I'm considering going vegetarian...?

Question

I am currently going vegetarian for a whole month, just to try it out. I was curious as to what the benefits are, what I can and can't eat, and how I can get all the nutrients that meat has in it, such as iron, protein, etc.

I'm mostly doing this just to see if I have the willpower to resist eating meat, as it's a big staple in my diet and always has been. I'm in health-mode right now, which is why I'm considering starting this.

Also, any advice would be lovely.

Thanks!

Answer 1

Wow, you are entering this decision with little knowledge about this.  Is this a whim?

Answer 2

I'm glad to hear that you are concerned about your health but remember, the key to a healthy lifestyle is MODERATION.  You can eat anything you want just don't go overboard and remember to exercise regularly.

Answer 3

~You need to try to surround yourself with vegetarian and vegan friends so they can help you with your transition and answer all your questions first hand

~Go shop at health food places and farmers markets and ask the people working there your questions they tend to be knowledgeable about the products

~Get advice from your doctor or a professional in like a dietitian or a nutritionist

some sites:

allveggielinks.com

veggielinks.com

goveg.com

vegweb.com

vegconnect.com

veggieconnection.com

www.ecomall.com/eat.htm

vegetarian books:

1. 15-minute vegetarian : 200 quick, easy, and delicious recipes the whole family will love / Susann Geiskopf-Hadler and Mindy Toomay.

2.

Amber waves of grain : traditional American whole foods cooking & contemporary vegetarian, vegan & macrobiotic cuisine / Alex and Gale Jack ; foreword by Michio and Aveline Kushi ; illustrations by Rod House.

3.

American wholefoods cuisine : 1300 meatless wholesome recipes from short order to gourmet / Nikki & David Goldbeck ; preface by Barbara Haber.

4.

A beautiful bowl of soup : the best vegetarian recipes / by Paulette Mitchell ; photographs by William Meppem.

5.

The best of Lord Krishna's cuisine : favorite recipes from The art of Indian vegetarian cooking / Yamuna Devi.

6.

The best vegetarian recipes : from greens to grains, from soups to salads : 200 bold-flavored recipes / Martha Rose Shullman.

7.

Betty Crocker easy everyday vegetarian : meatless main dishes you'll love!

8.

The big book of vegetarian : more than 225 recipes for breakfasts, appetizers, soups, salads, sandwiches, main dishes, sides, breads, and desserts / by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley.

9.

Cafe Flora cookbook / Catherine Geier with Carol Brown.

10.

Carb-conscious vegetarian : 150 delicious recipes for a healthy lifestyle / Robin Robertson.

11.

Classic vegetarian cooking from the Middle East & North Africa / Habeeb Salloum.

12.

Compassionate cuisine : gourmet vegetarian recipes & the philosophy and culture of caring / Vrnda Devi.

13.

The complete book of vegetarian grilling : over 150 easy and tasty recipes you can grill indoors and out / Susann Geiskopf-Hadler.

14.

The complete idiot's guide to being vegetarian / by Frankie Avalon Wolfe.

15.

Complete vegetarian cookbook / Charmaine Solomon.

16.

The complete vegetarian handbook : recipes & techniques for preparing delicious, healthful cuisine / by Kathy Farrell-Kingsley ; illustrations by David Pollard.

17.

The contented vegetarian / Matthew Drennan and Annie Nichols.

18.

Cook 1.0 : a fresh approach to the vegetarian kitchen : breakfast, lunch + dinner / Heidi Swanson ; foreword by Art Smith. (

19.

Cooking the Cuban way : culturally authentic foods, including low-fat and vegetarian recipes / by Alison Behnke and Victor Manuel Valens.

20.

Cooking the Vietnamese way : to include new low-fat and vegetarian recipes / Chi Nguyen and Judy Monroe.

21.

The enlightened kitchen : fresh vegetable dishes from the temples of Japan / Mari Fujii ; photographs by Tae Hamamura ; translation by Richard Jeffery.

22.

Entertaining for a veggie planet : 250 down-to-earth recipes / Didi Emmons.

23.

Ethical markets : growing the green economy / Hazel Henderson with Simran Sethi ; foreword by Hunter Lovins.

24.

The ethnic vegetarian : traditional and modern recipes from Africa, America, and the Caribbean / Angela Shelf Medearis, author of Ideas for Entertaining from the African-American Kitchen.

25.

Everyday Greens : home cooking from Greens, the celebrated vegetarian restaurant / by Annie Somerville.

26.

