How do I give up meat or reduce its consumption?

Question

Vegetarianism, undoubtedly has its advantages, is easier on teh stomach than meat. But it seems to close down your food options. I did go vegetarian for 10 days, and it was different, but I couldn't resist. Can you suggest some good vegetarian foods that I can take on a daily basis, or a plan that limits my meat comsumption? I want to go vegetarian for a month.

Answer 1

http://www.drmcdougall.com/
This is a great site for some one going Veggie. Plus it has a great jump start diet plan.

There are homones in meat that makes you crave it(just like chocolate) Resisting it takes being aware.

Slainté(to your health)

Answer 2

Do what I did.. I used to eat meat a heck of alot.. daily sometimes a few times daily.. now I'm having it perhaps once to twice a week.. and Am tryin to go totally off it. First despite the drought we are suffering from in Australia.. I went on a long drive inland to watch some good football.. it was all country... there were cows everywhere.. the only thing was eventually the way they looked started playing on my mind.. they looked dehydrated and had like these really big stomachs.. but there structure looked very anerexic.. I was like.. ewwwww!! hope that we're not eating that meat.. it looks sick.. so I went right off meat for a little while.. then I met a Muslim person.. and that person constantly spoke of the forbidden meat "PORK" =haram... never eaten by a muslim person.. so yep.. you guessed it.. after learning why.. I no longer eat Pork..
If you think how much disease meat can carry.. etc.. and do your homework on it.. look at why vegetarians became vegetarians.. then you too will soon enough be one yourself.
and I'll be right behind you buddy.. cause like i said.. i'm still currently eating meat on the occasion..
Good Luck.. do as you do..

Answer 3

I tried vegetarian for about a day. Couldn't hack it, having been raised eating meat. I have cut down on the consumption of meat by making stir-fry instead of steak, and using recipes like spaghetti sauce where meat is added for flavor, not the main event. Try using meat as an additive to other dishes. If you gradually reduce the amount of meat you may be able to eventually go completely vegetarian-which is not only healthy, I hear-but a possible response to the ever increasing price of meats at the supermarket!

Answer 4

Going vegan expanded my food options.

Fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts, beans/pulses--there are a lot of foods in those five categories.

There are numerous veggie burgers on the market. Amy's (www.amys.com), Lightlife (www.lightlife.com), and Yves (www.yvesveggie.com) all make numerous vegetarian and vegan items.

You can get more vegan foods by ordering online at Pangea (www.veganstore.com), Vegan Essentials (www.veganessentials.com), and Food Fight Grocery (www.foodfight.com).

If you eat out, Indian places usually have numerous vegetarian options. If you eat at a Chinese or Asian place, make sure they're not using fish sauce or meat broths in their vegetable dishes.

Chipotle's black beans are vegan (the pintos are cooked with pork), and you can get vegan tacos or a vegan burrito there easily.

Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org) also has a listing of chains that have veg-friendly options.

Good luck, and I hope you stay veg a lot longer than a month!

Answer 5

If you want to go vegetarian longer this is a good plan... The first week give up meat one day a week, the second week give up meat two days, the third week give up meat three days, and so on until you get to 7 weeks.

http://www.veggieboards.com

Answer 6

Try the Morning star chik'n nuggets, patties, strips, etc.. they taste just like the real thing if you cook them up well done and they are a great source of protein.

The Bocca Burgers are not bad too, some say they taste somwhat like a real burger.

I think their much better well done and with some ketchup. To each his own though. Give them a try, their not bad.

I would stay away from the morning star burgers though because their nasty, just being honest.

Answer 7

For meals you need to learn to do vegetarian options, such as eggplant casserole, vegetarian lasagna, veggie stir-fry, roasted-squash soup and salad, pasta and marinara sauce, veggie burgers...those are all great, filling dinners. Try to keep healthy snacks around, make smoothies for breakfast or snacks...once you don't have meat around you and you learn your other options, it will get easier! Best of luck!

Answer 8

you are a carnivore eat meat

Answer 9

Your choices should broaden as a vegetarian. You must have an open mind if you are trying to be veg. Have you tried Thai or Indian food. Have you searched for veg restaurants in your area? http://www.happycow.net/browse.html

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.

Snack: BRUSSEL SPROUTS =) no joke

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, baked tofu, BBQ homemade seitan (tastes like BBQ'd ribs), kabobs

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

There have been vegan Olympic gold medalists and 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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Lewis
http://www.eatright.org/cps/rde/xchg/ada/hs.xsl/advocacy_933_ENU_HTML_(Draft).htm

Here are some more veg people:
http://www.mikemahler.com/index.html
http://www.vegetarianbodybuilder.com/index2.html
http://www.veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bios
http://www.andreascahling.com/andreas-about
http://www.billpearl.com/career.asp
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-23-27/Salim-Stoudamire-Runs-on-Broccoli.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mac_Danzig
http://www.scottjurek.com/career.php
http://www.nfl.com/players/rickywilliams/profile?id=WIL271115
http://www.brendanbrazier.com/raceresults/index.html

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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.

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.

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.

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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There is a Japanese analogy/proverb that goes like this, "The nail that sticks up is the one that gets hammered down". People are like this everywhere. When you tell your family that it is your personal belief that animals should not be eaten, they take a look at themselves and it can be subconsciously translated into, "What you do is wrong and I choose to be right."

Your parents have probably been taught a huge amount of misinformation by their parents and their teachers while growing up. You really need to research vegetarian diets and health before you even think about saying the "V-word" in front of your parents or anyone else.

When you have gathered enough information and feel confident in a vegetarian diet's ability to maintain or even improve health, you may mention to them that you have made the decision. They may be shocked, angry, worried, curious or many other things, but you must NEVER react to their behavior and always stay calm. If they are able to speak to you and respect your choice, please tell them everything and answer all questions. If they are rude, inconsiderate, judgmental, violent, or verbally abusive, refuse to continue any conversation until they can speak to you with respect.

The best advice is to study everything that you can about a healthy vegetarian diet and keep yourself in good shape (better than most people your age or than your friends/family if possible). If nobody that you know shows a genuine, positive interest in your choice, don't give them the privilege of the knowledge that you have gathered. Work your way around any attempts they make to trivialize your beliefs and if possible, go shopping with your parents and buy things that aren't obvious veggie fare. Instead of trying to sneak fake meat into the cart, toss in lentil soup, peanut butter, pasta, fruits & veggies or anything else that you have learned is needed to fill any gaps in your diet.