New to the vegetarian lifestyle....HELP!!!!!?

Question

Hi everyone! I have decided to become a vegetarian and I could really use some help. I've eaten meat for 21 years but after reading what they do to the animals in these factory farms I've decided to become a vegetarian. What I would like from you is some advice on staying away from meat, really awesome meat substitutes, nationally placed restaurants that carry a vegetarian menu, and anything else you feel like sharing. Thank you so much for your help.

Answer 1

There are two books that will help

Becoming Vegetarian

http://www.amazon.ca/Becoming-Vegetarian...

Becoming Vegan

http://www.amazon.ca/Becoming-Vegan-Comp...

Answer 2

most restaurants have a veggie option, like veggie pizzas, salads sandwiches, anyhting you want.

obviously if you go to a place like morton's steakhouse, dont expect to be getting anything more than a salad

if you're at home, trader joe's is fantastic, whole foods, sometimes a normal grocery store will have alternatives

trust me, your sister is wrong. i spoke with my doctor and since i have become a veg, my hemoglobin level is fantastic and i transport blood very well. theres so many benefits like low cholesterol, more energy, and its just better for you

people will definetly try to bring you down by telling you that you're missing out on so many vitamins, but thats not true. if anything, you're eating more vitamins than them. if theres anything you should be worried about, its vitamin B12. make sure you get a supplement for that because that is found only in meat. (and in diet coke plus)

thanks for the switch, good job :]

Answer 3

I love BOCA.  Most resturants have vegetarian choices.

I love light 8th Continent Soy milk in the chocolate...mmmmm!  Only 90 calories per glass.

You will learn to get creative!

Answer 4

Fortified soy milk is the best thing to get for protein and vitamin B12. Silk is my favorite!

Boca smells funny when you cook it, and if you microwave it, it tastes awful.

Red Robin has some great Veggie dishes, like the portabella burger.

Protein is super easy to get, just go with soy milk, beans, lentils, and chick peas.

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

Can people...just...become a vegetarian? I mean, all the people I know who are, started as a child growing up...they just did it on their own.

Hmmm, I would break...plus I hear some kind of meat once a week is good for a human....Whats wrong with fish?

Answer 6

Go to your store's freezer section and find the Morningstar Farms products. They have a really wide variety of veggie burgers,chick'n,etc and its delicious. Also,Amy's Organic frozen dinners have a lot of vegetarian choices .Quorn brand chick'n is so good- you can get grilled or breaded,both are delicious.You can find this stuff in the organic section of your grocery.Eating these meat substitutes gives you a lot of the vitamins and protein you need.I usually take a multi vitamin too. Don't worry,as long as you eat your meat subs and a lot of fruits and veggies,you'll be fine. I've been a vegetarian for almost my whole life and I've never had a problem. As for the restaurants,most have vegetarian choices as there are alot more vegetarians in the world now. Hope you stick to your vegetarianism,be proud of yourself....its hard for some people to do.If you have any ?s you think i could answer,email me!(my sn thats by my answer @ yahoo.com)

Answer 7

Meat is not the best source of protien.  You can get it from dark green vegetables, tofu, nuts, legumes and all the milks made from things other than dairy.  

I stay away from meat by having good things to put on my plate instead.   Like keeping a variety of veggie burgers and such on hand.   I find it easy to stay away from meat,  think about the fact that it takes 116 hours to move through your system,  whereas vegetables and food with fiber go through quickly.   Meat has hormones,  diseases and chemicals in it.

Yuck!!    The cruelty alone is enough reason.

Answer 8

I've been a vegetarian for about a month. It's been hard and I've accidentally ate meat once or twice in like the first week and a half but that was still a vegetarian because a vegetarian is someone who eats little or no animal meat. Morning star has really good vegetarian food that tastes like actual food. Well all I've tasted is their veggie chicken and mushroom burger meals. Vegetarian lasagna is really good. And I like panda express's eggplant tofu. Becoming a vegetarian can be hard but you'll get the hang of it.

Also you can get protein from nuts and beans.

http://www.mypyramid.gov/...rces/vegetar...

http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/vegetar...

http://www.mypyramid.gov/pyramid/vegetar...

Answer 9

Same here! except I have only been eating meat for almost 15 years. lol.I have found that being vegetarian is quite easy, and I am VERY picky lol

The Faux Meats =

Burger - My favorite fake burger is - "Boca's Flame Grilled", It is AMAZING it's the closest to tasting like a real burger I think.

