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Thread: going vegetarian

  1. #1
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default going vegetarian

    i've decided to at least make an attempt at going vego. i've always liked the idea of it but never tried, because i figured i'd just fail since i've always been a really heavy meat eater. but lately i've met and started hanging out with so many vegetarian people, and hearing them talk so passionately about it has really made me start thinking it's the right thing to do. the more i think about it, the more i feel really grossed out by meat.

    so i'm gonna give it a go.

    who else here is vego? can you recommend some good websites that have interesting food ideas? what supplements do you take, if any? i think i will need to take iron supplements, as i have always eaten a LOT of red meat. mostly i just want some recipes so i don't feel like i'm eating the same thing over and over.

    thanks!

  2. #2
    Yekhefah
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Iron supplements might make you sick; they made me throw up. Even if you eat a lot of meat, you don't necessarily need it. What kinds of recipes would you be interested in? I have zillions of veggie cookbooks to recommend, just need to know what you like!

  3. #3
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    well, i don't eat tofu or mushrooms or egg. but other than that i don't think there's anything i have a really strong aversion to haha.

  4. #4
    Featured Member AmazingKat's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    http://www.theppk.com/ is one of my favorites. I've watched their public access show for years.

    I think the supplement to watch out for as a vegetarian is really B12, especially if you omit dairy and eggs too. Its only available in animal products.

    I consider myself a "freegan." I usually don't eat any animal products but if I happen to come across free cheese samples at the grocery store, pasta dinner at a friends house, salmon caught on vacation, etc I won't turn it down since I'm broke I'll take whatever free food I can get. My bf is in culinary school so he brings home treats here and there that I'll eat too.

    I wish I could suggest a good nutrition book that wasn't too textbooky. I took a nutrition class recently and its been the hugest help in understanding what I need to eat to stay healthy and why.

  5. #5
    God/dess Zabrina's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Going veg is so easy. There is a substitute for everything these days. You really dont have to change your life around to make the switch at all. Visit the meat alternative section at the local grocery store. They have veg hot dogs, pizzas, burgers, taco meat, chicken nuggets, bbq riblets, sandwich meat. Pretty much anything you ate before can be made vegetarian.

  6. #6
    Featured Member AmazingKat's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    ^^^ Yup, thats what MorningStar Farms is for

  7. #7
    MsQwerty
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Im not vego anymore but I was for a very long time. Read up a bit more re the iron, you quite possibly wont need to take lots of suppliments, its a lie about needing to eat red meat to get enough iron, plants have plenty. You absorb iron much better if you increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet so eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables works (-:

    The Vegetarian Society, who have been around for decades


    And The Vegan Society who are even older


    Animal Liberation SA (Each State has one, their pages might differ Im not sure...)


    And

  8. #8
    God/dess pookie's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    I'm veg, i am happy to see other people go Veg! I wish you a lot of success with it. After i stopped eating meat the smell it cooking smells gross, well it did before too, just even more so after. and in moments of temptation, think of the innocent animal and why it doesn't deserve to be eaten and all the think people put it through.

    There are zillions of recipes online,so you don't have to go out and buy every veggie cook book.

    Yesterday i learned how to make tortillas from an online recipe. That was exciting. I made the tortillas because they are only sold in special places and are probably expensive over here. Tortillas can be made for lacto-vegetarian or vegan(use water instead of milk). you could make veggie or vegan enchilada by changing a few ingredients here and there.

    I will look for some more recipes for you. =)




  9. #9
    God/dess Emily's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    for me, the easiest thing was giving one thing up at a time for awhile.

    Then you don't miss it.

    First was beef and pork, like 4 months
    then poultry
    then fish.

    Now it seems strange to eat meat

  10. #10
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Quote Originally Posted by AmazingKat View Post
    is one of my favorites. I've watched their public access show for years.

    I think the supplement to watch out for as a vegetarian is really B12, especially if you omit dairy and eggs too. Its only available in animal products.
    ah, okay. i am not planning on going vegan, but i don't like eggs and i don't drink much milk because i'm a bit lactose intolerant and it makes me feel very ill if i drink it too often, so it's probably a supplement i should take. thanks!

