I want to become vegetarian...?

Question

Any tips on starting? I also want reasons why and what the benefits are. How do I make up in protein? Thankyou very much.

Answer 1

When first starting off, use the "veggie" meat substitutes as a sort of crutch. They really helped me. Sample the different brands and find which one you like. Personally, I LOVE everything Morningstar Farms makes. I hate Boca and Gardenburger, but others love it. It's all up to your individual tastes. But anyway, by using the imitation meats, you can still cook the same meals you're used to... just without meat. Then you can slowly learn new recipes (try the vegetarian section in allrecipes.com) and phase out the meat subs as they are fairly expensive.

I tried to go veggie several years ago and only lasted a couple weeks. I hated tofu and felt I had nothing to eat. However, 1 1/2 yrs ago, I tried again, using the meat substitutes... and I'm still going strong! YAY! I use far less "fake meat" than I used to... but I do still use it. It's a great source of protein and it helps make a meal seem more hearty. Good luck! Feel free to message me if you have any questions!

Answer 2

Congratulations on your new but healthy lifestyle choice. Though the first few days would be difficult and you might want to switch to meat again, but remember it is just in the beginning. Later you will see that you will have so many choices as a vegetarian that there will be no need to actually go for a non-veg diet.

Try eating out different cuisines just so you know your options. You can try

1. Mexican - Almost everything in mexican food can be made without meat. Try replacing meat with cheese and vegetables. So now you can have quesadilla but with cheese, squash, mushroom and brocolli. You can have enchiladas but not with chicken rather spinach.

2. Chinese - Soups, noodles and manchurian etc.

3. Thai - Try yellow curry with tofu, pad thai, noodles.

4. Indian - Again you can make anything vegetarian. Just tell them not to put any meat.

5. American - Pizzas (mushroom, cheese, bell pepper, onion), baked potatoes, pies.

For your protein requirement you can take beans, lentils, tofu, sprouts, milk, cheese, nuts, dried fruits, protein shakes (with no gelatin).

Remember everytime you are not eating meat, you are actually saving an animal from getting cut. With that good feeling in your heart enjoy your new and better diet.

Best of luck.

Answer 3

peanut butter, tofu, beans. Honestly consult with a doctor first. when I first became a vegetarian I got really sick and had to be hospitalized because I was mainly eating junk food as a replacement. Make sure you are getting the vitamins and nutrients you need. And start slowly, dont go from steak and burger one day to lettuce and broccoli the next, it'll mess up your system, slowly take meat out of your diet over the course of a few weeks replacing it with non meat products. some of the veggie burgers are actually good and offer protein. Trust me after a few weeks of eating more natural food and no meat you will feel better! just do it safely

Answer 4

I wouldn't recommend it. As you continue through your life, you will notice that most vegetarians look frail and unhealthy. I will tell you from experience that many of my vegetarian friends have serious health and emotional problems from lack of nutrients. For the sake of your health, do not deny your body the essentials. Humans are meant to have some sort of meat in the diet. The key is moderation.

Answer 5

I just started making veggie sandwhiches. To make up the protein eat peanuts, beans, and eggs. Those foods are also in the meat group. Start eating the veggies that you like and slowly start experimenting. I really didn't like most meat to begin with so my decision wasn't difficult. Benefits: you will be healthier because your taste for healthy foods will broaden instead of fatty meat, and you will be saving animals.

Answer 6

Congradulations on your healthy lifestye choice. Honestly the first four days were really hard. But once you get into it you learn about all the yummy alternitives to meat. I had things I never tryed at restraunaunts I go to all the time. It is a great experiance and I hope it all works out.

Answer 7

benefits is you'll live longer and you'll save lives, on average a person eats 120 animal per year, I feel better not eating another living thing.

the protein and B12 is your biggest concern, buy multivitamin and take it daily, as for protein very easy, eat tofu, eat soy beans, drink soy milk, eat baked soybean, eat peanuts, soybeans at my farmers market cost $2 per LB, I eat 1 handful perday and I got my protein needs in that 1 handful, same as eating meat, you need about 20-40 grams of protein perday, so read the lable of food you buy, good luck

Answer 8

Tips on starting...
- Load up on beans, tofu, and faux meat.
- Experiment with different food choices, for a vegetarian diet has much room for variety. You'll be surprised with what you can find.
- Maybe take a multi-vitamin to ensure you have the correct nutrients

And protein can be found in several things--beans, seeds, nuts, tofu, etc.... I don't think you should be too concentrated on that. Generally, people get enough protein if they have a varied diet.

Here's a vegetarian food pyramid:
http://www.vpul.upenn.edu/ohe/HealthLinks/vegetarian-pyramid.jpg

There's just about an endless amout of reasons of why to become vegetarian. There's a book that I read called "101 Reasons Why I'm a Vegetarian". I forgot who the author was, but I think it's very insight ful. It opened my eyes to so much more about the benefits of vegetarianism and whatnot.

Most vegetarians chose this lifestyle for the animals, the environment, their health, and for the economy. Animals can certainly suffer, and I believe it is unethical to take away their lives for such superfulus means. We don't need animals to survive in this day and age. We did in the earlier days, but now there has been such an expanssion on trade and the use of our resources. Because of this, we have the knowledge and resources to be healthy herbivores. The environment takes such a hit with meat production. Livestock does not only use our resources, but it destroys them in the process. Desertification due to soil erosion creates...deserts. Deforestation takes away trees and natural habitats for more room for death farms. Pollution due to methane release from cows contributes greatly to world hunger, and if I remember correctly, it's the main cause. Pollution from the waste products of the livestock also contaminates our water. Vegetarianism is also healthier, in general. Lower cholesterol and a lower risk of heart disease and cancer are beneficial due to vegetarianism. World hunger is also an issue that many vegetarians are concerned about. The most of the grain produced in the United States goes to feeding livestock, and it takes approximately 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat. Instead, we could feed the grain and soybeans to humans directly, instead of through the animals. This will give us less energy lost in the transfer of the food chain, and therefore giving us more food to feed more people.

Also, I found this website: http://www.jewishveg.com/schwartz/invest.html
Here are some good lines from it:

"Vegetarianism is a great investment in a cleaner, more sustainable world, because modern intensive animal agriculture is a significant contributor to soil erosion and depletion, air and water pollution, widespread use of pesticides and other chemicals, the destruction of tropical rain forests and other habitats, and global warming. What is the value of a large house and other assets if one does not have a decent planet on which to enjoy them?

Vegetarianism is a great investment in a more peaceful, less violent world, because animal-centered diets, by wasting valuable resources, help to perpetuate the widespread hunger and poverty that eventually lead to instability and war. What is the value of extensive financial assets in a world plagued with war and violence?

Vegetarianism is a great investment in ourselves, in our health, since animal-centered diets have been directly linked to heart disease, several forms of cancer, strokes, and other degenerative illnesses. No matter how successful one's financial investments, what good are they if one lacks the good health to enjoy them?

Vegetarianism is a great investment in a more humane world, because animals are raised for food today under cruel conditions, in crowded, confined cells, where they are denied fresh air, exercise, and any fulfillment of their basic needs."

Best of luck!

Answer 9

You should be a veggie to help stop factory farming. It is much healthier too.

Answer 10

You should do some research before you make a lifestyle change of this magnitude. Read, read, read!