How to stay with this?(it's so hard)?!
Answers: I recently become Vegetarian, and I found it very hard to not want to eat meat.I mean meat never really was a big part of my diet anyway.It just seems really hard.When I do cave in and eat meat.I feel so gulity and fat.I really do want to be a vegetarian but it's so hard.Any suggestions or anything to help me.I really do want to be a vegetarian
Congrats on going vegetarian.
Maybe instead of focusing on what you're giving up, you could focus on discovering new foods. Buy a variety of faux meat products and do some taste testing to figure out your favorites. Here's a list of some good products:
http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp
Watching graphic videos of what happens to animals on slaughterhouses and factory farms is another technique for staying motivated. The Meet Your Meat video is especially powerful: http://www.chooseveg.com/animal-cruelty....
Also, check out this guide called Making the Transition. It was created to help people like you, who are new to vegetarianism.
http://www.vegcooking.com/makingthetrans...
Good luck!
i think if u cant do it, then dont. i mean, its a great thing to do but if its not for you then its not for you.
if its really important to you to do this, then maybe make exceptions or something to ease urself into it.
for example, say u will only eat meat once this week, or whatever.
then it will get alot easier to stay completely meat free after u ease urself like that.
also, dont beat urself up about caving in. because, when most people start they do that. i just suggest easing into it, setting guidelines etc.
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try using the 'fake' meat products, like veggie burgers and veggie patties. alot of these taste really good so it will help u get through craving the real stuff
Living with your parents and changing your diet is really really hard. I mean, it would be hard for me too if everyday I came home and was hungry and there was cooked meat all over the place. Just stick with it....keep at it and slowly the urge will fade, when you eat mcdonalds everyday, you crave it. Make a big vegetarian lasagna and cut it up into pieces and freeze it, then you will always have something really good to eat.
You could decide that you will only eat a certain thing your mom makes, and the rest of the time eat what you make yourself. You could try cutting out certain kinds of meat. But don't feel guilty, guilt feeds the cravings because you are thinking about it more. Being vegetarian was never really hard for me, but when I go home and my mom makes my favorite recipes of hers, my mouth still waters.
Just keep at it, keep doing research and be healthy. The last few times I ate meat I remember feeling really "heavy" and tired afterwards, the memory of that feeling made it easier to leave the meat.
Don't give up, if you really want this. And don't guilt yourself, you are better then that!
Yea,I know what you mean.I was like that when I first went Vegetarian.I really wanted to be a vegetarian but it was so I give into eating meat.I remember when I did give into my cravings I would feel so bad and crappy about myself.I say get couple vegetarian cookbooks.So that way you have repices and won't feel like your missing anything.The keywords in being a vegetarian are:COOK FOR YOURSELF
Some people find it harder than others in the beginning. I found that it became easier when I got more recipes together or found ways to modify my old favorites into vegetarian dishes. The first month or so I missed eating meat only because I didn't know how to make anything meat free, and my favorite foods contained meat. When I found delicious alternatives I no longer missed meat, now my favorite dishes are vegetarian and don't even compare with the tasteless junk I was eating with meat.
I guess it depends why you're doing it, but when I think of an animal having to die so I can eat it, it usually just puts me right off- so try to go back to your personal reason for wanting to be vego- should help- and if that reason's not strong enough, maybe you aren't meant to be vego.
The other key thing is learn to cook- when I first became vego I was a meat and 3 veg girl- which meant at first I just had potatoes and maybe beans. As I learnt to cook, I discovered that there are such yummy veg dishes out there- you don't need meat.
Some good cookbooks are the Moosewood cookbooks, any Rose Elliot or Jaffrey books are good.
And thirdly, track down a good source of produce- I find most fruit and veg in supermarkets is bland tasting- so I make sure I have my sources where I can buy delicious fresh fruit and veg- it makes all the difference when that's all your having.
Discover your inner cook and you'll be creating such delicious dishes you won't miss meat at all.
Good Luck!
I seems to me the thing you should try to do is find some recipes and food items that you flove to eat and build from that base,,even when you diet you have to find the right things to eat,and you may not be getting enough protiens this might be why you are craving meat,,
Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms
From Em
2 tsp. olive (preferably extra virgin)
1 carrot, peeled and finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
1/4 green pepper, finely diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. oregano
1 cup cooked brown rice
Salt and pepper to taste
4 medium Portabello mushrooms
Heat 1 tsp. olive oil in nonstick pan over medium heat.
Add carrot, onion, green pepper and garlic.
Saute until crisp-tender.
Stir in basil and oregano.
Remove from heat and combine with rice.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Remove stems from mushrooms.
Place mushrooms in lightly oiled casserole dish, stem side up.