  11. #11
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Quote Originally Posted by MsQwerty View Post
    Im not vego anymore but I was for a very long time. Read up a bit more re the iron, you quite possibly wont need to take lots of suppliments, its a lie about needing to eat red meat to get enough iron, plants have plenty. You absorb iron much better if you increase the amount of vitamin C in your diet so eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables works (-:

    The Vegetarian Society, who have been around for decades


    And The Vegan Society who are even older


    Animal Liberation SA (Each State has one, their pages might differ Im not sure...)


    And
    awesome! thank you! xxxx

  12. #12
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    I found the Moosewood Cafe Cookbook very helpful for ideas when I first became vege (a loooooong time ago). They appear to have some recipes online at:
    http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/recipes_archive.html

  13. #13
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Quote Originally Posted by Emily View Post
    for me, the easiest thing was giving one thing up at a time for awhile.

    Then you don't miss it.

    First was beef and pork, like 4 months
    then poultry
    then fish.

    Now it seems strange to eat meat
    i don't eat seafood anyway, i think the only thing i will probably struggle with is chicken. so i've put myself on a two week 'no meat at all' thing to see if i can last out. but i will definitely be staying away from red meat. i am really going to try my best though!

    Quote Originally Posted by pookie
    I'm veg, i am happy to see other people go Veg! I wish you a lot of success with it. After i stopped eating meat the smell it cooking smells gross, well it did before too, just even more so after. and in moments of temptation, think of the innocent animal and why it doesn't deserve to be eaten and all the think people put it through.
    even walking past the deli section at the supermarket today, the smell of raw meat made me feel yucky. the whole concept of being vegetarian has been on my mind SO much lately that i really am finding myself going off meat very quickly.

  14. #14
    Member sunnyb's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    I have been a vegetarian for 4 years and I thought it would be really hard too. After about 2 months, I couldn't go back. It became like first nature. One positive thing about becoming a vegetarian is that you will get to try a lot of different foods. Google will have tons of websites that have vegetarian recipes. I just take my daily multivitamin and a calcium + vitamin d pill. You can never strengthen those bones too much! There are "fake meats" at the store which are made of tofu and taste almost exactly like sandwitch meats. I have one vegetarian friend and we totally support eachother and eat out all the time because it's nice to have someone who is on the same diet as you! Good luck with it!

  15. #15
    Gypsy74
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    it's not hard to go veg if you watch peta's videos at least once a day...

    you don't really need any supplements unless you're vegan, then take b12 or a b-complex.

    but... you can pretty much get away with just taking a daily multivitamin. it's so not hard to go veg these days, they have imitation EVERYTHING. imitation cream cheese, imitation bacon, fake chicken nuggets, fake milk, fake cheese, fake steak.. that stuff really isn't healthy, but it's probably easier to make and transition into.

    if youw antt o go the healthy route sans tofu.. try tempeh, seitan, beans, chick peas, fava beans, hummus, nuts and nut butters (like almond butter) and tons of fruits and veg of course.

  16. #16
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    i'm eating a fake chicken burger right now and it's delicious!

  17. #17
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    There were a few times when I first turned veggie that I accidentally ate something containing animal products, so watch out for that. During that time a once bought a vegetable soup that I assumed wouldn't contain meat products since it was all vegetables, but I later found out that it was made with chicken broth.

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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    *raises hand* Just recently went veg (again). I was veg for a year then stopped when I moved back in with my Dad. I live with my omnivorous Boyfriend, who, in his words, couldn't care less if I cooked vegetarian all week long, but I am in this for me. I will make him chicken if he wants it, but I don't purchase it. It's all on him in that regard.

    I, personally, don't like the Morningstar Farms chicken and beef strips, but I adore the 'ground beef'. Yves also makes bangin' analogues. I love the 'ground turkey.' Which is impossible to find anymore.

  19. #19
    Featured Member BrodieLux's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Yay!! Welcome to the club!

    I've been vegetarian for 9 years, and close to vegan (no cheese, rarely eat eggs, no milk) for a year.

    Being vegetarian is easy!!

