History Main / DisgustingVegetarianFood

** "Impossible" ground beef substitute is very close to the real deal in terms of taste and texture, but as if to reinforce [[IfItTastesBadItMustBeGoodForYou a related trope]], it's also not that much healthier and has almost the same amount of calories as real hamburger meat (whether it comes from an animal or plant-based source, ''fat'' is still what's really needed to create a good flavor). A similar problem dogs several of the attempts to emulate a fried chicken patty using things such as wheat starch; making it ''work'' requires a substantial amount of fat, sodium, and carbs to produce a convincing flavor.

'''Carl''': ''(Angrily drops cooler)'' OK! Have a crappy Weekend! Hope your house burns down!''

* Artificial meat substitutes in general are the biggest offender; a carnivore who otherwise happily eats their veggies still won't take kindly to them when they're gadding about pretending to be meat, poultry, or seafood. Specimens that do taste somewhat decent are usually off by a mile when it comes to texture (the fibrous consistency of muscle tissue is not an easy thing to fake), with even the most toothsome varieties still wholly unable to fool your typical meat eater, and for someone unused to them, the perceived nastiness of artificial meats goes up in proportion to the expectation that they will taste reasonably similar to real counterparts.

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' cartoons when Shaggy was a vegetarian. The food he eats is vegetarian and gross but only because it's vegetarian versions of the eclectic food combos he ate before, like eggplant burgers covered with chocolate and hot sauce.

[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
* In [[WhatCouldHaveBeen an earlier version]] of ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei would have tried drinking a vegetarian cocktail her mother made only to spit it out after hearing it contains spinach.
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** "Impossible" ground beef substitute is very close to the real deal in terms of taste and texture, but as if to reinforce [[IfItTastesBadItMustBeGoodForYou a related trope]], it's also not that much healthier and has almost the same amount of calories as real hamburger meat (whether it comes from an animal or plant-based source, ''fat'' is still what's really needed to create a good flavor).

* In ''Film/BedtimeStories2008'', Skeeter's health-nut sister serves a gluten-free wheatgrass cake at her daughter's birthday party that nobody wants to eat. When he walks in and asks what smells so bad, some kid says, "It's the cake." He quips, "What did she make, donkey cake?"

* There was once a ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' comic, which predates Shaggy becoming vegetarian, where Shaggy and Scooby have a meal of artichokes and hummus. The pair visibly grimace while eating the meal, and Shaggy declares that the food tastes of "old paste".

* Played with in ''WesternAnimation/ScoobyDoo'' cartoons after Shaggy became vegetarian. The food he eats is vegetarian and gross but only because it's vegetarian versions of the eclectic food combos he ate before, like Eggplant burgers covered with chocolate and hot sauce.

* In ''Literature/TheAmazingDaysOfAbbyHayes,'' Casey goes to Thanksgiving at his father's cousin's house and ends up being served beets, brussels sprouts, lentil stew, spelt bread, and unsweetened cranberry apple pie with whole wheat crust. After the meal, his father comments that he's never going to become a vegetarian.

* Beast Boy from ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' and ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitansGo'' is vegetarian due to being a shapeshifter; he feels uncomfortable eating animals when he's [[{{animorphism}} been most of them]]. He is most frequently seen eating tofu and soy products (including uncooked blocks of tofu); however, none of his friends are interested in trying them. His meat-loving best friend Cyborg especially hates vegetarian foods.

* In ''Film/BedtimeStories2008'', Skeeter's sister serves a gluten-free wheatgrass cake at her daughter's birthday party that nobody wants to eat. When he walks in and asks what smells so bad, some kid says, "It's the cake." He quips, "What did she make, donkey cake?"

--> '''Frylock''': ''(Tempting Carl with a cut)'' Look at that cut of bean...
--> '''Carl''': ''(Angirly drops cooler) OK! Have a crappy Weekend! Hope your house burns down!''

In real life, the various forms of vegetarianism involve eating a multitude of different foods as long as they don't contain poultry, red meat, or fish (contrary to popular belief, pescatarianism is not considered vegetarianism) or are cooked alongside them. In fiction, this is watered down considerably. Characters will eat diets consisting of mostly tofu, common vegetables, and random "health foods" that their non-vegetarian friends find odd or even gross.

This may be slowly becoming a DiscreditedTrope. The late 2010s saw a massive investment boom into meat substitutes and vegan products as consumer demand for the same rose, and it is much easier in-general for the average person to maintain a varied vegetarian diet than it was even a decade or two ago. Alongside a big marketing push for plant-based food, this has meant the stigma towards vegetarian food among non-vegetarians has waned a fair bit over time.

** In the "[[Recap/TheSimpsonsS12E1TreehouseOfHorrorXI Treehouse of Horror XI]]" episode segment, "G-G-G-Ghost D-D-D-Dad", [[GreensPrecedeSweets Marge refuses to serve Homer any dessert until he eats his broccoli]]. Homer reluctantly eats it, and dies as a result. When Dr. Hibbert observes Homer's body, he tells Marge that broccoli is actually one of the deadliest plants on Earth, trying to warn people with its horrible taste.

* The vegetarian "health food" or "natural foods" cuisine embraced by the hippies of the late '60s and early '70s was found to look and taste unappealing to much of the mainstream population. This is why vegetarian food is stereotyped as being heavy, brown and bland, even though meat-free cuisine can indeed be tasty, appetizing and beautifully presented.
* Artificial meat substitutes in general are the biggest offender; a carnivore who otherwise happily eats their veggies still won't take kindly to them when they're gadding about pretending to be meat, poultry or seafood. Specimens that do taste somewhat decent are usually off by a mile when it comes to texture (the fibrous consistency of muscle tissue is not an easy thing to fake), with even the most toothsome varieties still wholly unable to fool your typical meat eater, and for someone unused to them, the perceived nastiness of artificial meats goes up in proportion to the expectation that they will taste reasonably similar to real counterparts.

** "Impossible" ground beef substitute is very close to the real deal in terms of taste and texture, but as if to reinforce [[IfItTastesBadItMustBeGoodForYou a related trope]], it's also not that much healthier and has almost the same amount of calories as real hamburger meat.

* Artificial meat substitutes in general are the biggest offender; a carnivore who otherwise happily eats their veggies still won't take kindly to them when they're pretending to be meat, poultry or seafood. Specimens that do taste somewhat decent are usually off by a mile when it comes to texture (the fibrous consistency of muscle tissue is not an easy thing to fake), with even the most toothsome varieties still wholly unable to fool your typical meat eater, and for someone unused to them, the perceived nastiness of artificial meats goes up in proportion to the expectation that they will taste reasonably similar to real counterparts.

* ''Series/ParksAndRecreation''
** this is downplayed. Health nut Chris is known for eating stereotypically healthy, frequently vegetarian food to the horror of proud carnivore Ron. In one episode instead of bringing cake (which, while vegetarian, is made with eggs and dairy), Chris brings a disgusting vegan vegetable bread to the dismay of many.
** Another episode features a taste test between a fancy, artisanal veggieburger versus Ron's simple meat-and-bun burger with optional ketchup. Everyone immediately declares Ron's burger better.

** Laurie, Abby's mother's friend from college, is a hardcore StrawVegetarian who will not eat anything non-organic, subsisting almost entirely on nuts, seeds, soy products, and the like. Abby is not pleased when her mother tries to follow Laurie's example and buys her papaya peanut granola instead of her favorite Tooty Frooty cereal.