Drastically becoming a vegetarian?

Question

I've been thinking about this for years and though about it and decided I can no longer be a part of the meat eating world.

Can anyone give me some tips for delving into the vegetarian lifestyle?

What are some good vegetarian foods/recipes?

Through years of meat eating I know that I've done horrors to my body, how can I remedy this?

I've been eating meat since childhood, how can I break the unconscious habit of eating flesh?

Answer 1

Hi, use this link to the vegetarian society website, they have lots of information on health,how to get protein etc and lots of recipes! http://www.vegsoc.org/info/goingveg.html -

Look in the shops for veggie alternatives to meat, Quorn is a good substitute for chicken, the substitutes can make cooking easier and make the transition to veggie easier. Good luck!

Answer 2

I recommend The Moosewood Cookbook series.  These cookbooks have nothing but really tasty, nourishing vegetarian dishes.

Answer 3

The most successful way to do this is to gradually decrease the amount of meat you eat.  Also, once you have you need to take extra vitamins and minerals and the best way to reach your goal is to talk to your doctor.  They can be sure that you are not harming your body and they could give you guidelines and things to look out for that could be potentially hazardous.

Answer 4

Transition to this diet choice needs to be done with some care. Take your time and make no extreme change to quick or you will have some problems with adjustment that are not healthy. Dizziness and stomach upset as well as intestinal problems like both loose stool as well as constipation, and even a lot of gas (pain). You have to retrain your pallet so sample a lot of things. Your body knows what it needs and wants and will send cravings to you. By trying a vast assortment your brain will start to catalog them and adjust your cravings from the meats you don't want or need. When you crave meats then get a meal of protein combinations like rice and legumes/ beans which give all the amino acids for protein. And get some oils with it. When you want a fast food burger or something similar, try a sandwich that has the condiments you use on them without the meat. Meat is unflavored compared to those added items and it may be you will find satisfaction with that. If you cheat, no big deal till you train yourself and get a good repertoires of recipes to call up. You need to make sure you understand what you need for a healthy diet. If you don't know what is meant by complimentary foods to give complete amino acids for balanced proteins then do some research into as as you need more info. Look at what a good diet is and how to eat. It was always a given until we got away from real food and into this world of processed food and super markets. Items need to be cooked or prepared from one ingredient food combinations so you should obviously learn to cook if you are not up on it. Ask your Mom and Grand Mom (especially) about their favorite recipes and about how meals were for them growing up. Ask anyone who is in there 70's or 80's about it as they love to talk about those subjects.

Answer 5

My tip would be to just start eating without meat. Go to some of the websites on the Internet that are geared toward vegetarian/vegan lifestyle and make sure you get research facts on the stuff they say you need (vitamins and supplements). You can also add the supplements and see if they do indeed make you healthier (and going to the doctor to just get a blood workup is a good idea to see where your body is at - not just how you feel at the present moment).

There are alot of good books out there. Moosewood is good, but a little boring IMO. Candlewood Cafe is next, Vegan with a Vengenance and the other Veganomicon is also good and getting better, with the fancy Millenium as the ultimate fancy and complicated cookbook (but extremely good tasting - if you like gourmet stuff).

What horrors have you done to your body? Do not think a diet of not eating animal products, in which you just eat vegan junk food (and yes, I think processed soy products like Morning Star and Boca Burgers are junkfood) is going to make you healthy. You need to eat true vegetables on a vegetarian diet. Dark leafy greens, whole grains, and not a whole lot of cooking involved (high temperatures change the bonds in the food into things that are not healthy for us - check out a raw vegan website and see where RAW is coming from. Makes sense, but to put it into practice is very hard. Trying to get there, but it will take some time for me to do).

You break the habit by being conscious. I read a blog of a person who takes pictures of the food that are their meals to keep accountability (for vegan and diet reasons). Try this. Or do what I do, keep a mental picture of the food you are about to eat and is it nourishing for your body? Or just a taste palace for your tastebuds and your body is the trash can for the food after your tastebuds are done with it?

Answer 6

There's a podcast by Colleen from Compassionate Cooks called "Vegetarian Food for Thought" that helped me A LOT when I became veg. You should check it out, its also on compassionatecooks.com.