PHOENIX - Prince Fielder has been around clubhouses long enough to know that players -- whether they are superstars or scrubs -- should be cautious around visitors carrying notebooks, tape recorders, microphones, cameras and recipes.

Wait a minute ...

Recipes?

After leaving a game last week at Maryvale Baseball Park, the Brewers all-star first baseman was approached by a reporter from a national sports Web site who wanted to talk about Fielder's well-publicized decision to become a vegetarian.

"Can this be my LAST vegetarian interview?" Fielder asked, rolling his eyes and feigning exasperation that turned into resignation. "

"Oh, well," he said. "I guess it's better than talking about my dad."

The national reporter had written an item about Fielder's decision and was surprised by the number of readers who responded with supportive e-mails and recipes, a handful of which the writer shared with Fielder.

As is usually the case, Fielder was open and funny with his responses.

Pesto pasta toss? "I like pasta," Fielder said. "I'll even substitute wheat pasta in there and make it more healthy."

White bean, tomato and goat cheese pizza? "I'm not eating that. I know I'm a vegetarian, but when you start mixing the goat cheese in there and stuff ... I'm just down with the regular cheese. I don't like to make it too fancy."

The next dish was a roasted ratatouille with basil. "I've seen the movie, but I've never ate it. I've always wondered what it was," Fielder said. "I'd probably try it, although I'm not sure about the eggplant.

"I don't like the eggplant. I like the taste, but then I get that saliva throw-up aftertaste in my mouth."

Since Fielder went public with his decision to give up meat, his diet has been a hot topic in the clubhouse -- and the public.

"People try to give me zucchini sandwiches," Fielder said. "I wouldn't eat that."

Fielder, whose decision to stop eating meat was sparked when he looked at a book his wife, Chanel, was reading the best-selling book, "Skinny Bitch: A No-nonsense, Tough-love Guide for Savvy Girls who Want to Stop Eating Crap and Start Looking Fabulous."

After reading a few pages, Fielder was grossed out and decided to make a change. He says he toyed with the idea of becoming a vegan, but decided against that after doing some research on the Web.

"For me, that's something I can probably do when I retire," he said. "Right now, it's hard enough to find vegetarian food. So many things have milk, eggs and animal products that it would have been too hard on my wife to figure that stuff out."

Brewers clubhouse manager Tony Migliaccio, who has worked for years to incorporate healthy options into the team's pre- and post-game dining menus. "Tony has been really helpful," Fielder said. "I haven't talked to any clubbies on the road yet."

Fielder is a fan of Whole Foods, which is where he shops at home in Florida, but was interested to hear about other vegetarian-friendly outlets in Milwaukee like Beans & Barley and Outpost.

Fielder said his children, Jadyn and Haven, are also living a meat-free lifestyle.

"They've tried it, but they get sick," he said. "They like it, but they get always get sick. My youngest one, he eats like a bear. But, they're healthy. They're not missing out on anything."

In addition to his vegetarian lifestyle and his hitting, Fielder is gaining notice because of his dreadlocks.

"I've always wanted to grow ‘em, but I've never been patient enough," he said, adding that he thinks football players look cool with dreads flowing out of their helmets.

"It's only been a couple weeks, but they're coming along pretty good. It's a process. I had to redo some. I actually looked online and checked out what the white guys do. My hair is kind of soft. It's probably the first time a black person ever wanted hair like a white guy."

Fielder may have revamped his diet and his hair, but the Brewers and their growing legion of fans will be thrilled if he simply maintains his offensive output from last season: a .288 average, 50 homers, 35 doubles and 119 RBI.

"Prince is a special player," manager Ned Yost said. "He has the kind of passion that you don't see very often. He wants to be the best."