I would like to become vegetarian?

Question

Hi, I would like to become vegitarian. I don't eat chicken, pork, beef, and most fish. I only eat duck rarely, mainly on special occasions and I eat cod, salmon and tuna alot.

Now my question is that I've been looking through a vegitarian cookbook and I've notiched that vegitarians eat alot of pepper and chilli, now I'm allergic to peppers and chilli, also I have to be careful with dairy products, I can eat cheese in small quantities, eggs I can't eat in like an omlette or anything but I can have them in cakes things like that for as long as there aren't to many, I can eat yogurt and I have to have soya milk.

Would all these food problems stop me from having a healthy diet as a vegitarian?

Answer 1

Ahm, I guess no!

Eating healthy doesn't mean to become purely vegetarian.

Just have a well balanced diet. Please include appropriate  amount of carbohydrates, protein, fruits and vegetables based minerals.

Those who didn't eat protein at all usually has a mental gap. So, avoid the gap, eat well-nourished meals.

Answer 2

why do you want to become a vegan? I thought that fad died already...If you really care about animals, why don't you live in the forest; Your house was made from tree's torn down putting whatever animals living in it out of a home. You people need to "Think"

Answer 3

Good for you, I too have made the choice to eat vegetarian food - choice, not conviction, I do occasionally eat meat. Whilst we are well equipped to eat meat, I feel that early diets would have had high quality protein as a rare treat as and when kills were made and that most subsistence was on vegetable matter and dairy. I have several friends who 'eat nothing with four legs' which allows them poultry and fish, but you can't be a true vegetarian if you eat animal protein - they simply aren't vegetables!

There are hundreds of good recipes that don't include peppers and chilli and there's no problem with using soya substitutes. If you really need a meat like thing, use quorn which I've served to meat eaters and they've not noticed...

If you're stuck for recipe ideas, try

http://www.bbc.co.uk

click on food and you can search by chef, show or ingredient.

Good luck, a healthy vegetarian diet is more than possible and don't let anyone stop you trying!

Answer 4

GO EAT GRASS, your one of those people that goes to a dinner party and either cant eat anything , or is fussy as h**l, bugger off !

Answer 5

I would say that it won't cause you any health problems but with that many stomach issues,I would prepare yourself for many stomach aches or less of a menu to cater  to what you can eat.

Answer 6

why the h**l would you WANT to be vegetarian!?? :S

Answer 7

There are loads of alternative foods for you if you want to become a vegetarian. You could have lots of lentil and tofu instead for your protein sources. Try the Sainsbury's veggie burgers, they are absolutely scrummy and contain lots of fibre.

Answer 8

Congratulations!

Sorry about the rude answers you are getting. DON'T let them discourage you. I have been vegetarian for 11 years, so if meat was essential, I would be dead by now.

Yes- You can still be a healthy vegetarian. Vegetarians do not necessarily eat a lot of peppers and dairy. You are free to eat fish & duck if you want but vegetarians do NOT eat any animal flesh at all. If you want to be a vegetarian, you would haveto eliminate the flesh.

If you eat no meat, but you eat dairy and egs, you are an ovo lacto vegetarian. (''Ovo'' means eggs, ''Lacto'' means milk). If dairy doesn't suit you, you don't need to eat it. Get calcium from nuts, beans, fortified orange juice and fortified soy milk. Almonds are great for calcium.

Fish is NOT vegetarian though. Vegetarians do not eat fish. You can try to reduce your meat consumption over time at a pace that suits you. This is important. Do not feel as though you have to eliminate an entire food group straight away. Go at your own pace, it's whatever suits you.

If you eat a variety of foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, wholegrains & nuts each day, you will be fine. A good diet is a balanced diet, with plenty of variety.

Try to avoid relying on pasta. A lot of vegetarians rely on pasta too heavily. Remember  the key word here: 'balance'.

A word on soya: It is the best plant protein there is. It supplies ALL 8 essential amino acids. Use it on your cereal each morning, and drink a glass in the afternoon to boost your protein intake. Protein is in most foods, you don't really need to worry about it that much.

Here is some useful info from The Vegetarian Society, undoubtedly one of the best websites for vegetarian information.

Information on Iron:

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/iron.html

Information on Protein:

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html

Ths link below is great for new vegetarians. It's so clear and presented really well. I hope you find it useful:

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/goingveg.html

If you find yourself craving meat, use meat alternatives. A lot of vegetraians use Quorn products. They contain eggs, so I don't use them. Here's the link anyway:

http://www.quorn.com/

Like I said, go at your own pace, and do research on Nutrition. Being a healthy vegetarian is not difficult once you are used to it.

Best wishes & Good Luck

[edit] People don't be rude. She asked a question to get advice, not a bashing. Be polite.

[edit 2] You can swap fish for meat alternatives. It's just a case of making sure you get enough protein. It's not hard to get enough protein. My best tip is to eat a variety of foods.

The Vegetarian Society says: ''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)''.

I hope this helps!

Answer 9

You are kind of restricted, but as you don't meat anyway, its not going to be too bad.  You need to make sure that you get enough protein and iron.  These are the main things that you get from meat which can be easily missed from a veggie diet.  Protein is easy - it is present in peas, beans, lentils, nuts and cereals, so plenty of scope there.  Iron is present in leafy vegetables like spinach.  My 8 yr-old is vegetarian and I make a mixed bean stew, with carrots & courgettes grated in, which I freeze in portions and can just pull out of the freezer and reheat for him whenever we are having meat.  As he is only 8, he doesn't like chillis either, so no problems there.  Vegetables are very tasty and healthy as long as you don't boil them to death.  Most of the vitamins tend to be lost by overcooking.

Pasta is a great vegetarian dish, as is risotto.  There are diary free cheeses available, try goats or sheeps, as many lactose intolerant people have no problem with these.

Good luck!

Answer 10

Did you know vegetarians actually do more harm to the environment than good? Vegetarians believe they are doing good by "not killing precious animals" however, did you know that one of the leading causes of ozone depletion and global warming is from the methane produced in cow flatulents? In fact, vegetarians harm the environment even more by eating the one thing that is trying to save the earth PLANTS! Plants recycle the earths air through a process called photosynthesis. So think about that the next time you decide to have a tofu burger. Kill a cow instead.