Question: What do Weird Al Yankovic, Chelsea Clinton and a hippopotamus have in common?

Answer: They’re all vegetarians. Whether it’s for health, ethical concerns, or a natural aversion, all three abstain from eating meat.

So is Ben Winton, an employee at the Natural Living Center in Bangor. Actually, he’s vegan, and has been so for 15 years, along with his wife, Sherrie. They eat no meat, no milk, no eggs, no honey. And since he works at a big natural foods grocery store, he meets a lot of fellow nonmeat-eaters – and the numbers in recent years have been growing.

“Look at that book ‘Skinny Bitch.’ It’s been a huge best-seller, and it promotes a vegan diet,” said Winton. “We’ve had dozens of people come through the NLC that are trying out being vegetarian or vegan. People are really starting to understand the health benefits and the positive social and environmental impact of choosing to not use animal products.”

Sensing the upsurge in interest, as well as the lack of resources for local herbivores, Winton took the opportunity to try something he’d been thinking about for a while: starting a Web site devoted to vegetarian and vegan options in eastern Maine. Last November, he launched the Bangor Vegetarian Network on MySpace (www.myspace.com/bangorvegetariannetwork).

Loaded with local restaurant menus, recipes and shopping tips, Winton posts blogs and bulletins several times weekly letting users know everything from where the vegetarian lunch specials are, to where to find great deals on produce, soy products and other vegetarian necessities. The page boasts nearly 1,000 “friends” and has received well over 6,000 hits from MySpace users alone.

“We hope it makes it easy and affordable to be a vegetarian or vegan in Maine,” said Winton. “It gives you someone to talk to, when you want options and advice. We’ve gotten such great feedback. People are using it as a resource, and hopefully they’ll save some money.”

According to the Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org), it’s estimated that there are 4.7 million vegetarians and vegans in the United States. Books and movies like “Fast Food Nation,” “Slaughterhouse,” “Super Size Me” and, yes, “Skinny Bitch” have raised awareness further. So has the meteoric rise of the organic and locally grown foods movement, and veg-centric networks like www.postpunkkitchen.com and the controversial People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Though for Melissa Laverdiere, co-owner of the newly opened, mostly vegetarian Barking Cat Cafe on Hammond Street in Bangor, it was reading Robin Cook’s meat-industry thriller “Toxin” nearly 15 years ago that spurred her initial transition to vegetarianism.

“It completely grossed me out,” said Laverdiere, with a laugh. “First I cut out red meat, and then I cut out everything. We brought our kids up vegetarian. For them, it’s about the animals. Now it’s about that for me too.”

Laverdiere and her husband, Tracy, opened the snug, funky-colored Barking Cat in early February, fulfilling a lifelong dream for the couple. Both are bakers, and both are vegetarian, so naturally the caf? offers a wealth of non-carnivorous options, from tofu scrambles to inventively flavored salads – as well as fabulous scones, muffins and breads.

“I think you can be really creative and make stuff that’s really delicious and interesting without using meat,” said Laverdiere, a Houlton native who has lived in Bangor since the late ’90s. “Our approach is completely from scratch. We don’t serve Boca burgers. We make our veggie burgers from oatmeal and beans and walnuts and all kinds of other things. We even make our own marshmallows, even though they aren’t vegan. You can’t get around gelatin.”

Thanks to sites like the Bangor Vegetarian Network, word spread among area vegetarians and vegans that there was a new veg-friendly restaurant in Bangor – which, since the downtown Bangor restaurant Little Lad’s Bakery closed in 2006, has been missing for some time.

“There are a lot more [vegetarians] around than I thought. I’m especially surprised how many vegans there are out there,” said Laverdiere. “I thought they were few and far between, but we get vegans coming in almost every day. People come in asking for vegan pancakes.”

For nearly all vegetarians, it’s usually the same old story when they’re eating out: salad or veggie burgers. Maybe pasta with marinara sauce. And even then, it’s hard to escape some meat sneaking in there.

“I went to Applebee’s once and asked for a garden salad with no meat or dressing or cheese or anything,” said Ben Boughton, 23, of Bangor, who has been a vegan since high school. “It came back with bacon on it. Veggie burgers are pretty much the way to go.”

Boughton, along with Winton and fellow NLC employee and vegan Jaime Royer, have lived in Bangor long enough to know where to go to get nonmeat foods. But all three cook at home frequently, and though the complaint is often levied that a vegetarian diet is more expensive than a typical, meat-filled American diet, Royer maintains that that’s not really accurate.

“Eating out at a restaurant is just as expensive as buying food. And besides, buying processed junk is no better, since it’s so full of empty nutrition. I’d rather spend 50 cents more to get something so much better,” said Royer.

Instead of buying boxes of pricey fake meat, Royer, a vegan for most of her life, suggests buying things in bulk, like big packages of soy-based products like tempeh and seitan, lots of tofu, and lots and lots of vegetables and whole grains.

“When people first try to transition to vegetarianism, they go buy tons of frozen veggie burgers and fake chicken,” said Royer. “That stuff is so expensive! There are way better ways to get protein and other nutrients than frozen stuff.”

After all, the whole point of vegetarianism is that you don’t want to eat meat.

“You have to get it out of your mind that it’s supposed to be a substitute for bacon. It’s not bacon. It’s something else,” said Laverdiere. “Plus, those vegan options are just really good. It just tastes more fresh, and I think better in general.”

