I'm thinking of going vegetarian.... where to start ?!?!


Question: I'm thinking of going vegetarian!.!.!.!. where to start !?!!?
Okay so i was raised eating meat my whole life!. And i never really thought of the idea of going veg!. But lately i really hate how factories treat animals and when i eat meat it makes me feel bad!. && i read up and people who dont eat meat are more healthy than those who do!. So i want to go vegetarian!. I'm only 13 and i dont know how to tell my parents because they love steak & meat!. sooo, can you help me there!?!?!?

also, what exactly cant i eat!?!?
is it JUST meat!?!?!?


any websites also would be good!
thanks!Www@FoodAQ@Com


Answers:
That's great you're interested in going veg! Good for you!

I would really do your research before you talk to your parents, so that you'll be prepared to address the concerns they might have!. Here are good sites to print out:

Vegetarian sources of protein, iron, and calcium:
http://www!.tryveg!.com/cfi/toc/!?v=08sourc!.!.!.

The American Dietetic Association is one of the nation's leading nutrition experts!. It says: "Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence!." http://eatright!.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs!.!.!.!.

Vegetarian Diet May be Healthy For Teens
http://preventdisease!.com/news/articles/!.!.!.

You could just say "I've done some research about vegetarianism and found out that it has a lot of health benefits!. I've decided I want to give it a try!. What do you think!?" And then have a conversation about it!.

Vegetarians don't eat any type of animal flesh!.!.!. no fish, chickens, turkeys, etc!. For instance, you wouldn't eat soup that had chicken broth!. Here are some good websites:

http://www!.tryveg!.com
http://vegetarianteen!.com/
http://www!.vegcooking!.com/makingthetrans!.!.!.

Good luck!Www@FoodAQ@Com

Do some research on it first before you start!. If you cut meat out of your diet, you need to find an alternative source of protein, such as peanut butter!. Make sure to do some research on what nutrients you would be missing out on, and what kinds of foods have those nutrients!. also, determine what extent that you are vegetarian!. You could consume dairy products if you were to a certain extent because it is just the MILK of the cow, and not actually killing and eating parts of the cow!. If you took it further, you might say that you wouldn't eat ANY products from animals!. If you do decide to become vegetarian, cut meat out of your diet gradually so you have time to get used to it!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

I don't have too much to add, but I wanted to make a correction to what someone else said!. Kosher gelatin is NOT acceptable and there is no such thing as vegetable gelatin!. (There are plant-derived gelatin alternatives such as agar agar and carageenan)

While you are living with your parents, it won't always be easy to eat right!. If you do your research and know your facts before you talk to your parents, hopefully they will be supportive and make sure to buy nutritious vegetarian foods for you!. Help them out, do your research and give them a list of a lot of foods that you already know you like, such as peanut butter or beans, and a few you might want to try such as Boca burgers!. Go to the grocery store with your parents so you can check ingredients on things like yogurt, which might contain gelatin!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

i know thats its really hard to talk to parents, my parens (only in eighth grade) either ignore me or tell me i'm being rude and than threaten!.!.!.

i think you should slowly slip into veganism!.!.!.

try cutting out some of the obvious things!.!.!.
like a big old steak or fried chicken!.!.!.
assuming your parents aren't like mine, they'll understand

than you could stop eating things like fish or eggs!.!.!.
(from my pt!. view, eggs are meat cuz thats waht people are saying when the don't want abortion!)

eventually curve in on it and than stop

there are things that maybe you don't want to leave!.!.!. like dairy!. the cow isn't killed so yah

about the gelatin stuff!.!.!. idk!.!.!.

its true that vegetarian lifestyles are usually much healthier than the average americans' cholesteral guzzling diets!. you just have to make sure you get all your vitamins

i hope you parents support you cuz i do! =DWww@FoodAQ@Com

Start by visiting a Hare Krishna feast!. This is where I started and have been a vegetarian for over 12 years!. They sell the best cookbooks too!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Cutting meat out of your diest is a good way to start becoming vegetarian!.Www@FoodAQ@Com

Start with that delicious food known as onionWww@FoodAQ@Com

Vegetarian - don't eat anything with eyes or Gelatin (made from boiled animals) Vegetable or Kosher Gelatin is acceptable!.
That person earlier was wrong, you can eat eggs because they are unfertilized and would rot and be abandoned by the chicken if not eaten, so it is a by-product and not taking a life because there wasn't one in the egg first place!.

