Help on becoming vegetarian?

Question

I would really like to become a vegetarian, but I don't like to eat hardly any fruits or vegetables. Something about the texture just makes me gag, even if the taste is alright.

I want to become vegetarian though for the animals. For the past few weeks, I've been eating bread products and stuff, but my mom says I need more protein in my diet or she'll force meat on me.

If I opt for meat substitutes, will it empty my wallet? And how easy are they to find, as I don't recall ever seeing these sorts of things in my local store.

Please, any sugestions woud be welcome.

Answer 1

Most stores have a special section for vegetarian foods.  Often it is located near the ethnic food section.  However, if you don't like the texture of fruits and vegetables you probably won't like things like soy burgers either.  

You might want to try sparkpeople.com to help you find protein rich foods that you like.  You can modify your diet any way that works for you.  

You said vegetarian not vegan so you might want to try eggs or cottage cheese for protein.

Answer 2

Hey.

I think its great that you wanna become a veggie, here are some things i suggest that might help you:

There are lots of meat substitutes such as quorn or cauldron tofu, heres some site if you want a look

http://www.quorn.com/

http://www.cauldronfoods.co.uk/

They can cost quite alot sometimes, try to buy these now and again, but not all the time, so you wont use to much money.

Being vegetarian does not mean your diet will be lacking in protein. Most plant foods contain protein and in fact it would be very difficult to design a vegetarian diet that is short on protein. Excess dietary protein may lead to health problems. It it now thought that one of the benefits of a vegetarian diet is that it contains adequate but not excessive protein.

Most foods contain at least some protein. Good sources of protein for vegetarians include nuts and seeds, pulses, soya products (tofu, soya milk and textured soya protein such as soya mince), cereals (wheat, oats, and rice), free-range eggs and some dairy products (milk, cheese and yoghurt).

Here are some fairly good sources:

Sources of protein (single servings)

Chick peas (200g or 7oz) 16.0g

Brown rice (200g or 7oz) 4.4g

1 Carrot 0.4g

Baked beans (225g or 8oz) 11.5g

Broccoli (100g or 3½oz) 3.1g

1 Apple 0.3g

Tofu (140g or 5oz) 10.3g

Potatoes (200g or 7oz) 2.8g

Cream, double (20g or 2/3oz) 0.3g

Cow's milk (½ pint) 9.2g

Porridge [water] (160g or 6oz) 2.4g

Lentils (120g or 4¼oz) 9.1g

Soya milk (½ pint) 8.2g

Muesli (60g or 2¼oz) 7.7g

Egg, boiled 7.5g

Peanuts (30g or 1oz) 7.3g

Bread, (2 slices)7.0g

Hard cheese (30g or 1oz) 6.8g

Because you dont like the tasyste of fruits and vegetables, try making smoothies, or buy innocent, 100% pure fruit smoothies, they taste good, and they do your body good to - http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/

Hope this helps.

Answer 3

Consider the reasons for becoming vegetarian. These might include moral or ethical reasons, religious reasons, health reasons, environmental reasons or a combination of any of these.

Get some vegetarian cookbooks and find some vegetarian recipes that interest you.

Take a look around supermarkets, food stores and health food shops and see the variety of vegetarian food that is available.

Do some research. Read up on vegetarian nutrition and vegetarianism in general. There is plenty of information on the internet and in books.

Tell parents or a significant other about your choice. Make sure you have some solid research to back you up, as some people are very resistant to the idea of vegetarianism because of misunderstandings related to health, evolution or religion. When informing your family of your dietary choice, stay calm and polite, even if they find it difficult to accept.

Start to eliminate the types of meat gradually, having "one last meal" with the relevant ingredient and resolving not to eat it again.

Red meat, such as beef.

Pork, such as bacon and ham, after a week.

Chicken after another week.

Fish and shell-fish, such as crab and salmon, after another two weeks.

Get a good source of protein. Substitute plenty of cheese, dairy, legumes, nuts, and seeds into your diet to make sure you get enough protein. (Note that some cheese isn't vegetarian as it's made with animal rennet.) Experiment with alternative sources of protein - mycoprotein from mushrooms, tofu from soya beans, and quinoa.

Get a good variety of fresh fruit and vegetables to ensure that you keep high levels of B vitamins, iron and vitamin C. Vegetarians are more likely to become anaemic or otherwise mineral/vitamin deficient.

Eat healthily. As with any change in diet, be careful to keep all of your food groups in balance. These are carbohydrates, fats, protein and fibre.

Find good meat substitutes. Some taste quite realistic, and can help when you're new to vegetarianism and have meat cravings. Others tend to be less realistic, and are simply an interesting new food to try.

