how to eat healthy as a new vegetarian?

Question

How can I eat healthy as a new vegetarian.I have been vegetarian for couple of months but it seems like I can't get then hang of eating healthy.I have been eating like tv and dinners and don't eat the meat or grilled chesse sandwhich.For a while mostly just junk food(cuz I am home all day cuz of summer).How can I get the hang of eating healthy.I never did have a great eating habits when I did eat meat.How can I eat healthy as vegetarian

Answer 1

You should be eating grains(pasta, bread, rice, cereal), legumes(beans, peas, lentils, soy and meat analogs), fruit and vegetables. http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
I recommend that you eat junk food as little as possible. You shouldn't even need a little bit everyday.

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I'm vegan and these are some of my favorite things to eat:

Breakfast: bananas, cream of wheat with brown sugar and soy butter, cereal, pancakes or french toast with real maple syrup, vegan "sausage" patties, smoothies.

Lunch: VEGAN "SAUSAGE" SANDWICHES, sandwiches with vegan deli slices(Tofurkey is the only one that's kinda funky), fruit, dinner leftovers, couscous salad, vegan sushi, potato or pasta salad.

Dinner: sloppy joes, "sausage" and gravy with homemade biscuits, Spaghetti and Trader Joe's "meatballs" or TVP, lasagna, Thai pad see ew, pad khi mao(drunkard's noodles), tofu+eggplant with basil sauce, yellow thai curry with tofu or vegan chikn and veggies and jasmine rice, Indian dal with homemade roti or dosai, channa masala, aloo gobi, vegetable or minestrone soup, pizza, STEAMED "PORK" BUNS with potstickers or spring rolls

I use these sites to find recipes:
http://www.foodnetwork.com
http://vegweb.com
http://www.recipezaar.com

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If you are become a lacto-ovo vegetarian, the transition should be quite simple. Almost all meats have widely available commercial replacements. All that you have to do is replace any flesh in your diet (beef, pork, poultry, seafood) with meat analogs or just leave it out altogether.

You should keep in mind that a journey such as this can be quite short but should just be the beginning of a longer one to a plant-based diet with no animal products. This is because of the reality of factory farming in which animals that are kept alive to produce milk, eggs, etc suffer much more and longer than animals that are raised to a certain weight and then slaughtered.http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/
http://meat.org
Some people use the word "vegan" in reference to this idea, but be aware that that applying that label to yourself should always come with the inclusion of wise activism and advocacy.http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/index.html
Two extremely important examples of this are that you should never speak to someone about vegetarianism/veganism without their consent and genuine interest or as a comment on what they are eating AND your dietary beliefs should never be used as an introduction or explanation of who you are as a person. Veg*ism should be something that comes up AFTER people get to know you and they offer you a situation that makes it confusing to withhold the information/dicussion. Also, if you are presented something that you choose not to eat or you are
ordering food/eating together somewhere/picking the best place to eat.

When you you hold off on the subject until it's necessary and then act like it isn't a big deal at all, people are usually surprised and WAY more interested and curious than if you were to bring it up when someone's eating or just using it as a conversation starter.

Just to clear things up, the vegetarian/vegan diet is not composed of salads, vegetables, fruit and fake meat.
A balanced plant-based diet includes grains(breads, pasta, rice,cereal), legumes(soy, beans, peas, lentils), fruit and vegetables.
http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/food_groups.html
http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/
http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/eating.html
Being vegan can be an art, one whose challenge is to take things that involve the suffering of the innocent and change them into something free of cruelty.

Technically the term "vegetarian" does imply that you don't consume anything that comes from the body of an animal that requires killing it. Many ingredients such as gelatin and glycerin are found in many candies, Fig-Newtons, and many of other foods as well as rennet found in many cheeses.
http://www.happycow.net/health-animal-ingredients.html
The best thing to remember is to take your time so that for example: when you are comfortable not eating beef and pork you can then give up chicken when you are sure you can make the commitment permanently.
Depending on your age or reliance on parents or regional options, it may not be best to give yourself a label. The important thing is to do your best to make progress and be committed to your compassion towards animals. Never put your focus onto what you or other people use to describe yourself.

If you meet someone that talks down to people for eating meat, dairy, etc or to you because they think they are "more veg" than you, laugh in their face and tell them they are a disgrace to the entire philosophy. People like this only hurt the idea of veg*ism AND the animals. The point of all of this is to live compassionately and and as free from cruelty as you can, all the while maintaining your health and a positive attitude. People who don't maintain either, need not open their mouths and represent our beliefs.