"Vegan" isn't just meat it's all!.!. I mean ALL animal products and by-products!. No leather, milk, honey, eggs, (non-veggie and non-Kosher) Gelatin or anything that had to do with an animal giving up something of theirs to feed or serve you!. Things other than food are considered vegan when they contain no animal products and aren't tested on animals!.

For every meat you eat there is a Vegetarian or Vegan alternative, that actually has less fat, more protein and vitamins!. Try Morning Star Farms vegetarian meat alternatives, they are the best!.
I cannot stress this enough! Take a multivitamin EVERY DAY!.
Some have gelatin in them, but most vegetarians consider this a necessary evil!.


As far as your parents, tell them exactly how you feel about eating meat and the endless health benefits, help them understand that this is something very important to you!.
And if you'd like, you could even offer to buy the food yourself with your allowance, babysitting, or chore money!.

I recommend:
http://www!.vegetariantimes!.com/Www@FoodAQ@Com

The first thing you need to do is decide how strict you are going to be!. A vegetarian by definition eats NO meat--this includes EGGS!. Considering that most baked goods contain eggs, you really need evaluate if you can give up eggs or not!.

That being said, most vegetarian's I know have a policy where if the egg cannot be seen (i!.e!. eggs in cakes, cookies and brownies) then they'll eat it, but they won't eat omlettes!.

I think you should not worry about telling your parents!. They should understand and respect your wishes!. You're not forcing THEM to change their eating habits, you're just altering your own!. Tell them you won't be picky and would just like your mom to include a bit more vegetables in your meals!.

You should also read about proper nutrition and foods/supplements you may have to take to replace the nutrients you're missing from meats!. A lot of people become anemic after becoming vegetarian, so you'd have to alter your diet accordingly!.

Your doctor should be able to give you great resources and insight to becoming a vegetarian!.

Good Luck! :)Www@FoodAQ@Com

wait!.!.!.!. so your not going vegan, vegetarian is the first step really okay here we go NO steak, pork, veal, chicken, fish, or anything mmkay good!? now after you stop eating any sort of meat you might go to a stricter vegetarian maybe into a loose vegan meaning no honey, eggs, milk, leather, ANYTHING that has come from an animal what I just explained is the vegan lifestyle, okay now you HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO HAVE TO EAT PROPERLY!!!!! to stay a healthy vegetarian mmkay this includes the main staple RICE AND BEANS make sure the means are not cooked in pig oil yuck! which most beans now a days are vegan including taco bell, many foods now are vegan/vegetarian friendly

Breakfast (Dry)
All-Bran
Alpha Bits
Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
Apple Jacks
Berry Burst Cheerios
Bran Flakes
Cap’n Crunch Peanut Butter Crunch
Cheerios
Cinnamon Crunch Crispix
Cinnamon Krunchers
Cinnamon Life
Cocoa Pebbles
Cocoa Puffs
Cocoa Rice Krispies
Complete Oat Bran
Complete Wheat Bran
Corn Chex
Corn Flakes
Corn Pops
Cracklin' Oat Bran
Crispix
Frosted Cheerios
Frosted Flakes
Fruit By the Foot
Fruit Harvest
Fruit Loops
Fruity Pebbles
Grape Nuts
Just Right
Kix
Life Cereal
Mueslix
Multi-Bran Chex
Multigrain Cheerios
Nature's Valley Granola Bars (Brown Sugar)
Pop Tarts (Unfrosted Apple Cinnamon)
Pop Tarts (Unfrosted Blueberry)
Pop Tarts (Unfrosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon)
Pop Tarts (Unfrosted Strawberry)
Quaker Apples and Cinnamon
Quaker Cinnamon and Spice
Quaker Date and Walnut
Quaker Oatmeal (Raisin)
Quaker Raisins and Spice
Raisin Bran
Reese's Puffs
Rice Chex
Rice Krispies
Trix
Wheat Chex


