Advice? opinions? information wanted please. becoming vegetarian?!
Advice? opinions? information wanted please. becoming vegetarian?
ok, i am not a huge meat eater, chicken & fish only. this is due to personal taste preferance. i have extensive cooking knowledge, so thats not the problem, i guess i have a couple of questions, first of all, despite having cooking/nutritional knowledge, i dont practise it very well and have a bad diet, what if any supplements would i be advised to take, and why? and, if your body does not crave meat, why are there "immitation meat" products? i have been using and experimenting with them, and i like them, i just wondered if there is a noticable difference once meat is stopped all together. my other question has to be "hidden animal products" what should i be looking out for when an animal product would be used in something not obvious, ie gelatin, many thanks for your help
Answers:
You DO NOT need to take any supplements on a vegetarian diet.
Just a logical balance of fruit, vegetabels, nuts, pulses, cereal and dairy. and you'll be fine.
I've been veggie for 27 years and never take supplements, never ill, and as well as my "day job" i do manual work as i own an arable farm.
Its easy for anyone who has an once of cooking abiltiy, and it sounds like you have loads..
Fake meats are ok but home cooked food is much better.
The craving for meat is just a mental thing, there is nothing in meat that makes you crave eating it ( unlike drugs, drink or cigarettes etc )
animal products are used in about 90% of processed foods so you really need to understand the contents and go with "veggie friendly" labels.
The people who enjoy the most sucessful veggie diets tend to steer away from processed foods nad cook much of thier stuff from raw, its far better for you and much tastier.
Best of luck, like i say, its easy.
When you are vegetarian (no animal eaten) your stomach feels a lot lighter. Animal, if eaten after a long time of not eating it, tends to be very heavy on your stomach. Even more so if you become vegan.... but that's another answer! Fruit and vegetables are very good for you.
You have to be careful about animal fats which includes cooking from the same pot/pan. It isn't good for instance if you have chips cooked in the same oil as where animal has just been cooked.
fresh chiken and eggs wont hurt you. Most imitation meats have higher salt and preservatives. Eat Lentils and barley because it makes a tasty vegie soup that provides all 8 aminos and and it doesn't hurt to add a little chicken too. tastes great with carrots and celery. Potatoes are great too for energy
like the guy above me said 90% of food that you buy at the store have some hidden meat in them!!!!! so all most all of the meals i eat i have cooked myself they tast better and you know what is really in them!!!!! and you dont need to take any supplements just have a well balanced diet and you will be fn also when i went veggie i did no crave meat it is really a presonal thing some peole will crave meat and others will not
we have fake meat products mostly so we can have more varaiety, and join our friends in a nice summer BBQ.
Supplements.. can't help much there, cuz I don't know what you eat and what you might lack.
Hidden Animal products: Rennet, Lard (it's basically pig fat, but it's not used as much nowdays, so you don't come across it very often).
Hidden milk products: Cassien, whey
Hope it helps a little!