Quorn is a company that makes chicken patties, nuggets, and beef products from mycoprotein. It tastes very similar to meat.

Morningstar makes bacon, sausages and riblets that do taste very similar to meat. Actually, Their breakfast sausage patties and chicken patties taste so similair to the real thing, that they have been known to fool a carnivore or two.

Boca products taste quite similar to meat, especially the "ground beef".

Schneiders Au Naturel products are very realistic, as are Veat.

Yves make everything from "turkey" slices to "pepperoni" - though the "bacon" doesn't taste like bacon.

Answer 4

Learn to like fruits and vegetables, or don't become a vegetarian. Without fruits and vegetables it's no a diet its a recipe for disaster.

Answer 5

good for you :)

ive been one for 4 years! :)

its actually really easy ((and cheap))

they sell 100% viggie food (burgers, chicken, hotdogs, ground meat and so much more)) at your local food store

((MorningStar Farms is the best!))

and they have lots of protien too!!

so does peanut butter! and beans

make sure to stay away from Gelitin ((its found in marshmellows, some gummy candy, jello and more... Gelitan is an animal product.. i think its bones and tendons but im not too sure))

good luck.. and in a bit youll be feeling alot better ((and actually looking better too))

pretty soon you wont even want meat anymore!!

:)

Answer 6

Good for you!

Mock meats are on the pricey side, so I'd only use them to splurge if you're on a budget. You don't need to eat fake meats; there are cheaper protein sources like peanut butter, tofu, beans, lentils, and sunflower seeds.

If you'd like some fake meats, you could find them at major supermarkets like Wal-Mart, Target, Kroger, etc. Your local grocery stores might have them, so look again and ask someone who works there. Health food stores like Whole Foods have lots of options.

Good vegetarian sources of protein, iron, and calcium:

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=08sourc...

Cheap veg meal ideas:

http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07budge...

Don't eat veggies plain if you don't like them. Try sneaking chopped or shredded veggies into casseroles, meatless loaves, burritos, stir-fries, curries, tofu scrambles, and pasta sauces. You could make fried potato cakes that also contain shredded carrots, onion, and zucchini. Maybe a puréed vegetable soup would work. Also, try roasting vegetables or throwing them on the grill. The trick is eating vegetables that have been well prepared (not overcooked) and lightly seasoned. I love Spike seasoning on my veggies.

Good luck!

Answer 7

You can put more protien in ur diet by eating beans. Soy products like boca and morning star are comprable to meat in price and the soy protien in them is actually better for you than protien for meat. Do reasearch so you can explain to your mom that your not hurting urself, and then she might be more supportive. To make her feel even better about it you can take a multivitamin, but make sure it doesn't have gelatin (which is animal fat). The Boca and Morning star products are DELICOUS! but they take some getting used 2. As far as i know there in almost every store, Ingles has the best selection. Just look in the freezer lanes for 'meat substitutes'.

Good LUck!

Answer 8

You might want to start out with MorningStar products.  They make a pretty darn delicious fake chicken patty.  YUM!  

Boca makes them too...

Check out a Whole Foods near you... I think they're in every state now.

Answer 9

You don't have to use meat substitutes only to replace protein - if you're still eating eggs, fish, beans & rice, tofu, dairy products, soy, peanut butter, nuts, etc... you can get protein from these too.

Let me tell you a story and maybe I can encourage you to eat more fruits and veggies - my 14 (almost 15) yr old daughter is having really serious medical problems. She is in constant pain and has been since May 5th. After all the tests (only a couple left to do now) - they think she may have Crohn's Disease. She's in very excellent health otherwise, an athlete and in great shape. Her bloodwork is some of the best they've seen - she hardly ever eats junk food, she always eats lots of wholegrains, fruits and veggies (generally fresh or frozen), lean proteins, good fats like avocados and olive oil. Because she is now facing this illness (which there is no cure for) - she is doing better than most because she is already otherwise extremely healthy. If she would have grown up eating fast food, little produce and bad things, she could have been in much worse condition and facing major surgery now. Even if she has Crohn's - she is on the right track for going right into remission and living an active, basically normal life. Eating right now pays off if you ever become ill. It may even prevent things like cancer, diabetes, etc...

Things to try

Veggie Burgers (usually in the freezer section)

Soy beverages + tofu

different raw nuts - roasted nuts have different fat than raw. Raw is healthier. Roasting them changes them.

I would rather spend a little more and be super healthy than face illness. You only have this body - feed it well! An ounce of prevention is worth a lb of cure!

Look up vegetarian recipes online and try new things! It's not that hard - just make sure you're getting what you need everyday like: iron, b vitamins, calcium, protein.