Uneasy meat eater?!
And which foods can I eat to keep my protein and iron levels up?
Answers: Even though I enjoy the taste of meat, over the years I'm becoming more conscious of what I'm doing with the fact that it's better for the environment to eat a vegetarian diet(and becoming more concerned about animals being killed as well. No I'm no danged PETA hippy), but would like to start off slowly and not miss out on any nutrients. What would be a first good step to take?
And which foods can I eat to keep my protein and iron levels up?
Good first steps:
1) Don't start with telling yourself no! "No I can't have this, no I can't have that..." becoming vegetarian should be a choice that makes you feel happy, not make you feel like you are being scolded every time you need to eat.
2) Read labels. Spend time checking the labels of the food you already eat, there is most likely more vegetarian food in what you already eat than you might think. Poultry seasoning has no poultry in it and A-1 sauce is mostly fruit, tomato paste, and pepper. Become aware of how many foods are NOT vegetarian that seem like they would be. Chicken and beef broth sneak into some weird things, like mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, or vegetable soup, and gelatin can be a stealth ingredient as well. There are a few companies (like Progresso and Amy’s) really help us out and label their foods as non-vegetarian (some Progresso soups), vegetarian, or vegan. I just wish this was a food industry standard, like the Kosher labels are.
3) Research. The net is a vast resource of knowledge for any level of aspiring vegetarian. You can Google anything, Wikipedia is somewhere I often look to find the origins of some weird ingredients, even find vegetarian cooking videos on YouTube.
4) Experiment. One of the easiest things to do even before eliminating meat from your meals is to add veggies to everything. Think of what your favorite vegetables are and try mixing them into other foods you eat that sound pleasing to you. That’s how I discovered this: Beanie Spaghetti
1 can Garbanzo beans (drained)
I can black beans (drained)
1 package frozen spinach (thawed & extra liquid squished out)
1 can Hunt’s Traditional or Mushroom pasta sauce
Ravioli or spaghetti noodles
Mix beans, spinach, and sauce together in a large pan or microwave dish and heat. Cook noodles, drain, & serve.
I have also made this with sautéed eggplant and it was good enough on it’s own that I didn’t want the noodles! This makes a really thick sauce.
Don’t be afraid to try new foods. Morningstar Farms and Boca are both really good brands to try for more direct meat replacements, Gardenburger is good if you like the taste of grains (and sometimes mushrooms). One thing to keep in mind is these are not meat, it takes a while to get used to the fact that they can have an aftertaste. I would not suggest cooking a fake meat patty and eating it plain, prepare it like you would the meat version, with a bun, lettuce or fresh spinach, tomato slices, sprouts, whatever you like.
5) Especially for vegetarians, cold turkey isn't good. If you are an avid meat eater and suddenly try to switch to being vegetarian overnight, your success rate is very low. Look at being a vegetarian as a whole solution, not to just help the animals, but to improve your health as well. Treat it as a lifestyle change, not a fad diet, on one week, get deprived, back to eating meat for another week and overeating… that would really be bad for your body (and I hope no one would actually do this.)
Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask people what’s in things (sometimes you need to ask specifically if there is any meat products in food from restaurants or if it was homemade.) I wish you the best of luck if you finally make the choice to become a vegetarian. I know it’s something I'm still proud of everyday with myself, even 3 years later.
If there are recipies that taste good and are filling, then I won't feel deprived. Report It
* You must be logged into Answers to add comments. Sign in or Register.