How do you cope with cravings as you're coming off meat?!
I'm a recently new vegetarian and i keep getting these cravings. Do the last long? How do I get over them? Also what food can I use to get the same nutrients as fish?
Answers: I seem to have developed a craving for fishcakes and fish with lemon.
I'm a recently new vegetarian and i keep getting these cravings. Do the last long? How do I get over them? Also what food can I use to get the same nutrients as fish?
There are alot of vegetarian substitutes for different kinds of meat. Go to a natural foods store and start trying some of the different options out there. Some natural food stores even make sandwiches. The one near me offers a "meatball sub" or BBQ "steak".
I never craved meat when I became a vegetarian but I am a carbs person.
Just make sure you eat a wide variety of foods and fit in all of the main requirements. Protein- nuts, seeds, boca burgers, etc. Fruits and veggies. And either dairy or soy.
Eat tons of beans or mock meats.
Cravings usually indicate a lack of something...and your body is telling you.....Fish oil is an option....being vegetarian this might be a conflict.But the body wants what it needs.
Eating lots of raw fruit and raw vegetables helped me to reduce meat cravings.
I use to be a big meat eater, bacon for breakfast, sandwich meat for lunch and chicken stir fry for dinner. I now eat meat about once a fortnight (and normally regret that) and rarely crave it.
Green smoothies are very good for reducing cravings of any type. I drink 250ml to 500ml everyday:
One handful (about 50g) organic baby spinach leaves
One cup (250ml) filtered pure water
Small knob peeled fresh organic ginger (optional)
Put all of above in a blender and blend on high until all the spinach is broken down/smooth in appearance.
Add one medium organic peeled banana and pulse on low until blended.
Drink and (hopefully) enjoy.
If you are craving fish, maybe your body really needs omega - please see links below for more information.
Otherwise, I suggest you watch the following films:
“Meet your Meat” from PETA.
“Eating Plus” from the Rave Diet.
Both of these films should help stop your cravings.
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I took seaweed and some soy products for protein as the subsitute for fish, as seaweed contains some smell of ocean :)
Actually some "fake fish" use in chinese vegetarian food are mostly made with soy fibre and seaweed.
when i got cravings i ate peanut butter. its full of protien and curves the cravings. if the craving was SO strong, i ate baco bits (fake bacon). they taste kinda funny at first but they make me burp alot (gross i know) and that part tastes like the real thing :)
I never got cravings but then again, i made sure i had replacement foods before i went vegan like Spirulina and Goji Berries. I used to eat alot of fish. I felt 'good' from that. Now im feeling the same type of quality in health but more so and its always there now, as i used to from the fish but without the mercury. Look up those foods - spirulina and goji berries. Cant go wrong eating more dark leafy greens either.
Tips:
- Watch peta videos to turn you off
- Read articles about over fishing etc (just google it) so you have some support backing up your vegetarianism. When ever you feel a craving just think how you are compassionatetly saving lives, the environment and your health.
Prehaps cook yourself something with a bit of lemon flavour?
Prehaps you could try using slices of eggplant as a subsitute for fish. Never tried it with lemon myself though.
Cravings come and go. They ease off as vegetarianism becomes a habit. When you crave meat, just think about where it came from and the process of it dying. Worked for me!
If your worried about omega 3 - A lot of margarines have it added in, as do some juices and breads etc. It is also found naturally in small quantities in plants i believe.
hope this helps
your cravings are usually(not always) your body's way of telling you you are lacking something in your diet, so fill up on protein, iron and b12..I suggest a supplement. And make sure you're doing it for the right reason.
Sometimes I crave meat and I buy morningstar farms veggie bugers they actually taste like meat but without the heaviness and they taste better. They also have a great substitute for sausage that you can have with scrambled tofu and whole grain english muffins. Good luck!
eventually you'll get over them
In the meantime, find a recipe you absolutely love and whenever you have a craving make it instead. You could try l lemon marinated tofu with fresh peas.
cravings are normal. When you eat McDonald's everyday, you crave it. When you eat lots of salt, you crave it. And meat is a comfort foot to most of us. We grew up with it, it's what we know (knew ...wink)
I never really craved it...but I never really liked meat. When I did crave it, I would eat a meat substitute....but I tried to limit it as much as possible. Fish is a tough one, because lots of fish is really good for you....I still eat tons of avocado sushi. Norri (sea weed) is really good for you, so that might satisfy you....but really, just like smoking, you will have cravings...just try not to cave.
If you ever cave, don't feel bad, what you are doing is an amazing stand, a personal choice that is based on good. Regret, negativity feed the fire, if you cave, just accept it, move on.
:) Veggie rule!