what foods should i eat and what should i stay away from?!

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My suggestion is buy the frozen veggie burgers/chicken burgers by morning star. About $3-4 boxw/4 in them. Add lots of lettuce,tomato,pickle for taste and toast bun.

I like a toasted wheat bagel with lettuce, tomato and pickles,pepper.

Its ironic you ask as there's a TON of vegetarian meat substitutions that by most criteria are much healthier for you. Just to name a few meat substitutions:

-tofu (comes in different levels of firmness, multiple ways to use it)
-soy meat (almost tofu but shaped and "flavored" to resemble various meats) like bacon, burgers, chicken, ham, salami, etc.
-beans (black, lima, navy, split pea, etc) can provide meat alternatives
-nuts (almond, peanut butter, etc). I enjoy snacking on cinnamon covered almonds from my farmer's market mmm
-seeds. pumpkin seeds are incredibly healthy and very high in protein. sunflower seeds are good as well.

As far as other stuff to eat
-veggies
-fruits
-mushrooms
-grains,oats, etc
-pasta

If you're a lacto-ovo vegetarian (meaning you eat dairy and egg as well), there's
-dairy (eggs, cheese, ice cream, etc) Although warning, some contain rennet! They usually mention when its not animal-derived rennet. Unfortunately I've discovered most forms of havarti cheese contain rennet :(
-eggs (I try to buy cage free but even many of those farms can treat chickens badly. so do your research or many cities let you own one!)


STUFF TO AVOID:

-I'm a candyholic but unfortunately many varieties contain animal-derived ingredients. Avoid eating candies that contain:
gelatin- its ground up animal bones/ligament and found in many gummy candies.
carmine - this dye is achieved by grinding up insects. Yes, you may be eating a red candy that is colored from squished bugs. ew.
Also, Mars candy tests on animals, which includes Starburst, M&Ms, Twix, and many other notable types. The company that makes Swedish Fish and Sour Patch kids I believe doesnt do animal testing nor contains gelatin or carmine. I've also heard brachs doesnt do animal testing but I would read the back label of ingredients as it might contain the gelatin or carmine.
Hersheys doesnt test on animals : )

-refried beans (such as the pinto beans in burritos). depending on where you get them from, they may be cooked in pork grease. I believe the Taco Bell burritos are vegetarian.

-many fried foods are cooked in animal lard. ask your restaurant if they do.

-some baked goods contain lard. I'm looking at you, snickerdoodle cookies. Well, at least the version I saw

I found various internet searches to be helpful when I turned vegetarian. All the information you need is already online. If you would like help, you can always go to a nutritionist.

moi

stay away from everything made with white flour.also cut down on fast foods and junk foods.wikipedia, the free online eencyclopedia has information

on fast foods at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fast_food

on junk foods at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Junk_food

on vegetarianism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetariani…

on veganism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veganism

and on raw veganism at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raw_veganis…

for recipes use the one-word-a-search-idea such as: bread, cereal, breakfast, lunch, sandwich, snacks, dinner, casserole, souffle, raw, desserts, and smoothies in the search box of the following websites:

vegetarian times at http://www.vegetariantimes.com

and veg web at http://vegweb.com

for information on alternatives to fast food places as well as information on the health food stores in and around the area where you live go to happy cow at http://www.happycow.net

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.vegetariantimes.com

http://vegweb.com

http://www.happycow.net

Breakfast:
- Oatmeal, add nuts, berries, seeds
- Cereal or granola w/milk or yogurt
- Toast w/nut butter
- Bagel w/cream cheese
- Tofu scramble

Lunch/Dinner:
- Salad, there's so many different kinds
- Sushi w/vegetables and/or cream cheese
- Jacket potato
- Stir-fries
- Sweet potato w/cinnamon
- Grilled cheese
- Soup
- Pasta w/tomato or alfredo sauce
- Macaroni and cheese
- Stuffed peppers
- Rice
- Tofu/Tempeh/Seitan
- Grilled vegetables

There's tons of options. Good luck! :)
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