    Yes, you can definitely get all of the substitutes mentioned above.

    A sample of what I eat in a day:

    Breakfast -- Wheat Free Hot Cereal cooked on the stovetop with soy milk, raisins and peanut butter. Smoothie: Soy yogurt, ice and rice protein.

    Lunch -- Vegetarian sushi rolls, dried banana chips, apricots, mixed nuts. Soy latte.

    Dinner -- Salad with raspberry vinagrette dressing. And a hot dish of black beans cooked in a saucepan with steamed kale and tofu or tempeh, simmered in soy sauce and wine.

    Protein bars: All are vegetarian as far as I know, and Odwalla and Cliff are vegan.
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  20. #20
    Featured Member thechaosfairy's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    I've been ovo-lacto vegetarian all my life and never needed iron supplements.

    What I have needed is protein and fat. If I don't eat sufficient protein and fat to match the carbs in my diet my metabolism tends to get sluggish and I get sugar-addicted. If you don't eat tofu or mushrooms or eggs, and you're lactose intolerant, you've just ruled out most of your protein sources (unless you can handle cottage cheese, yogurt, etc.) In fact, pretty much the only ones left at that point are beans and nuts.

    But it sounds like you mean you just don't eat plain tofu, because you're eating fake meats and most of them are made out of combination soy + gluten. So at that point you've got a wider range of options.

    Another thing about tofu: the white stuff in the package is ... mostly useless. But traditional Asian cooking styles have a zillion different types that are nothing like that white, tasteless chunk of sludge. (At least if you get the same white tasteless junk in Australia as we do in the States.) And I mean nothing like. Some of them, I didn't even recognize as tofu the first time I saw them. =) Try fried tofu in a Thai restaurant before you rule it out as a foodstuff...

    B-complex is good. Moosewood cookbook is good.
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  21. #21
    Featured Member BrodieLux's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Tofu substitutes you might wanna check out include tempeh and seitan. And also consider cooked tofu, which is better than raw tofu.

    I also wanted to mention that I haven't needed any supplements, though like ChaosFairy, I too get crazy sugar cravings when I'm not taking in enough protein.
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  22. #22
    God/dess Dottie Rebel's Avatar
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Quote Originally Posted by sunnyb View Post
    I just take my daily multivitamin and a calcium + vitamin d pill. You can never strengthen those bones too much!
    Don't mean to quibble, but there is certainly such thing as too much calcium. Overdoing calcium prevents magnesium from being properly absorbed. Magnesium deficiency has been linked to many things including severe anxiety and depression.

    Too much calcium is a much more prevalent problem than calcium deficiency. It has even been correlated to GREATER risk of osteoporosis in a study funded by the National Dairy Council (!). Not one they publicized heavily, obviously. Google "calcium myth" and you'll find a wealth of info.

    Also, there is as much calcium in a cup of dark leafy greens or soymmilk as there is in a cup of cow's milk, but only 30% of the calcium in the milk is bioavailable.

    I could go on and on We've been fed a load of bull about calcium and dairy. Ooo! pun!
    Last edited by Dottie Rebel; 03-04-2008 at 04:42 AM.

  23. #23
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    i only tried tofu once, i was in indonesia and it was like this awful tasteless sponge in my mouth. it was the texture that really grossed me out.

    but there's some lovely thai restaurants around here that i frequent, so perhaps i should give tofu another go!

  24. #24
    MsQwerty
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    Thats funny, me either! Do you not like those things or are you allergic? Im allergic to eggs, mushrooms and peanuts and soy sometimes which cut out a whole lot of vegetarian foods and recipies for me.
    I have a great recipe for eggless chocolate cake Ill dig it out later!

    Quote Originally Posted by Darcy Foxx View Post
    well, i don't eat tofu or mushrooms or egg. but other than that i don't think there's anything i have a really strong aversion to haha.

  25. #25
    Darcy Foxx
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    Default Re: going vegetarian

    i just don't like eggs. i'll eat things that have egg in them, but i won't eat like a boiled egg or scrambled eggs.

    i absolutely despise mushrooms.

    thankfully i don't have any food allergies.

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