Vegitarian?

Question

I've ALWAYS wanted to be a vegitarian. NOT vegan. But it's hard!!!!! I need help on what to do.

Like What do I eat (that's good .NO Tofurky!)

What do I do to stay healthy? I heard of heath risks for my age. I'm 13.

What do I accomplish Besides not killing a poor defensce-less animal!??!!

Answer 1

well you'll need to talk to a doctor. but some good sources of protein are beans and nuts. and some brands of veggie burgers are actually very good. really, though, it'll be a lot of work. your doctor can give you a plan of how much of different nutrients etc you'll need and you'll have to carefully keep track and make sure you're getting all your nutrition. also fastfood runs with friends will be harder. eating out anywhere will be hard. you'll have to make sure to ask at every restaurant to make sure that all your ingredients are vegetarian friendly and never touched anything that touched meat.
but really, it's worth it. hard work, but worth it. the only real health risks are if you don't keep up your nutrition that you'd normally get from meat and if you decide to go back to meat, you'll have to be careful because it can really shock your system after a long period without it.
oh, you also might need to take vitamin supplements and don't forget that gelatin is made from animal bones, so anything jello or gummy is out.

Answer 2

You need to educate yourself way beyond the scope of what we can do here. Go to a website like www.vegweb.com. Or go to your library and find a book called Becoming Vegetarian.

"I've ALWAYS wanted to be a vegetarian. NOT vegan. But it's hard!!!!! I need help on what to do"

- I don't really think it's hard, but I'm not 13.

"Like What do I eat (that's good .NO Tofurky!)"

-Vegatables, fruits, grains, beans, nuts, seeds.

"What do I do to stay healthy?"

-Eat all of the above things daily if possable, and make sure you get enough caliroes. If you still going to eat eggs and dairy this should be pretty easy.

"I heard of heath risks for my age. I'm 13."

- As long as you don't eat nothing but crap, untrue.

"What do I accomplish Besides not killing a poor defensce-less animal!??!!"

- Well, you gain better health, weight loss, and more energy. If you cut out dairy as well you may end up with better skin, and be able to consintrate better at school. You'll also most likely get sick less.

Good luck, and make sure you find a good book.

Edit:

@ lucy, the need for protein combining was disproved going on what, like 30 years ago? As long as you eat a balanced diet with sufficient calories Vegetarians and Vegans have very little to worry about when it comes to protein.

Answer 3

Don't knock tofurky... Quorn makes a very good Turkey substitute. Boca and Morning Star Farms both make excellent "mock meat" products that are high in protein, and better for you than fatty meats, and better for the animals that are not killed.
Speak to you doctor, and keep searching the internet for good nutrician information, or the library.
Good luck

Answer 4

Vegetarianism is easy Just don't eat meats...
Eat alot more fruit than meat eaters do and also for the Iron eat the red foods like beets
and swiss chard. There is a fruit that contains Iron.. it is red.. that's tomatos.. Also eat plenty of orange foods pumpkins, squash, turnips, yams. Also don't forget cereals, grains, beans, greens. Vegetarians can eat dairy products if they wish.. eggs, cheese, milk!
U can get a good book from your local library
on Becoming a Vegetarian!

Answer 5

You need specific nutrients for your body---especially foods that are high in calcium. Aside from that, the whole point of not being a meat eater is to replace the specific protein that is found in meat. That is the most difficult part. There are proteins in most plants, but not all of them have the right combination of proteins needed to create the necessary proteins you need...you will find that you will have to think ahead and combine certain foods together in one meal to get the right balance, etc. There are 20 different kinds of amino acids...8 of which must be in your regular diet. Here is a protein fact sheet that you can look at...

http://www.vegsoc.org/info/protein.html

You will find that you will also have to consume food rich in Vit.C(like fruit) with foods with the right protien combinations for digestion purposes. That is one reason why people consume juice with eggs.

Good luck and have fun searching for foods that you enjoy!

Answer 6

hey im vegetarian too i became vegetarian when i was 12 its easy peta2 and goveg .com really help me alot and i have to take multi vitamins daily and iron supplement[[so i can have my period i missed my period for 4 months because i went veg]] ands o eat meat supplements [[morning star is the best brand]] like chicken niggets and veggie burgers which are delicious yummy yummy and below are some websites to help you go veg.

Answer 7

don't stress about it too much, it's a lot easier than you think. =) anything you do to speak out against animal cruelty is great. start slowly, eliminate the meats you don't eat much of anyway and take time to get used to your new diet. try this website: http://www.goveg.com/index.aspx it is very helpful for people just starting out on being a vegetarian. they will even send you a free vegetarian starter kit if you want one, and they have recipes and alternatives to meat and tons of other good info for vegetarians. good luck! you are making a wonderful choice =)

Answer 8

Indian food is rich in a variety of vegetarian recipes. Explore them. You will also get a greater variety of beans and pulses in Indian stores.

Another Indian secret: turmeric is a very effective anti-bacterial agent. Use it to wash vegetables you intend to eat raw (salads).

Answer 9

You can find a huge variety of vegetarian foods in Indian cuisine, Chinese, Italian and Greek ...

Answer 10

I'm a semi-veggie and I eat fish but other den dat i eat a lot of beans. I'm 12 and just eat enough protein like protein bars and such.