Put it in the pantry

Here are five must-have food items for vegetarians and vegans:

NUTRITIONAL YEAST – “It’s got everything in it, especially vitamin B12,” said Ben Winton. “We worry about getting all the nutrients we need, but nutritional yeast pretty much has it all. It has a nice, cheesy, nutty flavor to it. It’s what makes Little Lad’s popcorn taste so good.” Winton says the gold standard brand of nutritional yeast is Red Star Vegetarian Support Formula.

TAMARI OR SOY SAUCE – “You need something salty? Go for soy sauce,” said Boughton. “It’s got lots of good amino acids in it, too.”

BLACKSTRAP MOLASSES – “It’s so good for you. It’s unprocessed. And it’s got tons of calcium, iron, potassium and vitamin A,” said Winton.

FLAX OIL AND FLAX MEAL – For your omega-3 fatty acids that aren’t from an animal source, turn to flax, the wonder seed. “Just don’t heat it, or you’ll lose its nutritional content,” said Winton.

TOFU – “I know, I know, everyone always knocks tofu and makes fun of vegetarians for it,” said Jaime Royer. “But it’s just about the most versatile food you can imagine. You can do anything with it.”

Veggie venues

Here are some vegetarian and vegan-friendly places to eat in eastern Maine:

The Barking Cat Cafe

621 Hammond St., Bangor (8 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday; 7 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday; 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday-Sunday; 942-7600)

This cozy, brightly colored cafe features an array of delicious breakfast items, all of which can be made vegan. There are weekly lunch specials, almost all of which are available vegetarian. Co-owners Melissa and Tracy Laverdiere’s specialties are baked goods, so make sure you try their spectacular breads and scones.

Chase’s Daily

96 Main St., Belfast (11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, also 5:30-9 p.m. Friday; 338-0555)

A purely vegetarian bakery and cafe, with an array of salads, pizzas, rice dishes and sandwiches. The falafel comes highly recommended. There’s even a vegetable market and small art gallery inside. One of the gems of Belfast’s dining scene.

Eden Vegetarian Cafe

78 West St., Bar Harbor (Opens in May; call 288-4422 for hours)

A vegan restaurant which, sadly, is open only during the summer. All local, organic and fresh, with items ranging from the fresh fava bean and leek custard in phyllo dough to the summer vegetable and speckled butter bean tagine.

Chopsticks

167 Center St., Bangor (262-2170)

Though many Chinese restaurants will make dishes veggie, only Chopsticks actually has a vegetarian owner who understands the plight of the herbivore. Ask your server about special vegetarian dishes, and apparently the “egg” rolls are vegan.

Miguel’s

697 Hogan Road, Bangor (942-3002)

It might surprise you, but this new Mexican restaurant (with a sister location in Bar Harbor) offers a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan choices. Tofu and veggie crumbles are available as a filling for all entrees, and beans and guacamole are all vegan, though the rice is not.

Zesty Soyrizo Penne

Serves 4-6

1 package Soyrizo

1 chopped medium onion

1 can pinto beans

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 cup roasted red peppers

1 box whole-grain penne pasta

1/2 teaspoon cumin powder

1/2 teaspoon chipotle seasoning

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon olive or safflower oil

1 tablespoon vegetarian margarine, such as Earth Balance

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Heat large, nonstick skillet with one tablespoon olive or safflower oil. Snip open the Soyrizo casing and squeeze out the filling into the pan. Saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring and turning every few minutes. Once Soyrizo is crispy on the edges, move it to the side of the skillet and add the onion. Then move the onions to the side and add the pinto beans, and saute again. Finally, add the tomatoes and roasted red peppers and mix it all together. Add cumin, chipotle seasoning and garlic, mix well, and let sit at low heat.

Boil the box of pasta, and when it’s done, drain, return to pot and add the tablespoon of vegetarian margarine. Add the nutritional yeast and salt and mix well. Serve with the Soyrizo sauce. Add additional yeast on top, if desired. (Recipe courtesy of Ben Winton.)

Quinoa Salad

Serves 6-8

2 cups raw quinoa

4 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 cup finely diced onions

2 green onions, diced

3/4 cup dried cranberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

6 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup chives, minced

Cook Quinoa according to package directions. Drain and rinse in cold water. Add to large mixing bowl.

Peel and dice sweet potato into small cubes. Cook until just fork tender then drain and rinse in cold water. Add to mixing bowl.

Add the onions, green onions, cranberries and toasted almonds to mixing bowl and stir to combine.

In a separate bowl, combine the vinegar and olive oil then stir into the mixing bowl.

Season the salad with salt and pepper. Garnish with chives and a few cranberries. (Recipe courtesy of Melissa Laverdiere of the Barking Cat Caf?.)

Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cherry Cookies

Makes 3 dozen

3/4 cup canola oil

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon almond extract

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon whole flax seeds

1/2 cup soymilk

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Dutch processed cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup dried cherries

Grind the flax seeds on high in a blender until they become a powder. Add soymilk and blend for another 30 seconds or so. Set aside.

In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl cream together oil and sugar. Add the mixture of flax seed and soy milk and mix well. Add the vanilla and almond extract.

Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until a nice stiff dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and cherries and mix with your hands again.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc that’s about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely. (Reprinted from postpunkkitchen.com.)