If you actually choose to read all of this, I hope it helps. If not, feel free to e-mail me if you have questions.

Answer 2

Congrats. I've been a vegetarian for a year and a half and i became a vegan 6 months ago. I did eat all junk food when i first started out. Lol..it was crazy. Like i really did eat junk food ALL day long. I had to actually research stuff like food ideas and meal plans so i could eat healthy because i knew that eating all that wasnt healthy either. So what i found was like i would eat cereal and milk (now soymilk...its really good...best flavor is vanilla..you should try it) and a piece of fruit...snacks would be granola, apple sauce, carrots, a FEW cookies, sometimes chips (i dont care for chips tho), 100 calories packs...be creative. Lunch would be something like a veggie burger and oven fries..or a baked potato...with some corn (any other type of veggie you like) and dinner would be a salad with nuts...just mix it up a bit. Some days i would have my salad with mock steak or chicken. I loved burritos so i ate those quite a bit. I would have rice with a gravy smothered veggie burger...or spagetti with crumbles and garlic bread. Veggie subs are GOOD (with lettuce, tomatoes, banana peppers, pickles and mustard...or mayo and honey mustard)...You can eat the veggie burger at BK...dont mess with Mickey D's fries tho (they are pre cooked in beef fat). Ask about all fries to make sure they arent cooked in the same oil as the meat. Sometimes for breakfast i have oatmeal...and fruit. Just make sure to take some multi vitamins and include as many fruits and veggies as you like!
pb and j sandwichs are the best...and good for anytime of day.

Its okay to eat unhealthy all the time..like during my time of month. I eat like a lot of junk food but i always do good the rest of the month so its okay.

Answer 3

Congrats on your new commitment to healthy eating and vegetarianism! Have you cut out all animal products (vegan) or just the meat? either way it takes a while to fine tune your diet after a change like this. there are a lot of good books on going vegetarian that can help you understand what your body requires of you.

It sound like your into convenience food, me to; and there are lots of healthy instant meals out there. some are really good, others taste like cardboard, to put it nicely. "Amy's Kitchen" has lots of yummy dishes. And if you find your really missing that meaty texture/taste "morning star" sells lots of meat alternatives that taste close to the real thing. These two brands can often be found in a conventional super market as well.

The problem with just eating the veggies out of regular TV dinners is that you are skipping the protein source. that is the hardest part of being vegetarian. for a while you'll have to make a conscious effort to eat enough protein. It's also important that you don't just eat the same protein source. ie: don't just eat cheese and dairy products. Bean products like hummus, and soy milk as well as nut products like peanut butter are critical to a healthy vegetarian diet. Try to baby carrot with hummus dip, apple slices and peanut butter, or soy milk on your cold cereal (the original flavor is less sweet).

If you have gone vegan, it is vital that you really educate yourself on your bodies needs. A 100% vegan diet can be very unhealthy and even dangerous if not done right. Like I said a good how to go vegetarian book really will help.
Anyway, congrats again, and good luck!

Answer 4

Congratulations!!!!!! I completely agree. I think when someone converts to being a vegetarian it can be hard. Personally, I like to EAT. To be satisfied I have to eat like I did when I ate meat. For instance, I can't go from eating hamburgers and fries to eating carrot sticks and an apple. Here is the fix..... Morningstar Farms is brand in the frozen food section of the market that accommodates vegetarians. In the deli section of the market, you'll find deli meats, hot dogs, etc. It's easy to turn to chips, candy, cookies, etc. to fill that void. But once you get the hang of it you'll be fine. It's all about being Vegetarian. I don't think there is any scientific fact on it but I think you'll live a longer, healthier life. Stick to it. Good Luck.
Try these.....
1. Stir fry (Frozen Section in market or fresh)
2. Soups, cheese sandwiches w/ avocado)
3. Salads (Greek, Caesar (no meat), etc.)
4. Veggie Burgers, hot dogs, chicken nuggets, Chicken sandwich
5. Veggie Burrito
6. Potato Tacos

Answer 5

make sure that you get a good mix of all your food groups and when i say that i mean a good balance of your carbs - grains, potatos, rice or pasta.

Proteins like tofu and spinach give you energy great substitute of meats.

Eat your greens and fruits for fibre and vitamins to boost your immunity and prevents you from falling sick.

And no doubt vegetarian is supposed to be healthy but if you're frying your veges. Like french fries can be vegetarian too but if you eat them everyday no way that's gonna be healthy.

