How to be a vegetarian in a meat eating family?!

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First off, vegetarians don't eat fish. They don't eat any meat (fish, chicken, beef, pork, ect).
If you want to become a vegetarian, you really should just do it. Waiting and worrying about what others think about your decision will probably make you change your mind. There will always be people who support you, and there will always be people who are completely against it and disgusted with your decision.
I'd first recommend doing some research. Choose the type of vegetarian you'd like to become. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are the most popular. They don't eat meat (including fish), but they do eat dairy products and eggs. The vegetarian pyramid is very useful: http://www.vegetariannutrition.org/food-…
Make sure you're eating a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts/seeds, grains, beans, ect. Don't consume too many carbohydrates. Many vegetarians actually gain weight in the beginning because they eat too many carbs. I'd recommend keeping track of what you're eating for the first couple of weeks, aiming for 2000 calories and no more than 200 carbs.
Once you feel you know what you're doing, approach your family in a calm and educated manner. Be prepared to defend yourself. Pick a right time to have a serious talk about your decision. One, big formal discussion is better than arguing about it every other day for 3 minutes.
And honestly once you get used to it, it's not that hard. It's pretty easy to adjust to.
Congrats on going veg!

You actually aren't a vegetarian if you eat fish. You'd be considered a pescitarian who don't eat any meat, but still eat fish.

As for telling them, just simply state that you want to be a pescitarian. If they ask you why then state your reason while telling them what they do in the slaughtering houses. It might also help to give your family examples of vegetarians who aren't tree hugging hippies.

Just make up your mind, and do it. You might have to cook for yourself. Get those beginners vegetarian cook books. Make sure that you are getting enough protein, or you will suffer. When you educate yourself, you can answer your family's rude remarks by telling them how it's better for you to eat vegetarian. Vegetarians have been around a lot longer than hippies and tree huggers.
You can also be a partial vegetarian and not eat mammals. Try that out, it might work. that leaves birds and fish. less cholesterol. I think.

being a hippie. And a lot of us ate a lot of meat!!

well i am a vegetarian i just said to my family i have chose to be a vegetarian you should say the same thing but also say if you dnt like my decision to bad live with it you cant make me and if they really dnt care then you should eat rice and salads and BTW vegans can eat FISH!!!!!!!!!!!!!


oh yeah i am a HIPPIE so what!

If your family all think vegetarians are hippies then you could educate them. Tell them about all the successful vegetarians and historical figures. The vegetarian athletes. Show them the labels on vegetarian foods showing how much iron and protein they can have.

As for recipes, I look up most of mine online. There are literally millions of recipes to find and they all are free. I have bought cookbooks and regretted buying them because I didn't use them enough.

Aww poor animals... look, animals have been killed for their meat for millions of years, starving yourself of needed vitamins and minerals just because you feel sorry for the poor piggies and cows won't change anything. You only live once, so you'll starve yourself of things your body needs all for the sake of animals who will die anyway. Get over it.

These articles should help :)

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/3-good-reasons-to-stay-vegan-that-only-vegans-know-about/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/explain-veganism-to-your-grandmother-in-3-easy-steps-2/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/practicing-peaceful-activism-tips-on-avoiding-arguments-with-non-vegans/
http://www.onegreenplanet.org/lifestyle/5-tips-on-how-to-be-a-happy-vegan/

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/

tell your parents
take baby steps; its not easy
eleimate red meat then poultry

i wudd recommend beginners book and don't forget your multi-vitamins :)
good luck :P hope i helped (:

Say "I'm a vegetarian and if you don't accept it then that's just too bad."

If what you are eating has eyes and a butt, then you aren't a vegetarian. The "I'm a vegetarian, I only eat fish" thing is incorrect. You could say "I don't eat warm blooded animals", which assumes you don't eat poultry or mammals. But, please, if you are going to eat fish, don't call yourself a vegetarian.

Anyway, you didn't say how old you are. Being a young vegetarian in a non-vegetarian family is difficult as you probably aren't paying for, or shopping for the food. If you really are a vegetarian, then you have to make sure you get your protein, which can be difficult.

There are lot of vegetarian books out there, but please do your research. Failure to get proper nutrition at an early age can have life long negative effects.

Thank you for considering vegetarianism. That was the best choice I ever made - and I come from a Polish family, where meat was eaten three times a day and "a meal wasn't a meal without meat." I was 11 when I told my family I wanted to stop eating animals and they thought I was crazy, called me names, etc but let me do it. Eventually, they went vegetarian too, though, after seeing how healthy and delicious my meals were compared to their greasy, carcass-y meals :) So don't give up. Your family is just misinformed about vegetarianism right now.

Check out this video for ideas on how to go vegetarian: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HABVCDJzW…

This is a wonderful site for recipes: http://vegweb.com/

Best of luck to you! :D Becoming vegetarian can be fun and like I said, I love it!

I COMPLETEY UNDERSTAND THE SITUATION YOU ARE IN! i am 13 and i USED to be vegan. my parents MADE me stop. well before i started, i was doing the same as you (i.e learning more about slaughter houses, nutrition etc) and i really wanted to be vegan. so just go up to them and say "mom/dad I don't want to eat meat anymore. i am starting to find it very gross and i would like to be a vegan/vegetarian"

I can relate to you because I went vegetarian while being amoungs meat eaters. It's not easy... I didn't mean to be disrespectful at all but there were a few incidences where I unintentionally attacked others and vise versa regarding the matter. I felt and still feel really strongly that I made a good choice and I wanted to share my view on the health of the planet and ourselves. There's a book called "Eating for Beauty" by David Wolfe that I just adore. It's very enlightening on the topic of "how we really should eat" and it's a beautiful book to keep and share with others!! I am however not an extreme raw foodest or Vegan. I take into consideration everything I learn and I decide what's best for me. I eat about 70% raw food (raw nuts, raw organic veggies and fruit) But I still eat small amounts of goat cheese, (no cow dairy) free range eggs and seafood. If you educate yourself about the meat industry (I don't recommend talking about slaughter houses while someone else is digging into a steak! - they will attack you) and if you learn to express yourself in a way that is consise, educated and logic then people will accomodate you. When I go to my parents house for dinner, my mom now cooks me a piece of salmon intead of their lamb or whatever. Or I will just skip the meat and just have veggies and I make sure that my next meal has a good portion of quality protein. Another book I recommend is "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer, another eye opener! Here's a list of foods I recommend you explore. : )

Hemp Milk (yummiest veg milk!)
Hemp hearts (complete protein - very tasty over salads)
Spirulina (Supersuperfood - best source of veggie complete protein - amazing in smoothies)
Sprouts (Beautifiers!! sunflower sprouts are the best! - maybe look into growing different kinds which is much cheaper than buying them)
avocadoes (quality fat and some protein)
Quinoa!! SO easy to make - takes less time than rice - and it goes with absolutely everything! and soo good for you. This grain has more protein than any other grain, along with minerals and vits.
lentils (excellent source of iron and protein - tasty with curry, garlic and onions)