The flexitarian table : inspired, flexible meals for vegetarians, meat lovers, and everyone in between / Peter Berley, with Zoe Singer ; photographs by Quentin Bacon.

27.

Fresh food fast : delicious, seasonal vegetarian meals in under an hour / Peter Berley and Melissa Clark.

28.

The gluten-free vegetarian kitchen : delicious and nutritious wheat-free, gluten-free dishes / Donna Klein.

29.

The healthy hedonist holidays : a year of multicultural, vegetarian-friendly holiday feasts / Myra Kornfeld ; illustrated by Sheila Hamanaka.

30.

Hope's edge : the next diet for a small planet / Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe.

31.

How to cook everything vegetarian : simple meatless recipes for great food / Mark Bittman ; illustrations by Alan Witschonke.

32.

How to cook everything. Vegetarian cooking / Mark Bittman ; illustrations by Alan Witschonke.

33.

India's vegetarian cookery / Monisha Bharadwaj ; photography of India by Jenner Zimmermann ; food photography by Will Heap.

34.

Living among meat eaters : the vegetarian's survival handbook / Carol J. Adams.

35.

Living in the raw gourmet / Rose Lee Calabro.

36.

Low-carb vegetarian / Margo DeMello.

37.

Low-carb vegetarian cooking : 150 entrees to make low-carb vegetarian cooking easy and fun / Sue Spitler with Linda R. Yoakam.

38.

Mediterranean harvest : vegetarian recipes from the world's healthiest cuisine / Martha Rose Shulman.

39.

Mediterranean vegetarian cooking / Paola Gavin.

40.

New vegetarian cooking : 120 fast, fresh, and fabulous recipes / Rose Elliot.

41.

One-dish vegetarian meals : 150 easy, wholesome, and delicious soups, stews, casseroles, stir-fries, pastas, rice dishes, chilis, and more / Robin Robertson.

42.

Passionate vegetarian / by Crescent Dragonwagon ; illustrated by Robbin Gourley.

43.

The PDQ (pretty darn quick) vegetarian cookbook : 240 healthy and easy no-prep recipes for busy cooks / Donna Klein.

44.

Quick-fix vegetarian / Robin Robertson.

45.

The Real Food Daily cookbook : really fresh, really good, really vegetarian / Ann Gentry with Anthony Head.

46.

Regina's international vegetarian favorites / Regina Campbell.

47.

Silk road cooking : a vegetarian journey / Najmieh Batmanglij.

48.

Twelve months of monastery salads : 200 divine recipes for all seasons / Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette.

49.

Vegetable soups from Deborah Madison's kitchen / Deborah Madison.

50.

Vegetarian / recipes, Dana Jacobi ; general editor, Chuck Williams ; photography, Bill Bettencourt.

51.

The vegetarian bible / Sarah Brown.

52.

Vegetarian cooking for beginners / Fiona Watt ; illustrated by Kim Lane ; photography by Howard Allman ; recipes by Catherine Atkinson.

53.

Vegetarian cooking for dummies / by Suzanne Havala.

54.

Vegetarian cooking for everyone / Deborah Madison ; [photographs by Laurie Smith ; illustrations by Catherine Kirkwood].

55.

The vegetarian family cookbook / written and illustrated by Nava Atlas.

56.

The vegetarian meat and potatoes cookbook / Robin Robertson.

57.

Vegetarian recipes from around the world / by Sue Townsend and Caroline Young.

58.

Vegetarian sandwiches : fresh fillings for slices, pockets, wraps, and rolls / by Paulette Mitchell ; photographs by Ondine Vierra.

59.

Vegetarian suppers from Deborah Madison's kitchen / Deborah Madison.

60.

Vegetarianism and teens : a hot issue / Kathleen Winkler.

61.

The wild vegetarian cookbook : a forager's culinary guide (in the field or in the supermarket) to preparing and savoring wild (and not so wild) natural foods, with more than 500 recipes / "Wildman" Steve Brill ; foreword by Arthur Schwartz.

62.

A year in a vegetarian kitchen : easy seasonal suppers for family and friends / Jack Bishop ; photographs by Richard Jung

63.

Yoga kitchen : recipes from the Shoshoni Yoga Retreat / Faith Stone and Rachael Guidry..

64.

You don't need meat / Peter Cox.

