of something with animal protein would make my stomach turn - not because of principal, but because it's been 15 years since it has digested it.

Just a few months ago, I took a bite into something that had meat in it, I could taste it immediately, and didn't swallow it, but even after the taste, my stomach became upset.

I am a veggie because I do not like the taste of meat, and I don't consider myself picky, I will ask for a salad w/o the meat, I will ALWAYS find something I can order.. even at a steak house they have baked potatoes and veggies. It all depends on the person really, so it's hard for anyone to generalize about veggies.