becoming a vegetarian?

Question

Today I hopped out of bed saying I wanted to become a vegetarian.I have played with the idea in 8 th grade but my mom was like no and that was the end of it.I think now that I am 17 I want to become a vegetarian.I'm 17 and I still live at home with my mom.Where do I start?thanks a lot

talked to my mom shes fine with it.she said she thinks I am old enough to my own dicscions

Answer 1

17 years old is definitely old enough to make your own decisions. Our parents were fed a ton of misinformation by schools and their own parents while growing up so your decision is guided by wisdom and not naivete. There is great potential in this decision positively changing many things about the way see yourself. If you have had the animals in mind since 8th grade I'm sure that you'll be much happier during and after transition.

If you want to 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.

A responsible vegan ALWAYS studies the subject of their own health and how to keep their body completely provided for in every sense. http://www.veganhealth.org/sh
To neglect their body is to define a plant-based diet as unhealthy and is the opposite of helping the animals.

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.

A vegan woman can create an ENTIRELY NEW,HEALTHY HUMAN BEING INSIDE OF HER. Many of these children stay vegan and grow up to be perfectly healthy adults. So just keep yourself educated about what you eat and don't let anyone tell you that a veg diet is lacking anything essential.

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.

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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), pad prig king, 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, sweet&sour/orange/lemon chikn, vegan pho or wonton soup

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

Answer 2

Personally, while many people would encourage you to try "fake meat" I would not recommend it. When I was first becoming a vegetarian I tried 2 veggie burgers and I absolutely thought that they were atrocious, and that actually discouraged me a little from becoming a vegetarian. I would personally say to start off finding alternatives to the dishes you eat with meat in them. For example if you have for dinner rice and meat try to change that meat around with vegetarian things that you already eat. Then, start looking around on the internet for delicious vegetarian dishes that you and your mom can do and try new things out. It honestly isn't that hard to change to a vegetarian diet once you have exchanged your bacon breakfast sandwich to a yummy vegetable omelet. I hope that I could have helped you with your question and I wish you loads of luck in your transition to vegetarianism! I know that you can do it if its something that your determined to do. Good luck!

Answer 3

Cheese pizza is first-rate. Vegetarian chili (sans meat) is first-rate. Vegetarian lasagna is super. Mashed potatoes with vegetable gravy...Tacos! Nachos. Something I love is a meatball sub with out the meatballs- simply the marinara sauce, cheese, mayo and scorching peppers. I'm now not first-rate with the nutrients part of being vegetarian, however I do understand what tastes well. :)

Answer 4

First I would recommend going to the library and book stores and checking out some books on vegetarianism, one book I would recommend is Get Healthy Now!, by Gary Null.
Go slow and easy at it, don't become hardcore vegetarian all of a sudden. If you feel life a hamburger, have one, You'll get there, and feel a whole lot better that you did!
Good Luck!

Answer 5

Honestly, there's really nothing to it. Just decide what type of vegetarian you want to be (specifically, decide if you will eat eggs or fish), and then start avoiding foods that have meat. Tell whoever cooks for your house to leave out the meat from your serving. When you go to restaurants, pick a vegetarian dish. It's simple and you'll get used to it in no time.

Answer 6

first if u wanted to be a vegetarian ur mom should have been more open to it (its not like she can shove meat down ur throat. so start today try not 2 eat meat much mat then after a a couple of days drop it completley. be sure to eat greens proteins and plenty of iron and grain rich food. try goveg.com, happycow.com, vegweb.com, and show ur mom the meat.org video to help her understand ur reASons.
good luck

Answer 7

Start with crossover foods- stuff that's vegetarian, but looks and tastes like meat. Try Morning Star Farms Parmesan Ranch Chik patties. Soooo good, especially dipped in ketchup!

Answer 8

well i think the right place to start would be to try and get your mom to understand your point of view and the way you choose to live as a vegetarian, inform her about it and if her concerns are about you not getting enough nutrients..TEACH her about how you CAN be as and even MORE healthy than a meat eater and explain your reasons to her..hopefully she will give you her support.
i'm 14 and luckily my mom supports me and my vegan lifestyle :).
good luck!

Answer 9

when you are 18 you take your own decision.