What type of vegetarian should I be? What will I eat?!

Hey, it's all about deciding what feels right for you. If you're comfortable eating dairy, eggs and fish then it sounds like becoming a pescatarian may be the way to go.

If you do decide to give up all meat then foods like beans and tofu make great replacements in the meals you're used to having with meat.

As with any eating plan it's important to make sure you get a wide range of foods to ensure you're getting all the necessary nutrients. For each meal have at least one portion of complex carbs, protein and either fruit or vegetables. The more variety the better.

Sticking to as natural foods as possible like grains, nuts, vegetables, pulses etc is a good idea since these are generally really good for you.

If you do decide to go vegan then soya milk is a great substitute. Tofu also makes a good egg replacement in things like scrambled eggs.

Good luck with it.

x

Vegan

I would go vegan if you truely care about the animals. Watch some videos of how dairy cows and their calves are treated and you wont want to drink milk. Milk is also incredibly unhealthy and actually PREVENTS calcium absorption. Do some research.

Becoming a vegetarian and still eating eggs cheese, milk, unless you're the owner of a known friendly farm with 4 cows- you'll be making those cows in factories produce your milk, and those chickens give you eggs- the ones with no beaks or feet- they've been cut off.

Almond milk is much nicer than cow milk in my opinion- it's creamy tasting and fresh and not acidic and phlemmy like milk is. It's not a sour aftertaste either.
Soymilk is the same, walnut milk, rice milk, oat milk and bean milk. There are milks for any nut, bean and some other grains too- you can get them all any supermarket, but a good Thai, Chinese or Asian market will have tons more varieties- black bean milk, hazelnuts milk etc.
Soymilk is great though,

For cheese- there are loads of soycheeses, almond cheese and other nut cheeses.
Also, miso paste is a very good cheesey tastng fermented soybean preparation- it's the base for miso soup, I use it like a spread. I eat it from the packet, just like cream cheese I guess- but the taste is really sharp and tangy, like sharp cheddar.


Eggs- meh, I never loved them either. I use soft tofu and scramble it, for eggy tasting scrambled tofu- add curry powder, or chili and it's really eggy in texture and taste too.



Pescatarians can eat milk eggs, cheese and fish meat. It's not a vegetarian, It's a meat eater.

Going in to a healthier MUCH cleaner fresher diet will make you feel and look your best if you do it RIGHT.
RIGHT eating.

Plant proteins are the healthiest proetins- no cholesterol EVER in plant food.

Soybeans- tofu , soymilk soyyoghurt,soynuts
Lentils, chickpeas- LOADs of protein, no fat, all fibre, great foods. The best food- healthy and CHEAP.
Fava beans, split peas, green beans, okra, pinto beans, black beans, white beans- ALL BEANS.
Hummous bean paste, mashed beans etc. SO MUCH PROTEIN. All of the above foods have vitamins which meat dies not.

Spinach , broccoli , kale, collards, avocado- soybeans, tofu, ALL soy and beans, have huge amounts of iron too. And b12 in the leafy green veg and other veg like leeks, onions, potatoes.
Humans make b12 easily from foods grown in soil- the bacteria is the thing with the b12 and a grain of soil does it- eat healthy spinach like organic and stuff. All the foods above have many things meat does not- vitamins, fibre, and no cholesterol.
Once meat is cooked, the vitamin content is low, and the protein content is very low, as even lightly cooked meat becomes hardened and rubbery in texture- it forms chunks which solidify the protein, and it becomes insoluble. Even putting cooked meat in a vat of vinegar won't break the meat down much- so the cooked nutrients for meat are rarely addressed and it's not like the great amount of protein and iron you're reading about.

All veg can be eaten raw ( but not kidney beans), but meat cannot.

Go for it, it's a much much nicer life.

It might be easier to start eating fish, eggs and dairy and then move to vegan if that's what you want. You could try to be vegan at home and then give yourself some wiggle room when not cooking for yourself. I think a lot of food has dairy in it, so when eating out, it may be difficult. (I have a co-worker who is vegan. She sent back some steamed veggies because they had butter on them. Butter is in so much food!) Most restaurants have something without meat, but letting yourself eat cheese/dairy or fish will give you more options.

I am not a vegan. I do eat fish, dairy and eggs. I would recommend almond milk as a replacement for regular milk. It's so delicious. I recommend Almond Breeze brand. (Basically any brand but SIlk's Pure Almond, which I think is way too thick in consistency.) I also tend not to eat eggs. I eat those Egg Beaters -- they are derived from real egg, but only the egg whites. Vegans would dispute that's any better, but whatever. It's healthier at least.

Emphasize beans/legumes. If you want to start eating tofu, that's fine. I personally do not enjoy it. I think beans are an important part of being a vegetarian. They have lots of protein, but also lots of fiber but none of the cholesterol and saturated fat that meat has. You can have vegetarian chili, burritos with rice and beans, tons of Indian dishes (chana masala, vegetable korma, curried lentils), falafel (so effing good), baked beans, black bean burger patties, bean soups, etc. Anything Amy's sells is good too -- amys.com/products

Basically, you want to eat according to the Harvard Eating Pyramid. Just leave out the meat parts, substitute beans and tofu, go light on the dairy, and go for it.

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsou…

- What sort of foods do I need to emphasis on to receive all the protein

Most Americans and Europeans eat far to much protein. Dump the meat, skip any eggs that you can see, eat beans, some tofu, and a small amount of dairy (preferably the no-fat kind).

- and vitamins I need

A multi-vitamin is all you need, with perhaps a vitamin D supplement. Dietary supplements mostly exist to enrich their makers, and some are not good quality as this recent example shows.

"Irwin Naturals enters $2.65 million settlement. Irwin Naturals, of Los Angeles, CA, has agreed pay $2.65 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the District Attorneys of Orange, Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Solano, and Sonoma counties. The suit, filed about two years ago, charged that the company:

Violated Proposition 65, which requires a warning label on products that expose the consumer to over half a microgram of lead per day.

Laboratory testing revealed that certain Irwin Naturals products, Green Tea Fat Metabolizer and Green Tea Fat Burner, contained over half a microgram of lead.

Samples of the company's System Six and Green Tea Fat Meltdown dietary supplements tested up to 10 times over the legal limit of lead and Green Tea Fat Burner tested over 14 times over the legal limit of lead."

http://www.ncahf.org/digest11/11-08.html

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=9…

Why don't you eat what YOU are comfortable with and not worry about what a label says you can or cannot eat.