What's the best way to go vegetarian?

Question

I've been readin on all the horrible things meat can cause to your body, and I'd like to eat less of it, but vegetarian and organic foods can be sooo expensive. Any sugestions?

where do you find boca burgers or morningstars, and what exactly are legumes?

Answer 1

Here are tips:

1. Take your time - my journey from meat eater took about a year.
2. Start out using some basic substitutes for the meat you are used to in foods where you won't even notice - ground meat replacements are available in the frozen food sections.
3. Leave meat off things that don't need it - pizza, salad, spag, etc.
4. Get some good cookbooks when you are ready to branch into more interesting foods - Moosewood books and New Farm Vegetarian are two of my favorites.
5. If you are worried about what to eat check out the book "Diet for a New America" it will cover many of the health questions.

A good start is to pick one or two nights a week as "veggie" night. Then work your way from there stopping wherever you feel most comfortable which might be 2 nights a week or 7 nights a week up to you.

Answer 2

Well first of all, somebody else has already said this, but its organic food that is more expensive, not vegitarian, you don't ave to eat organics to be a vegitarian.

Boca burgers and morningstar products can be found in the frozen foo section of most grocery stores and although they don't taste exactly like the real stuff they're still pretty good.

Eating a vegitarian diet really isn't hard, just cut out the meat, there are lots of alternitives- all you need to do is have good self-discipline.

Answer 3

organic foods are more expensive, but vegetarian is not. Simply replace meat with beans, legumes,. lentils (all cheap) or meat substitutes such as boca burger or morningstar. You will feel better for it in the long run. I was crippled when I ate meat, now I am perfectly fine. Meat is loaded with growth hormones, steroids, and antibiotics that are used to counter the horrid living conditions and diseases prevalant among the animals, and it all ends up in the meat. Good luck on your healthy journey.

Answer 4

I think each person is different and should find their own way. But what I did was go gradually.
First, I gave up pork and shellfish (the non-kosher stuff - I was into Judaism at the time anyway).
But when I decided to become vegetarian I slowly gave up different meats over monthly intervals beginning with beef, then chicken, then fish, but I chose to be lacto-ovo, so I stuck it out with the eggs and dairy.
I'm vegetarian for Ahimsa (ethical/spiritual reasons) so strictly speaking I'm trying to avoid the unneeded slaughter of these animals for indulgence in one of the "deadly sins" (not that I believe in sin mind you).
Some of the vegetarian "alternatives" to meat can be expensive. I would suggest, if you feel you have to have them, sticking with the cheaper varieties such as Boca and Morning Star products, or you could make them yourself. There are easy to find recipes on this matter.Or you could simply stick with straight-up grains, veggies, fruits, nuts...

Answer 5

Hey Crazy Fool. We have got to stop meeting like this. ;)

Yeah, so check out the frozen section for the Morning Star and Boca products. Then go look at the frozen veggies and fruits. Veggies make a good and cheap side dish or you can make a stir-fry. Frozen fruits are good to make into smoothies, add some protein powder to make up for the less protein you will be getting through meat. or fruit can be added to plain and inexpensive yogurt. Energy bars like Cliff are good between meals and they have lots of vitamins (they cost about $1 each)
Dont under estimate a good salad. You can make them interesting. Ingredients like lettuce (dont go all iceberg- I use a mix of iceberg, redleaf, spinach, etc because the darker leaves have the vitamins), broccoli, carrots, celery, cucumbers, tomatoes and olives are good and you can buy them all for under $10 and you can make several salads. I also like to buy bell peppers because colors are good for your diet, but those can get a little more expensive. When shopping for produce, dont buy the pre-packaged stuff (lettuce in bags, wrapped up brocolli, etc- these are huge rip offs because the packaging costs more that the actual produce inside) Then be sure to add your favorite croutons and dressing. If you feel like being adventurous, I know people who put pine nuts and craisins on their salads.
Dont worry about going 100% organic. When you can find a good deal on organic food, buy it, but its ok if you can't always do it. A food that I always like to get organic is bananas because they are like 40 cents a lb regular but only 60 cents a lb for organic and they make an easy snack. Very cheap!
Another inexpensive vegetarian meal is pasta. There are now the whole wheat kind and the kind made with vegetables (and you cant even taste the wheat or veggies!). By trying different sauces, you can make pasta more fun.
Lastly, do you have a yard? You could consider growing vegetables like tomatoes, carrots, lettuce, corn, peppers, cucumbers, etc. If you plant them and take care of them, then you'll know they are organic! At your local nursery, baby plants will cost about $5-10 each or you can buy seeds (for next to nothing). Most of these plants are easy to take care of and as they mature, they will drop their seeds, bringing new plants (called "volunteers") the next year. So, it's usually a one-time investment. Let me know if you have any questions! Good Luck.


Ah! I almost forgot. You should be taking a daily multi-vitamin if you are not already. They will help round out your nutrition and fill in any gaps left from your veg diet. There are so many options and brands but you can get a month's (or more) supplies for under $10.

Answer 6

Just eliminate all animal-derived ingredients and products, and substitute grains, fruits, veggies, legumes, etc. etc.

As for cost: All food is pricier than it should be; that's just fact. What you save by not purchasing meat-fish-fowl, you'll spend on rice-pasta-beans/fruits-veg. Be sure to avail yourself of plain, old frozen vegetables (not sauced up with cheesy gunk: yecccch); they're not usually more expensive, and they're convenient.

You are gonna feel so much better (physically and spiritually) that you're gonna wonder why you didn't go veg sooner. Congrats and much luck.

Answer 7

Iget my boca burgers at costco. I've see Morningstar at Giant Food. Legumes are beans, lentils, peanuts, stuff like that

Answer 8

Legumes are beans:) Hit up Trader Joe's if you can, there is a ton of veggie/organic stuff there for CHEAP!!!!!!!!! Whole Foods had all that stuff too but it costs a billion dollars. I eat a lot of Luna Bars to get extra vitamins and protein. And, duh, silly, the best way to go veg is to stop eating meat! Lifelight (IMO) has the tastiest meat replacements, ooh and moringstar has tasty "corndogs"..I mean it's summer, you gots to have a corn dog! Best of luck...just don't go living on cheese, k? That's no way to go veg! Also...make friends with Hummus- my favorite vegan snack!

Answer 9

start eating veggies more and more each day instead of meat

Answer 10

best way? theres no strategy involved stop using animal products....