Beverages
Alpine Spiced Cider
Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate (Chocolate Hazelnut)
Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate (Chocolate Mocha)
Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate (Double Chocolate)
Ghirardelli Hot Chocolate (White Mocha)
Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate (Baking Cocoa)
Hershey Syrup (Chocolate)
Hershey Syrup (Strawberry)
Kool-Aid Drink Mix
Nescafe Ice Java Iced Coffee Syrup
Nestlé Nesquick Syrup (Chocolate)
Nestlé Nesquik Syrup (Strawberry)
Nestlé Nesquik Syrup (Very Vanilla)


Snacks
Airheads Taffy
Anna's Almond Cinnamon Thins
Anna's Ginger Thins
Archway Ginger Snaps
Blow Pops
Brach's Cinnamon Hard Candy
Brach's Orange Slices
Brach's Root Beer Barrels
Brach's Star Brites
Bremner Wafers
Brownstone Baking Co!. Mini Bagel Crisps (Garlic)
Carr's Table Wafer
Carr's Tea Biscuits
Charms lollipops
Chocolove Dark Chocolate bar
Chocolove Orange Peel (Dark Chocolate Bar)
Cracker Jacks
Cry Babies
Dem Bones
Dots
Dum Dums
Entenmann's Fudge Delights Fudge & Mint Cookies
Famous Amos Sandwich Cookies (Chocolate)
Famous Amos Sandwich Cookies (Oatmeal Macaroon)
Famous Amos Sandwich Cookies (Peanut Butter)
Famous Amos Sandwich Cookies (Vanilla)
Ferrara Wafer Swirls With Chocolate
Fireballs
Food Lion Animal Cookies
Food Lion Ginger Snaps
Food Lion Oatmeal Cookies
Food Lion Saltines
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Assorted)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Chocolate Creme)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Chocolate Fudge)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Double Creme-O's)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Duplex)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Mini Chocolate & Vanilla Cremes)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Peanut Butter)
Food Lion Sandwich Cookies (Vanilla)
Food Lion Snack Crackers
Food Lion Sugar Cookies
Fritos (Barbecue)
Fritos (Original)
Goldenberg's Peanut Chews
Grandma's Peanut Butter Sandwich Cremes
Hain Apple Cinnamon Rice Cakes
Herr's Salsa and Lime Tortilla Chips
Hot Tamales
Hubba Bubba Bubblegum
Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy)
Jujubees
Jujyfruits
Keebler Animal Crackers
Keebler Club Crackers
Keebler Vienna Fingers
Kettle White Popcorn
Kool-Aid Gels
Krispy Kreme Fruit Pies
Laffy Taffy
Lance Capitain's Wafers
Lance Choc-O Cookies
Lance Malt Crackers With Peanut Butter
Lance Nekot Cookies With Peanut Butter
Lance Nut-O Lunch Cookies (Peanut Butter)
Lance Nut-O Lunch Cookies (Strawberry Creme)
Lance Peanut Bar
Lance Sugar Wafers (Strawberry Creme)
Lance Sugar Wafers (Vanilla Creme)
Lance Toasty Crackers With Peanut Butter
Lance Van-O Lunch Cookies
Lay's Blue Corn Chips
Lay's Potato Chips (Natural Country Barbecue)
Lay's Potato Chips (Thick Cut Sea Salt)
Lay's Stax
Lay's WOW! Potato Chips
Lay's Yellow Corn Chips
Lemonheads
Lundberg Brown Rice Cakes
Mambas
Manischewitz Whole Wheat Matzo, Unsalted Matzo, and Savory Garlic Matzo
Mary Janes (regular and peanut butter kisses)
Melba Toast (Rye)
Melba Toast (Sesame)
Melba Toast (Wheat)
Mike and Ike
Munchos
Murray Butter Cookies
Murray Cinnamon Grahams
Murray Coconut Bars
Murray Southern Kitchen Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Murray Sugar-Free Vanilla Wafers
Nabisco Ginger Snaps
Nabisco Iced Oatmeal Cookies
Nabisco Oatmeal Cookies
Nabisco Original Graham Crackers
Nabisco Teddy Grahams (Chocolate and Cinnamon)
Nabisco Uh-oh Oreos, Spring Oreos, and Chocolate Creme Oreos
Nestle Double Chocolate Thin Mints
New York Flatbreads (Everything, Garlic, and Fat-Free)
Newman O's
Now and Later
Nutter Butter Bites
Panda Licorice
PezRing pop lollipops
Pure De-Lite Coconut Bars
Quaker Apple Cinnamon Rice Cakes
Ritz Regular Crackers
Ritz Whole Wheat Crackers
Sesame Royale Breadsticks
Smarties (U!.S!. version only)
Snackwells Cracked Pepper Crackers
Snyder's Jalapeno Pretzel Bites
Snyder's Pretzel Sticks (Pumpernickel/Onion and Oat Bran)
Sour Patch Kids
Soy Crisps (Barbecue, Deep Sea Salt, and Garlic Onion)
Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos
Stacey's Pita Chips (Baked and Taxarkana Hot)
Sun Chips Original flavor
Super Bubble
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts
Toasteds Crackers (Sesame and Wheat)
Town House Original Crackers
Triscuit Crackers (Original, Reduced Fat, Garlic Herb, and Roasted Garlic)
Triscuits
Tropical Source mini chocolate bags
Twizzlers
Utz Puffed Caramel Corn
Wasa Crispbread (Light Rye and Multi-Grain)
Wheat Thins (Original, Multi-Grain, and Reduced Fat)
Zesta Original Crackers
Zotz


