I recently became a vegetarian what are some things I can and cannot eat?

Answer 1

It depends on how strict of a vegetarian you want to be. No vegetarians eat meat. Some eat fish. Some eat eggs and dairy, some don't. Vegetarians who abstain from fish AND dairy are called vegans. There are lots of soy products that you can eat to replace dairy--soy cheese, soy milk, etc.

Answer 2

Vegetarians eat a huge variety of things. Get to know what you like. Don't let anyone tell you what you can or can't eat. Make your own decisions based on your reasons for doing this.

Milk and eggs are eaten by some vegetarians, though they do have pretty high costs for the animals involved in the production, so it depends on your level of commitment to this.

You may find you read food lables MUCH more closely. Be careful What you find may horrify you! But - eating food closer to the source is best whether you are a veggie or not!

The vegetarian society has loads of stuff on its web-pages to help you... as do these others.

Answer 3

Don't listen to those that say you can eat fish and poultry - vegetarians don't. Check the labels on the products that you usually eat to make sure that they are suitable for vegetarians - most of them have a green V symbol. Quorn's a good source of protein for a vegetarian. Many products contain animal byproducts such as cheese, wine, beer so make sure you check carefully! Get yourself some vegetarian recipe books or look online to get some more ideas of what you can eat. Good luck with being a vegetarian!

Answer 4

Go to the Vegetarian web site www.vegsoc.co.uk it'll give you all the info you need. It is a bit of a mine field as you can see there's alot of sarcasm out there, Ie. Why did you become a veggie! i am not a Veggie but do understand why people do go that way especially when you start reading about the hormones pumped into animals for food and how much puss is allowed in milk, I find that I buy organics from sources I personally know, no meam feat in Essex I can tell you.

Answer 5

Vegetarians cannot eat meat, poultry or foods cooked with animal fat (watch out for chips and mincemeat). If you're vegan then no dairy or fish. For protein eat eggs (unless you're vegan), tofu (aka beancurd), pulses (beans), soya products (especially dried soya mince), fish (if you're not vegan), Quorn and dairy foods (unless you're vegan). A lot of Indian cuisine is vegetarian. Most foods are labelled as suitable for vegetarians or vegans if you look on the packet. Most restaurants label vegetarian dishes with a "V". But why become vegetarian if you don't know what to eat?

Answer 6

Hi,

congratulations.

Once you get used to the "hidden" ingredients you'll find it a lot easier as time goes by.

There are a ton of additives that are animal derivatives, you need to eaither rely on the pack sayings its veggie or learn them all !! Most Veggies rely on the pack. Stupid things like colouring in carrots...I ask you, who'd of thought that a tin of baby carrots wasn't veggie...of course it depends on the brand.

Veggie means you don't eat any meat, poultry fish or animal derivative that requires the death of the animal. Many veggies also steer away from products ( leather etc )...that makes sense to me.

If anyone tells you they are veggie but eat fish, then be clear they they are not veggie and confuse the issue for just about everyone. I even met someone who said she was veggie and only had meat with her Sunday Lunch.....

Also, much wine and ales ( beer/lager) is off the table - these are more difficult to identify as they don't lsit the ingredients, however many brewers are savvie to the veggie money and are happy to identify veggie coices for you.

Good luck, hope it all goes well for you.

Answer 7

Only you can decide what is right for you. There are some vegetarians that eat nothing that comes from animals. Eggs, cheese, milk, anything dairy even down to dairy additives in candy and processed foods. Some vegetarians eat fish, some don't. If you want to be that extreme then you can really only eat fruits and veggies. Anything soy you can have. Rice milk. Lots of nuts. There are tons of really great meat alternatives in soy now. Lots of soy burger and soy chicken.
Alot of what you decide to eat depends on where you live, and why you are becoming a vegetarian. Are there a wide variety of fresh fruits and veggies available to you year round? Are soy products easy to find in your area? Are there restuarants that accomadate a vegetarian diet?
If you are doing it to lose weight, don't. Its not a lifestyle that is easy to stick with. Switch to lean chicken, turkey and fish instead of beef, pork, or lamb. Meats contain a ton of great protein. Yes they have cholesteral, but there is so much protein in the lean meats that it outweighs the cholesteral aspect. Even if you still want to eat red meat, do it only once in a while. All meats however should be ORGANIC. There is no substitute for Organic food.
Your reasons for becoming a vegetarian need to be concrete and you need to feel strongly towards them. Willy nilly diet changes can really have a bad effect on your metabolism if you yo-yo.
The way you eat is totally up to you. If you want to only eat veggies and fruits then go for it. If you want to have fish or chicken once in a while, do it. If you want to drink milk and eat cheese, don't let anyone stop you. Its all up to you.

Answer 8

It depends on what kind of vegetarian you are. If you are a:

*Lacto-ovo-vegetarian; it means that aside from eating plant foods you still eat dairy and eggs.

*Lacto-vegetarian; it means you only eat plant foods (esp. soy and nuts as your source of protein) and dairy products.

*Ovo-vegetarian; it means that you eat plant foods and eggs. You can get your calcium from calcium-fortified cereals, dark leafy plant foods, and/or calcium supplement.

*Vegan; this is the hardest to be because you cannot eat eggs or dairy products, which are the best sources of protein and calcium you can get as a vegetarian. You must be more careful to get all the nutrients you need.

Also, there's no such thing as part vegetarian. If you eat fish, chicken, or any type if meat, you are not vegetarian. Hope this helps! =D

Answer 9

it depends why you became a veggie. im a veggie and i dont eat any meat or fish. watch out for sweets as A LOT contain gelatine even things like mint imperials. worscester sauce contains anchovies unless you get a specific veggie version as do some caesar salad dressings. but it depends on whether you eat fish or not.
vegans dont eat any animals or any animal products, its like the next stage of vegetarianism.

i eat dairy but i buy organic free range stuff as this means the chickens or cows are free to roam, not stuck in cages and fattened up using chemicals for the sole purpose of production.

quorn is great though, its mycoprotein which i think is like some sort of fungus. there are loads of sites with advice though and recipes just do a search. good luck!!

Answer 10

Depends on what kinds of vegetarian you are. Some vegetarians don't eat anything that comes from some sort of meat. For example, milk and cheese.

Others just dont eat meat, but eat eggs. Others don't eat eggs at all.

Answer 11

those who are saying you can eat fish and poultry haven't got a clue what they're talking about. Vegetarians DON'T eat meat at all,( this includes fish and poultry). there are lots of foods you can eat, look at the vegetarian society or viva website, they have a lot of info helpful to veggies. good luck.x