Answer 4

If you're just trying it out for a month, I'd keep it simple for now.  Skip meat but don't worry hugely about slaughter by-products like meat broths, gelatin, lard, and rennet.  If you get to the end of your month and find that it's something you want to commit to, you can fine-tune it then.  I went vegetarian in the 80s when there wasn't much information available; I probably ate gelatin for three months before I found out what it was.

See if your library has a copy of Brenda Davis & Vesanto Melina's book on vegetarian nutrition.  The original edition was called "Becoming Vegetarian" and the newer is called "The New Becoming Vegetarian."  It's a great resource for your questions on iron, protein* etc...  Again, if you decide to commit to vegetarianism, it would be worth buying.  I have the vegan version and refer to it quite a bit.  Since you're in "health mode" it will probably be right up your alley.

*Protein is really not an issue.  Most foods have some protein content.  If you're eating soy foods, legumes, grains, nuts, seeds and green vegetables, you'll get plenty.  If you're eating dairy products and eggs, you'll get even more.

Answer 5

being a vegetarian is not as bad as it seems is what my friends tell me. Even being a vegetarian you can still eat a lot of good foods. If you go to a restaurant and what something that as meat in it. Just tell the server  no meat in it.

Good luck

Answer 6

This is a very good website, it has charts and advises how much of each item you need.

This is the particular page for protein but you can search out the page for the other minerals etc...

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm

Plant nutrients are better than meat nutrients anyway as meat contain trans-fat that blocks your arteries - plants don't.

Have a look at the “A Diet For All Reasons” DVD, as it has some excellent information:

"The human body has absolutely no requirement for animal flesh. Nobody has ever been found face-down 20 yards from the Burger King because they couldn't get their Whopper in time." - Michael Klaper, MD

http://www.bestjuicers.com/ADietForAllRe...

A month is not really long enough to notice the full benefits, can you give it 3 months instead?

If eating a lot of fruit and vegetables, in the first few weeks (depending on the rest of your diet) you may experience detox symptoms and feel “off”, but this will pass.

You may crave meat in the first 3 weeks but soon your body becomes adjusted to a healthier and purer way of eating.

I had a piece of bacon recently, my first piece in 10 months and I felt sick, had cramps and then finally vomited afterwards. Back to the veggies for me.

Have fun!

.

Answer 7

Good for you!

Benefits:

1.) The meat industry injects their animals with hormones and antibiotics. By withstanding from meat, you not consuming this which in high doses, can be bad for your health.

2.) Meat and diets high in red meat are linked with cancer. Also, a diet high in fiber and low and fat are good for your heart.

3.) My menstrual cycle went from painful and heavy to light and pain free within a few months!

4.) Fresh vegetables are so yummy.

5.) Vegetarian dishes are typically cheaper especially at restaurants.

Cons:

1.) Some people don't understand what is in a vegetarian diet. This can be annoying. If you go to a barbique, I suggest bringing some food.

What you should eat:

1.) I suggest buying a vegetarian cookbook.

2.) Be weary of what protein you take in. Most plant based protein sources are not complete. If you choose a ovo-lacto vegetarian diet, you should be fine. However, if you don't drink milk or eat eggs, make sure you combine proteins. For example, whole grains are a good source of protein along with beans and legumes. You should mix them in your meals.

3.) Some people just subtract meat and eat more of what they typically eat. If you diet now consists of meat and carbohydrates, be weary of weight gain. Many people just eat more carbs to fill them up. Try to replace meat with vegetables and fruit.

4.) If you do not eat eggs or milk, try to take b-12 supplements.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-C...

http://kidshealth.org/teen/food_fitness/...

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/vegetar...

Since I started my vegetarian diet, I began eating:

Avocados - great source of vitamins. It is high in fiber and dense in calories (fat). This food will fill you up for a very long time. You can make awesome guacamole in minutes. Just add cut up onions and red peppers. Mash avocado, add the onions and peppers. Add lime juice and salt to taste.

Chickpeas - great source of protein, iron, and fiber. Hummus is easy to make. Grind chickpeas with vegetable stalk until you have a thick consistency. Add spices.

Flaxseeds - this is a dietary must! High in fiber and Omega-3 Fatty acid. If you do not eat eggs, this is where you will obtain it.

Nuts! - High in protein.

Make sure your fruits and vegetables are all colorful. The more color you incorporate in your diet, the more nutrients you will be taking in.

Answer 8

Good stewardship.

Love the animals. They are adorable too. Only Human are capable to show mercy. You won't eat your "friends" those are capable to communicate, love, scream for help and suffer in pain. If you know them by "name", you would not eat her/him.

That's why god made YOU different than others.