Top with rice mixture, packing down slightly.
Brush lightly with remaining 1 tsp.olive oil.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. This recipe can be easily doubled to serve four as a main course or eight as an appetizer. Serves: 2
http://www.ivu.org/recipes/main/stuffed-...
Thai-Style Stir-Fry
from Karen C. Greenlee - Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Serving Size: 4
3 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
1 large or 2 medium leeks, rinsed well and cut -- into 1/2" dice
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded -- cut into strips
3 cloves garlic -- minced
1/4 pound mushrooms -- thinly sliced
3 teaspoons red chile paste or 4-6 fresh hot chiles -- minced
3 tablespoons hot water
1 1/2 tablespoons yellow bean paste
4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
salt
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
cilantro sprigs for garnish
rice or noodles
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium heat and saute leeks for a minute.
Add the eggplant and cook for 3 minutes, stirring well.
Add the bell pepper and garlic and stir for a few minutes more.
Add the mushrooms, stir, and saute for about 2 minutes.
Cover the pan, reduce the heat to medium low, and let cook for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the red chile paste or chiles with the hot water and stir with a fork until the paste is dissolved.
Stir in the bean paste, 3 tablespoons soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar.
Add this sauce to the pan and toss well to distribute evenly.
Cover for a minute or two, then add the cilantro, stir, and cover for 1 minute more.
Taste and add salt, soy sauce, or vinegar to taste if necessary.
Serve over rice or noodles.
I became veggo when I was 13 and it was SO HARD because I loved in a mediterranean household - there was meat EVERYWHERE.
The best thing to make you NOT want it is to learn how to cook veggo meals that are SO FANTASTIC you won't even think about meat. In fact, you'll start to think that meat eaters are the ones missing out because they're generally not as creative with their food!
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Also, you can get lots of TVP products (textured vegetable protein) and soy stuff that's made to be "mock meat". Some of it is awful, but a lot of it tastes so much like meat it's scary. There's a veggo supermarket not far from where I used to live and their soy "chicken nuggets" are just amazing!
Make the food you eat fun so that it keeps your mind off meat. every time you feel like indulging just remember how unhealthy eating meat is. gett some books and do alot of research so that you are getting all your nutrients
Have you tried seitan or tempeh? When cooked right, they can taste just like meat. Also, watch Earthlings or Meat Your Meat, you won't find it appetizing afterwards.
Quote: "I feel so gulity and fat."
This kind of sounds like you're going vegetarian just to lose weight, and not for ethical reasons. Are you a "health-food vegan" or an ethical vegan?
think of the animals and how you are actually eating like a piece of a cow and stuff :/
Concentrate on why you became a vegetarian. Did you do it for the animal rights? Than remember all the animal's lives you will save. Is it to be healthier? Then think of how much of a better a lifestyle you will be living. In the beginning, try only to eliminate red meat (cow,pig,lamb) before you go all out. Then move on to poultry and then to fish. Don't try to get rid of it all at once. Take small steps to work up to your ultimate goal.
I used to have the same problem when I first became one but then when I looked at meat I pictured the animal that meat came from in my head and thought how that it used to be alive
Well, if you truley wanted to go vegetarian you woulden't eat it. It's not hard at all...
I quit cold turkey three years ago, haven't caved in at all.
You're just not motivated.. that's all.
Fake meat! Quorn makes a delicious fake chicken patty. I find that the beef substitutes aren't believable, though. ah well.
Eat more food, especially more high protein foods.
http://www.veganhealth.org/articles/prot...
Watch this more often:
http://meat.org
Browse this site:
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/fact...
http://www.farmsanctuary.org/mediacenter...
It seems to me that you are just not ready yet. Cut out as much meat as you can... it's a better contribution than no contribition.
I think if you are still craving (and occasionally eating) meat, you are simply not ready to be vegetarian. Most people who are ready, it just "clicks" and they very easily never crave meat again. In fact, meat often becomes repulsive over time.
It may happen for you eventually - but in the meantime, just do your best. Don't beat yourself up.
Don't force yourself if you're finding it so hard maybe its not right for you. You're only young you should be eating the things you like!
If you really want to stick at it try maybe putting your food away from your parents then you won't be tempted or eat some soya 'meat style' things instead, they're a good replacement.
I can understand where you're coming from. I recently became vegan, and my family is really huge on the meat-eating. I usually just make a list of things that are okay for me to eat and I can make on my own. And I eat before my mom starts to cook so I don't feel as hungry or guilty. [But I also lock myself in the room, just in case.]
It's difficult, but I feel good and I can actually look my dog in the face now! ^_^
even though you may really want to be a vegetarian, you may not really be ready!
and my advice is - eat what you want...in moderation :)