Vegetarian!where to start??!
Answers: ok so i want to become a vegetarian but im not sure where to start. im completely against animal testing,hunting,slaughter, everything. i think its just so mean and sad. and one of my friends made an album on her facebook with them skinning a deer! it was the most vile thing ive ever seen. and then i got the idea to go vegatarian.i told my friends and they were making fun of me for it. i laughed along but it hurt that they think i wont stick it out. and were like "kay vegetarian!?! thats not gonna last"and things like that. i want to become vegatarian for the reasons i beleive in and to prove to them i can do things. but mostly cause im an animal freak :P ha so my question is where do i start?whats good to eat?whats vegetarian whats not? and if there are any foods in a normal grociery store (we dont have a vegetarian store anywhere here :/)thanks for those who answer!
First off, I think its fantastic that you are looking into being veg, and even though I've only been a vegetarian for 8 weeks... I might have some advice for you...
First off, let me tell you that I can totally relate to you being, lets say... questioned by your friends. I must have tried at least 10 times to go veggie, and each time i gave up at the first sign of meat. Finally I made it through the first couple of weeks and I haven't eaten meat since... but even so... my friends had some worries about me going through thanksgiving!
Secondly, you should decide to what extent you want to go. Do you want to just cut out red meat, or do you want to go completely vegan (nothing that has been produced with animal products of any kind)... It sounds to me that you would want to cut out all meat including fish.... but its completely up to you to decide how far to go.
I remember you also had a question about vegetarian stores and you definetly do NOT need one to live a happy healthy life. Just shop in the produce department and avoid the deli!
Remember to read the labels on processed food because some food is cooked with chicken stock, it all depends on how much meat you actually want to cut out of your diet!
Here are some sites that you might find helpful along your journey!
pw2.netcom.com/~axleplus/stuff/veggie/...
www.vegsoc.org/newveg/index.html
MUCH LUCK!
you just dont eat meat, and if you want to be a full vegan, you dont eat any animal products at all. eat veggies, rice, grains, fruits, etc.
You are going to have to start by not eating meat . And as far as the food goes anything vegetarian is anything not made of beef,chicken,pork, or fish. Pretty much leaves things like breads,vegetables,fruits, and dairy. You don't have to go to a special grocery store either unless you want organic foods. Hope this helps and good luck on your lifestyle change! :-)
im a vegetarian too!
well first off. ignore the ones making fun of
you for it. if they are truly your friends they would
support you. stand up for yourself. dont let
them walk all over you.
some foods you can eat are Boca Burgers..
SOOO GOOD!! =D
you can also look here at this website
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Everyday-C...
hope i help you =]
you can do it.. its hard the first week
until you can realize how serious
you are about it.
haha! the first time i went vegetarian..
i was ready to make myself a turkey sandwich.\
then i realize what i was doing! so my sandwich turned
out to be letauce.. mayo.. and bread...
LOL! one of my other vegie friends warned me
about it too. lol!
=]
i've been a vegetarian since i was 13. Here's what I did. There's several ways to do this. You can first cut out red meat, then chicken, then fish, & be done eating meat. That's what I did and I was done eating all meat within 2 months. Or, you can just stop. Now there's tons of good vegetarian products out there that you can find at any store, but there not cheap. The best brand is Morningstar followed by Boca. Good luck, stick with it. I'm not going to lie, it'll be hard at first and you may cheat. Just try the next day.
If people say anything to you, just tell them you're doing this for you and your beliefs. Don't try to talk people into being vegetarians also, but don't let them try to talk you out of being one either. Good luck.
A vegetarian does not eat meat, poultry or fish.
You may want to start as a semi-vegetarian. This is someone who does not eat meat but does eat seafood and/or poultry in limited amounts.
You don't have to go to a vegetarian store to eat vegetarian. Your grocery store has everything you need.
Start slowly - one or two meals a week without meat. After a while, you probably won't miss it.
Enjoy!
First of all I'd like to comment on what "dawgendepark" said. Humans are not meant to eat other animals. The wild animals that have large intestines are the carnivores. The meat passes through their systems quickly. Those with small intestines such as humans have a harder time digesting meat and it's not healthy for us to consume large amounts of it. With that said, vegetarianism isn't hard at all if you're not a meat-lover to begin with. Some people enjoy meat more than others. But you can make it easy by eating a lot of fruits and veggies. You can also eat rice, barley, bread, and other grains. Barley is really good in soup, which is also a good meal for vegetarians. I love tomato soup with toast. Pasta is good too. I eat whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce a lot.