Condiments
Arnold Premium Seasoned Stuffing
Betty Crocker Bac-o's Bacon Flavor Bits
Brianna's French Dressing
Brianna's Poppy Seed Dressing
Brianna's Santa Fe Blend Dressing
Campbell's Franco-American Mushroom Gravy
Classico Pasta Sauces (Roasted Garlic and Spicy Red Pepper)
Dona Maria Mole
El Paso Enchilada Sauce
Girard's Champagne Dressing
Girard's Italian Dressing
Girard's Original French Dressing
Girard's Raspberry Dressing
Hunt's Manwich Sauce
Kame Marinades (Red Chili)
Kame Marinades (Sweet Teriyaki)
Kame Marinades (Thai Coconut)
Kame Marinades (Wasabi with Ginger)
Kellogg's Corn Flakes Crumbs
Knorr Red Bell Pepper Pesto Sauce Mix
Kraft Balsamic Dressing
Kraft Catalina Dressing
Kraft Classic Italian Vinaigrette Dressing
Kraft Creamy Italian Dressing
Kraft Fat Free Italian Dressing
Kraft French Dressing
Kraft French Fries Seasoning
Lipton Recipe Soup and Dip Mix (Onion Mushroom)
Lipton Recipe Soup and Dip Mix (Onion)
Lipton Recipe Soup and Dip Mix (Vegetable)
McCormick Bac'n Pieces
McCormick Spaghetti Sauce Mix
Newman's Light Balsamic Dressing
Newman's Light Italian Dressing
Newman's Light Raspberry and Walnut Dressing
Newman's Olive Oil and Vinegar Dressing
Newman's Red Wine Vinaigrette and Olive Oil Dressing
Newman's Regular Balsamic Dressing
Old El Paso Taco Seasoning Mix
Pepperidge Farms Cubed Herb Seasoned Stuffing
Prego Mushroom Pasta Sauce
Ragu Pizza Sauce
Smucker's Goober Grape Peanut Butter


