Complicated Vegetarian?

Question

Ok heres the deal. My husband and I want to become vegetarians but not cut out eggs, milk or fish. Is there a name for this? Second, I have a really screwed up stomach, colon. I have corosion in my stomach lining from Acid Reflux. (I take prilosec twice daily) I have gas and have had constipation ALL my life. I am allergic to Leeks and I think I am allergic to Scallions (not confirmed). How do I start this type of Vegetarianism and is there a great website where i can get some free help? Also, I have kids who are picky. I need recipes that they will like. I am not much of a cook so they need to be fairly easy. THANKS!!!!!

Thank you for your answers. I can't go to the doctor though because I have no insurance. (like so many other ppl)

And I have Fibromyalgia. I am hoping this type of diet will help with it.

Answer 1

Please be aware, vegetarians do not eat cows, pigs, chickens, fish, shrimp, scallops, worms, ants or any other animal. Eating fish is praised for its omega-3 content, but it is also know for its heavy metal content such as mercury. If you want all of the health benefits of fish, eat a few tablespoons of ground flax seeds with some peanut butter on some toast celery or anything else.


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 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/discussion. 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. Fruits and vegetables are always important but they DO NOT make up the largest portion of any healthy diet.
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

It's not complicated at all. It's just a matter of deciding that you want to make that decision and then educating yourself about the healthy alternatives to meat. There are many other sources of protein available for a healthy diet. Frankly, most Americans eat far too much meat for a healthy lifestyle anyways. I don't think parents should force their children to be vegetarians or vegans though. Let them make their own informed decisions. It certainly won't hurt them to eat far less meat than every day, though. For some people being a vegetarian is a more difficult decision that others, but I wouldn't say it's complicated. I tried to become one when my friend did years ago, but by the end of one month I was ready to bite someone to get a little meat and gave it up (to the great relief of my friends and family! LOL!) It taught me that I could live just fine with a lot less meat in my diet though, and I don't regret the attempt or the education about nutrition I got while learning how to try to be one.

Answer 3

A vegetarian that eats dairy and eggs is called an ovo/lacto vegetarian. However, you can't really use the term vegetarian in its truest sense if you eat fish. Perhaps it might be best to explain yourself by saying you have vegetarian tendencies. The market for vegetarians has gotten much better in the last several years because more people are making the choice to live healthier and more compassionately. There are all types of vegetarian cookbooks including vegetarian cookbooks for teens and for simple meals. Concerning the health problems, you may find some of them clear up by the change in diet. For the constipation, eat apples. They have natural fibers that detoxify the body. I am not a big PETA fan, but they are a good resource for going vegetarian. All the absolute best. Be well.

Answer 4

sorry, there is not a type of vegetarian that eats fish.

see here for more details:
http://www.vegsoc.org/fish/

You can call yourself a pescetarian if you really want to.

the www.vegsoc.org or ivu.org websites are great for vegetarians but they will not help with fishy diets, you may be able to modify them though

"catpouncing" is wrong. Show me any moderated definition that says eating fish is a type of vegetarian. Is eating cow a type of vegetarian too, kind of a redmeatarian ??

Even the link catpouncing point to says veggies don't eat fish !
The same site contains this info:
http://www.fishinghurts.com/FishFarms.asp

so as you can see, veggies don't eat fish.

The veggie society is THE recognised world leader on veggie issues. read from the above link

Eat what you like, good luck to you, but please do not fall into the trap of using the word vegetarian.

Answer 5

Eat whatever you feel like and don't get caught up in labels. Don't listen to any of those self-righteous, idiotic and egotistical vegans. While you may not be a full vegetarian by eating fish and eggs, you are on your way by cutting out red meat, pork and poultry. As far as your gastro-intestinal problems your doctor should have given you a list of all foods which promote its health, if not set up a new appointment right away and get a list.

Answer 6

If you eat fish, you would not be vegetarian. You would be a meat reducer.

I would ask a dietitian about a meal plan for your condition.

Answer 7

I personally don't know what special needs your diet requires for your stomach, colon,etc.

But i do know that you guys are making a very healthy choice by giving up meat, except fish. Pescetarian is what you will be. A vegetarian who still eats fish. And some people are going to tell you that you arent really a vegetarian b/c you eat fish, BUT it's just a different type of vegetarianism. And you'll get most of the health benefits and save some animals.

www.goveg.com is a good place for recipes.
If you want to subscribe to a magazine, Vegetarian Times is a good one and has lots of recipes too.

Oh, and also, to get started, It helped for me to gradually stop eating meat. Like, stop eating beef first, but still eat chicken, pork, etc. Then cut out pork too, and eventually cut out chicken/turkey.
It gives you time to get used to it, and to finding replacements. There are alot of good fake meat products, like Boca Burgers.

Good luck!

Answer 8

You've already got a lot of good advice here. I just wanted to say that I have fibromyalgia as well & being veg. has made a noticeable difference.

Answer 9

Yes, it is called pescetarianism:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pescetarianism

My advice would be to buy vegetarian cookbooks and/or modify your favorite recipes to make them vegetarian. For instance, instead of making spaghetti with meatballs make it with marinara sauce and Boca burger meat. You might also want to slowly cut out the meat for a couple months by making 3-4 vegetarian or pescetarian meals and having meat at the other meals. Then switch to start making only the vegetarian or pescetarian meals.

Good luck! :)

Answer 10

Eat as much uncooked food as you can, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds!! You will not have a screwed up stomach, colon and your acid reflux will be gone by eating this way!

Answer 11

If you still eat fish and/or seafood you're not a vegetarian, you're a pescatarian.