You can shop anywhere and still be a vegetarian. Just don't eat meat. I myself actually eat chicken and fish, but I'm considering not eating chicken anymore. I completely agree with you on how cruel the way animals are killed for their meat is.
Don't worry about what your friends say. They're ignorant as to how determined you are and you'll prove them wrong if you stick to your plan. You go girl! And good luck! ;)
Oh yeah, veggie burgers are good too. These might be good to start with since they're really tasty. They're a good transition from regular burgers. Something else I forgot to mention is hummus. I love hummus and it's really good on crackers and toast.
Start by reading everything you can get on the subject (I did a google search and got all kinds of information), that way you know what kinds of foods you need to eat to stay healthy.
I live in a little hick town with no wonderful vegetarian stores around, but I don't have any problems getting what I need. Just stock up on lots of your favorite vegetables, some beans and nuts/seeds, and lots of fruit. Add some of your favorite grains, rice, and pasta. Also pick up tofu at the local supermarket and plenty of good seasonings and herbs to cook with.
Stir fry is a great and easy dish to make that doesn't take a rocket scientist to make. Just slice up the vegies of choice and fry them with a little olive oil and seasonings and soy sauce.
I like to make my rice and pasta before hand and keep it in the frig so I don't have to cook as much each night. I also do that with different types of beans.
Most things that you make with meat, can be made without it also (spaghetti, lasagna, enchiladas).
Just take a bit of time in the kitchen to experiment and have fun.
hey, I just became a vegetarian too. my friends made fun of me at lunch today, but i just ignored them, who cares what they think. Good luck with it!
everybody here has given you great advice but i would just like to add taking a B12 supplement. its crucial to be taken some kind of supplement to replace what you aren't eating. when i first became vegeterian i was really tired and lethargic but as soon as i started taking those B12's i felt better! wish you the best! i'm so glad to hear more people are becoming vegeterians.
i m vegetarian since birth so its easy for me
but for u first start ignoring your friends
& try eating fruits, rice and vegetables
here is a list of just 10 vegetarian food options which will complete your meal and provide all the nutritions your body needs! In fact, they are called the superfoods for the vegetarians!
http://funnfud.blogspot.com/2007/10/supe...
Hope this helps! your cause sounds great, and good luck with it! It's not too hard once you start implementing it:)
there are actually different types of vegetarians.I like the raw food diet since it is very healthy and is full of nutrients that are not killed in the cooking process. it usually takes more time to make and is can be more costly as well than the other vegetarian diets. you don't really need to go to a special store to get food, unless you only want organic food. almost all supermarkets carry some vegetarian dishes. even for thanksgiving you will be able to get a dinner and still eat with your family. my sister is a vegetarian and we got her tofurkey. it is actually very tasty. i tried it myself. it is pretty hard to be vegetarian since you need more to fill you up.well, good luck and power be with you, just remember to get your protein.I icluded some websites. first one how to become vegetarian. second one the types of vegetarians. the third one for raw food recipes.
Hi, that's great you're interested in going veg. Here are some sites to check out:
General:
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/
http://goveg.com/
Transitioning:
http://vegcooking.com/makingthetransitio...
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/t...
Health:
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/i...
Recipes:
http://www.cok.net/lit/recipes/
http://www.vegcooking.com/searchRecipes....
http://www.chooseveg.com/vegan-recipes.a...
Faux meats:
http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp
http://www.tryveg.com/cfi/toc/?v=07groce...
Most regular grocery stores have some faux meats... I'm not sure what stores are in your area, but look for brands like Boca, Gardenburger, Morningstar, Quorn, etc. My favorite meat alternatives are Tofurkey deli slices, Boca Chik'n Patties, Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Chik'n Strips, and Nate's Meatless Meatballs. Basically, think of all your favorite meals / recipes and figure out ways to make them vegetarian using the meat alternatives. (I.e., spaghetti & meatballs --> spaghetti & veg meatballs).
If your friends give you a really hard time, feel free to show them this video: http://www.meat.org/ . Good luck!!!
I know the transition can be hard..but totally worth it. I have some great websites for you that should help a lot.
Peace
GG
If you want my honest opinion...
Don't become a vegetarian because it is "cruel." It is completely natural to eat animals, otherwise our digestive system wouldn't allow it. think about it...Lions eat animals...bear eat animal...all around, animals eat animals! Also the animal testing is to provide human beings with life saving medications. Hunting i can see where you can argue that as cruel, even though i disagree...Slaughter is just a way to prepare them to eat...