Baked Goods
Arnold's Carb-Counting Multi-Grain Bread
Arnold's Jewish Rye Bread
Arnold's Potato Sandwich Rolls
Arnold's Sesame Sandwich Rolls
Arnold's Stone Ground Whole Wheat Bread
Arnold's Wheat Sandwich Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Hoagie Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Jewish Rye Bread
Cobblestone Mill Kaiser Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Onion Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Party Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Pumpernickel Bread
Cobblestone Mill White Sub Rolls
Cobblestone Mill Whole Wheat Bread
Dutch Country Soft Potato
Dutch Country Whole Wheat
Krispy Kreme Fruit Pies (Apple)
Krispy Kreme Fruit Pies (Cherry)
Krispy Kreme Fruit Pies (Peach)
Little Debbie Cake Donuts
Pepperidge Farm Dark Pumpernickel Bread
Pepperidge Farm Rye and Pumpernickel Swirl Bread
Thomas New York Style Bagels (Blueberry)
Thomas New York Style Bagels (Cinnamon Swirl)
Thomas New York Style Bagels (Everything)
Thomas New York Style Bagels (Plain)
Thomas Toaster Bagels (Cinnamon Raisin)
Thomas Toaster Bagels (Plain)


Refrigerated and Frozen Foods
Anne's Flat Dumplings
Athens Phyllo Dough
Athens Phyllo Mini Shells
Calaro Guacamole
Edy's No-Sugar Bars
Edy's Whole Fruit Bars
Fleischmann's Light Margarine
Food Lion French Fries
Food Lion Hash Browns
Food Lion Restaurant Fries
Food Lion Seasoned Curly Fries
Food Lion Shoe String Fries
Food Lion Steak Fries
General Mills Italian-Style Vegetables
General Mills Roasted Potatoes with Garlic and Herbs
Lender's Bagels (Cinnamon Raisin)
Lender's Bagels (Onion)
Lender's Bagels (Plain)
Luigi's Italian Ice
Minute Maid Frozen Lemonade Bars
Mrs!. Smith's Deep Dish Pie Crust
Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Sheets
Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Shells
Pillsbury Cornbread Twists
Pillsbury Crescent Rolls
Pillsbury Turnover (Apple)
Pillsbury Turnover (Cherry)
Pinata Flour Tortillas
Safeway Whipped Cream (canned)
Simply Potatoes Diced Potato with Onion
Simply Potatoes New Potato Wedges
Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns
Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread
Smart Beat Super Light Margarine
Smart Squeeze Fat-Free Margarine
Smuckers Uncrustables Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly
Smuckers Uncrustables Peanut Butter and Strawberry Jam
SuperPretzel Baked Soft Pretzels


Baking
Aunt Jemima Coffee CakWww@FoodAQ@Com

Okay, there are three different types of vegetarians:
1!. Lacto-ovo-vegetarian - eats both dairy products and eggs but no other animal products including meat and fish!. This is the most common type of vegetarian diet!.
2!. Lacto-vegetarian - Eats dairy products but not eggs and no other animal products including meat and fish!.
3!. Vegan!. Does not eat dairy products, eggs, or any other animal product!.

also, if you're serious you should check the packets of foods to see if they're vegetarian, quite a lot of things like sweets/candy aren't suitable!.

You're right, vegetarians can quite often be healthier than meat-eaters, such as reduced risk of heart disease, adult-onset diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, and certain cancers occur less often in people who are vegetarian!. also, eating whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds provides the body with the ammunition needed to fight disease and illness and a diet high in meat, saturated fat, milk, cheese, and butter does not provide the same health benefits!.

However, you need to get all the right requirements!. For example, there's a lot of iron in meat, so vegetarians need to eat other foods which contain lots of iron to compensate!. Here's a page about vegetarian nutrition and which vegetarian foods contain which nutrients: http://www!.vegsoc!.org/info/basic-nutriti!.!.!.

also, here are some great vegetarian recipes to get you started!. Some these are so delicious, and I'm your parents would enjoy them too, so its something you could probably all eat:
http://www!.vegsoc!.org/cordonvert/recipes!.!.!.

My parents love meat as well, but I had no problem telling them, it's your choice, they can't force you to eat something you don't want to!. Just tell them!. If you also show them the research you've done and some of the recipes, they might be a bit more accepting!.

Hope I helped and enjoy your vegetarianism!Www@FoodAQ@Com





The consumer Foods information on foodaq.com is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions.
The answer content post by the user, if contains the copyright content please contact us, we will immediately remove it.
Copyright © 2007 FoodAQ - Terms of Use - Contact us - Privacy Policy

Food's Q&A Resources