How many of you are vegetarians? If so, to what degree have your taken your diet?

Question

As a mom of 2 year old twins, I decided to take a serious attitude about my diet and my health. Additionally, I'm not an advocate of how many animals (esp in the US) are treated on farms, etc. My daughters have never cared for meat AT all since they were old enough to eat solid foods so I slowly removed meat altogether over the last 2 years. My diet now consist of about 50% organic products, maybe 5% meat/dairy products and I'm trying to get into baking/growing a few items like bread, veggies, etc. My girls now drink solely soy/rich milk and cheese is out the door next...

I'm curious to know how many are just getting started and still eat fish or dairy products? Have you gone completely vegan? What comes after being a vegan? How many "choose to juice" :) to get your vitamins? What's your typical breakfast/dinner? Thanks in advance....

Answer 1

I've been vegetarian (I don't eat meat, fish our eggs) since I can remember. You can get all the essential nutrients without meat. For example soya and pulses are excellent for protein.

Answer 2

I am a vegetarian and I have been for about a year.  I'm not going to list what I have for breakfast and all that, but you mentioned that your girls drink solely soy/rich milk.  I just wanted to warn you that there have been some studies lately that have proven that soy is not as healthy for us as we have been told, and that it can even be harmful in some cases.  Just thought you would like to know that.  Research it and see if soy is still the milk of choice for your children.

Answer 3

I've been a vegetarian for about two years now. I was never a huge fan of meat when I was younger. I stayed eating fish for a while but I've stopped now. I'd like to be a vegan but I don't see it happening in the immediate future. I like milk and chocolate too much and I need the calcium.

  I still eat a lot of the same stuff I used to. Sunday dinner is quite boring as my family have a roast but we eat a lot of the same meals during the week. I drink a lot of juice, probably about 700ml if its in the fridge.

Answer 4

My husband and I are vegetarians. The answer to this question is usually based on the reason why a person chooses this diet.  Our reasons are the treatment of animals, period. SO...We do not eat meat of any kind, (fish, cow, chicken, pig, etc.)  We seriously limit dairy products, for instance, cooking at home I only use raw milk from a local farm that I know treats there cow humanely, and I use fresh eggs from a guy I know at work that has chickens and I also know he treats his chickens well.  Buying pre-made things from the grocery store with dairy is still a problem because we do not like soy stuff at all!  So we still get things like cream cheese and sour cream but I only buy organic and I don't get very much, only what I need.  When we eat out at a resteraunt we generally try to choose vegan only because we do not know the source of their dairy.

The next step would be full vegan, where you have to check ingredients on EVERYTHING including bath and beauty products and clothes.

After that many go raw vegan where they do not cook anything.

Answer 5

Im TRYING to become a vegetarian im having trouble giving up fish.............that farthest i would go is to be a vegetarian but still drink milk and dairy and have eggs but i would like to incorporate vegan , macro , and rawfoods into my lifestyle

Answer 6

i became a vegetarian about 10 months ago. I don't eat meat, but i eat fish and dairy products. I would go the full blown veganism, but i am just happy at being a vegetarian

Answer 7

I have been vegetarian for about thirty years now. Meat is a complete source of protein in that it contains all the required amino acids, in a way that a single vegetarian food does not. So as you have young growing children you will need to a balanced diet of cereals, nuts and pulses and a little dairy produce to get the nutrition you need.

The best food is the food you cook yourself from basic ingredients. Cook for more than one meal and freeze the rest and you will always have something good to serve the family when time is short.

Most meat eaters consume too much and the excess protein is laid down as fat, and I think this is one of the contributing factors to obesity epidemic in the west. A veggie diet is filling and satisfying and I for one have had no difficulty in maintain my weight at a healthy level.

Good luck with your veggie endeavours.

Answer 8

I've been a vegetarian, by choice, since I was 4 years old (I'm 17 now). I dont eat any meat or seafood (nothing with a face lol). I do drink milk and I can only eat eggs if they r cooked into something (like when u make cookies or brownies and u have to use them). I dont get enough protein in my diet because I'm a very picky eater, so I have some health problems from that. But recently I've been trying to get more protein cause its so important. Just make sure u get enough protein (try protein bars and shakes), and eat beans.

Answer 9

Vegan is a huge step forward, but it has to be taken carefully. Kids need dairy products till certain age cus it helps them grow, as adults we dont need them at all. We just have to make sure we're getting B12.

If you're starting and you're concerned bout your health, you can remove animal products little by little, many people do it that way to prevent anemia cus its very common among vegetarians. So you can stop eating red meat and chicken and just go on with the fish for a couple of weeks. Dairy products should be the last ones you leave (or at least your kids). Still I would recommend you to take them to a pediatrician. They might also check if your kids might need dairy products for a bit longer.

Answer 10

I've been doing the veggie thing for just over a week now as an experiment and it's all fine so far. I have two small children aswell and apart from giving them occasional bits of free range chicken and some mackerel my husband caught (don't want them going cold turkey) they're enjoying it too. They've love fruit and veggies so it wsn't hard for them at all.

Breakfast and lunch remain the same as always cereal and toast followed by a lunch of veggie soup and crusty bread or something like stuffed mushrooms with tomato salad. Dinner is modified versions of dishes we used to eat with meat in them or some old veggie family favourites.

I can never see myself going vegan and I don't even know how long the veggie phase will last but for now it's great.

Answer 11

hi there my name is Kaash im a 26 yr old male from KL malaysia and i have been lactovoveg for the past 5 years..i can really minimize my egg intake but i still need at least 1 glass of milk daily or else i would get knee pain because i hit the gym 5 days a week...