Hamburg - Morning Star Farms has their "Hamburg Meal Starters" good in spaghetti or in making a shepherds pie *yumm*

Stake strips - umm I haven't tried these yet (cuz I don't really like stake to begin with) but it's the "Morning Star Farms Stake Strips meal starters" I like al the other meal starters so hese should be good too =]

Chicken - If you want like chicken nuggets or chicken patties try "Boca's chicken", if you want to make like a stir fry or home-made fried chicken use "Morning Star Farms Chik'n Meal Starters"

Breakfast meats - Try "Morning Star Farms Bacon and sausage" good with some eggs and a English muffin

Sandwich meat - Any kinda sandwich meat by "Yves" is WICKED good I love their fake turkey =]

Hot-Dogs - I have tried quite a few different hot-dogs and let me tell you.....so far I only like one lol..Try "Yves Hot-dogs"

Tofu - ummm so I have been told...(haven't tried tofu yet)

try Firm Tofu first and then maybe extra firm or sort tofu..make sure to try them all because they are all different.

Restaurants =

Just about any restaurant carries a couple of vegetarian dish's..can't really think of any off the top of my head

If you go to Burger king they carry a Veggie Burger I don't think it's on the menu but they DO have it, it's pretty good too

And Wendy's you can get a saled or a baked potato but just remember if you get a baked potato make sure to ask for NO sour cream because Sour cream has gelatin in it.

(extra note cuz I brought up sour cream)

I like "Turtle Mountain Sour cream" or "Tofutti's Sour Cream"

Yves and Boca are my two favorite brands for fake meats, almost anything by them I think is great...I really only like Morning star farms meal starters. Don't get discouraged if you buy something and you don't like the way it tastes, try cooking it a different way, maybe try a different brand.

If you have ANY more questions about this you can email me at "[e-mail]"

I hope this helped you =]

EDIT: And if you are worried about protein you can get plenty from other vegetables and any soy based product..but if you are vegan you will have to take I think it's a b12 multi vitamin?

Answer 10

I had a tough time staying away from the thingsI couldn't eat when I started being a vegetarian. I was a lacto-ovo vegetarian, so I ididn't eat any meat nor geletain. I never relized all the meat intake I had during an average day. I would come home and make a corndog outta habbit, but I would be right in the middle of making it when I remembered, so I would cheat and give in. I would start over the next day. It's been about a month since I have had meat, and I'm planing on becoming a vegan this summer.

I strongly reccomend doing research and reading books before giving vegetarianism a try. Also, decide what kind of vegetarian you want to be.

Lacto Vegetarian: Eats no meat, geletain, or eggs, but DOES eat dairy products

Ovo vegetarian: Eats no meat, geletain, or dairy products, but does eat eggs.

Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian: eat no meat nor geletian, but does eat dairy products and eggs

Semi vegetarian: Only has chicken, no other meat. does eat dairy products and eggs

vegan: Nothing from animals. To be a Full vegan you cannot use anything that is made form animals either.

once you have decided, then make a list of foods you know you can eat and the foods you would like. Combine the foods and make recipes. Then, slowly take one thing that you cannot eat away one at a time. One thing every week. Say if you decided to be a Lacto-vegetarian, the first week, take away milk from your diet, and find a way to replace the vitamins with new things, like soy milk ( which you can drink ). Then continuousy take away something every week until your out of things that you like but cannot eat.

If you really enjoy meat, companies have also made products that taste like meat, but are't the real thing. Like Meatless hamburger, chicken nuggets, or meatballs.

It gets easier and easier. It takes about 21 days to break a habbit, so last about a month and you'll be set! good luck:)

Answer 11

Your sister is right, you can't get ALL of your nutritions, but after seeing my aunt at 43 years old (or around that age), i would think being a vegetarian is not a bad idea!  Ways to stay away from meat is think of the bad and disgusting things meat has in them. Did you know that meat gets more bacteria than any other food in a small amount of time (science project)??

Plus, don't forget the harmful and hurtful things they do to cows, chickens, and pigs to make them into what we eat today.

But also think about that meat products have a lot of unhealthy fat in them.

I am also a veggie-tarian so it helps knowing this. Good luck on your start to being a vegetarian!!!!!!!!!