Do try other methods of cooking like grilling. Use little oil and good natural flavours for seasoning like soya sauce and/or balsamic vinegar.

Do a vege barbecue - grill eggplant and squash, sweet potatoes, peppers, mushrooms they're very good. Steaming for vegetables to retain their moisture - like corn or spinach with a squeeze of lemon and salt.

Or baking and stir frying. These methods retain the original vitamins.

Snack on fruits or carrot/celery/cucumber sticks instead of chips. Your jaw will get tired and you'll curb your urge to
munch.

Hope this helps!

Answer 6

Hey there

I have been a vegetarian nearly my entire life, and I certainly know how hard it can be to maintain a steady and consistent healthy vegetarian diet. But it's worth it. I admit I do get lazy sometimes and go on my unhealthy vegetarian "binges", such as running to taco bell for 7-layer and bean burritos, or picking up frozen Totino's or Red Baron pizzas, or whatever else it may be. But I do enjoy cooking and there are a lot of vegetarian meals that you can make that are fairly cheap and fast. I like tofu, the extra firm kind. Some people like it and some people hate it, but I feel that most of the people who say they hate it have never had it cooked properly. It's an excellent source of protein and amino acids and is one of the healthiest vegetarian foods you can buy. I usually always cook it and mix it with other foods, but you can make tofu a meal itself if you want to. The way I cook it is scrambled. I basically crumble up the block of tofu [or a lot of times just half of it if im not making a big meal, and save the other half in water], and then heat olive oil in a pan, add the tofu, and let it cook by itself on medium heat for a few minutes, then I add salt, pepper, dill, oregano, italian seasoning, asofateda [garlic substitute], and soy sauce, and then let it continue cooking for another 5-10 mins, constantly stirring. soy sauce is probably the biggest key out of all of those to getting it to taste perfect. and like i said, sometimes i add other foods too, such as part of a white onion chopped up, or mushrooms, or mixed vegetables. a lot of the time i make pasta with tomato sauce, sour cream, and cheese, and then i add my finished tofu product into the pasta dish and mix it all together. the small bits of scrambled tofu all stick to the pieces of pasta and cheese and sauce and it makes it an AMAZING dish.

I also usually ALWAYS keep frozen veggie burgers in my freezer, such as Morningstar Farms and Boca Burger. You can cook these however you want. I like to cook them on a pan with oil, but you can put them in the oven or microwave. You can also add them to pasta dishes or on top of pizza or into stir fry vegetable dishes.

There are a LOT of different things you can make, stuff that you've probably never even heard of too. If you go to google and type in "vegetarian recipe", you will find over two million results. I am sure something will catch your eye after a little while.

Good luck and be healthy!

Answer 7

Go to the Library - since it's summer vacation it will give you the chance to get out. Get Veg cookbooks -try them from all over the world you will find the flavor options are far and wide. Make a collection of all your favorites and you could even make extra and freeze it for a quick meal on a busier day (like veg lasagna and casserole). Also check out vegweb.com and mypyramid.gov to make sure you are following the prescribed guidelines for a healthy diet. Good Luck!

Answer 8

my son and I have started eating more vegetables and we are not eating red meat. We do still eat chicken and fish tho. But we love tofu and I fix stir frys with tofu, the secret for us is to brown the tofu in a little olive oil first, so it gets kinda brown and more like a meat then we like to add veggies fresh or frozen and black bean garlic sauce. We also slice extra firm tofu into slices, brown it and add bbq sauce and make sandwich wraps with that and grilled onions and green peppers, add a little mozarella cheese if you wish and wrap up in a wheat tortilla.
Also we like to grill veggies that are in season, just marinate in a little italiam dressing, grill and add to wheat pasta with some diced tomatoes or your fav spaghettie sauce.
We also eat baby carrots, celery and lots of fruit instead of fries

Answer 9

The key to eating healthy food is having a balanced diet. Whether vegetarian or not, your daily diet should include necessary food components required by your body. Different food materials contain nutritional value. The general rule of thumb is to reduce eating food that contains too much oil (fat) and / or sugars(sweet/carbohydrates). That doesn't mean you have to avoid all of it, but see to it that you don't have too much of it. Milk, leafy vegetables, all vegetables, fruits, pulses, roots, tubers etc are all considered healthy food.

Answer 10

Just watch the last scenes in Fast Food Nation and you wouldn't want to eat meat again! I loved McDonald's and cheese burgers until I saw that movie!