SMASH MAGAZINE
10/06/05
WHEN PIGS FLY

(press photos available at: http://bighassle.com/publicity/a_stretch.html#photo)

WHEN PIGS FLY…
Ditch the holiday ham, bird, etc. it’s more feast without the beast as Stretch Arm Strong’s Chris McLane tells Smash.

My name is Chris McLane and I am in the punk/hardcore band Stretch Arm Strong. As the holiday seasons draw near, I can’t wait to get around the table and dig into some tasty and delicious home cooked holiday meals. Now, for most people the holidays always come with a cooked turkey, ham or beef product, but at my house and at other houses around the country we choose to have the feast without the beast. What is that you say? It can't be done. I was skeptical many years ago, but if you take 1 part compassion and just a little adventure you to can have a holiday meal completely meat free. I have been vegetarian for over 15 years now and before, I could never imagine a holiday without the meat that typically came with it. Once I educated myself on a vegetarian lifestyle and all the health benefits that come with it, I never looked back. You can do it, too.

    One of the most simple ways to enjoy the holidays is to have friends and family around and to cherish the time that you have together if only for that day. The food that goes with this festive (or frustrating if you know my family) time is what holds it all together. Good vegetables are a staple of any holiday meal no matter your heritage or nationality. Fresh corn, beans, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and green beans are essential. This year instead of seasoning your veggies with a ham hock or beef bullion try a little veggie stock or even fresh garlic and salt and pepper. It will snaz up any meal you are preparing and will lock in the veggie's true flavor. Next up, if you are craving a meat try the ever popular Tofurkey. It's cheap, healthy, and fairly easy to prepare. You can buy these guys at your local health food store, Whole Foods, or even your local Wal-Mart. Yes, Wal-Mart carries these tasty non birds every Thanksgiving. Give it a shot, dress it up, put on some fresh bread, add veggies, and you are golden. You won’t be let down.  If tofu is not your thing, then try a seitan product. Seitan is a wheat gluten based product that has a meaty texture. You can prepare this much the same way as the Tofurkey and season it like you would any other meat product. Seitan acts as a type of food sponge that absorbs the flavoring of seasonings and spices and whatever else it is cooked with. You can usually find it in the produce section. Yum.  You can find a lot of recipes and ideas at www.peta2.com. They really do help people ease into a veggie lifestyle.

    When I am not eating healthy, I am usually on the road with my band Stretch Arm Strong. We just released our new record, FREE AT LAST, on We Put Out Records/East West (wporecords.com). It came out Sept 13. and is available anywhere in the country and around the world.  Our glorious management team (The Syndicate) has been working extra hard for us this year and with the new record out we are looking forward to a very busy 2006. We will be on the road through the end of this year and we are planning on some over seas traveling in 2006. Being in this band has allowed us many opportunities and getting to travel the world and meet new people is probably one of the bets ones I can think of. We have been to Japan, Canada, Europe, all over the US and Puerto Rico and right now we are planning on returning to those places as well as adding in new stops in South Africa, Israel and others. This band has been such a huge part of my life for the last 10 years and I am looking forward to all of the things we still have to accomplish while touring on this new record.  We hope to see all of you very soon and we hope you have a nice holiday. Enjoy yourselves and enjoy the time you have to spend with family because as we all know, not everyone has that luxury. GO vegetarian.