I've become a Vegetarian...is there anything I need to know? or any suggestions!?

Question

I became a vegetarian about 2 weeks ago!
I've stuck to it very well for being apart of a Hispanic family that eats chicken at least 3 times a day!
I've purchased all of my health food, and the necessary vitamins!
I have a pretty basic diet! but I would like to explore more, with vegetarian meals.
I'm a bit scared of Tofu, but if I made it, how would I make it!
What do you suggest I add to my diet , that's healthy, vegetarian, and taste good!

I'm young! and lack in energy, so anything that might help with that!
Also I need iron! so anything that taste good and gives me a balanced amount of iron!

Thanx!!! =)

Answer 1

I hear you, my family is Cuban so I grew up in a big meat eating family. I am a Vegan so you can just replace the vegan stuff with things like normal butter unless it's something like vegan turkey slices. If you need more recipes to add to your list then go here:
http://www.vegcooking.com/searchRecipes.asp

or for more foods you can buy go here:
http://www.vegcooking.com/guide-favs.asp
I love that site and I started out basic too so I hope this all works for you.

Breakfast: Silk (Soy&Vanilla) Milk with Cheerios. Oatmeal, Bananas, Grapes, Grapefruit, Granola and anything else you can think of work great for breakfast if you get bored of just cereal.

Lunch: Vegan Hot Dogs, PB&J Sandwiches, Crackers with Vegan Cream Cheese, Vegan Cheese and Vegan Turkey/Ham Slices for Sandwiches, Corn Chips, Pretzels, Watermelon, Mangoes and any of fruits/ veggies you can think of.

Dinner: Rice, Beans, Banana, Corn, Potato, Carrots, Vegan Burger, Apples, Pasta, and a number of other things found in the VegCooking recipes.

Snacks: Millions of Nuts and Seeds out there. Many chip snacks you buy in stores work. Cookies like Oreos are yummy with Soy Milk.

Answer 2

Because you are Hispanic, you may actually have a better chance of becoming a successful vegetarian. What you need most is PROTEIN, and the BEST protein you can get is beans and rice ... both of which are in many Hispanic people's diets already. Tofu is a WONDERFUL food ... buy the FIRM, first, and slice it and saute (fry) it in a little oil with soy sauce, tomato sauce, green sauce, any 'sauce' to give it 'flavor.' Tofu is naturally tasteless, so you must decide what you want it to taste like. I heat mine up with garlic slices in Canola oil, and eat that plain, or cut it up to put onto a salad. Tofu is also a great way to get protein.
Iron shouldn't be a problem if you eat lots of 'leafy dark green vegetables' ... mustard greens, turnip greens, even spinach. You don't have to cook spinach, but can eat it raw in salads.
VARY your foods, because if you 'get stuck' eating the same foods cooked the same way every day, it will become very difficult to 'stick to' your vegetarian 'principles.'
Do NOT feel 'bad' if you 'slip' and eat a meal with chicken in it sometimes ... even the BEST of us 'slips up' sometimes, and others just need a 'bit of indulgence' because we've had a hard day, week, or moment. FORGIVE yourself, then get back into the vegetarian way ...
TRY to stay away from 'sodas' (any 'fizzy' drink) because soda can harm you very quickly, and you'll be getting far less 'fat' to absorb some of the 'bad things' in soda. Frankly, most people should be able to live WITHOUT soda, but even I have one occasionally ...
Try going online for good 'vegetarian' recipes, and ALWAYS read the 'ingredients' in EVERYTHING you buy ... some may seem like good 'vegetarian food' but may have fat from meat rather than plants, and that can actually cause you to become unhealthy ... and the whole POINT of being a vegetarian is to get HEALTHIER. And ALWAYS take your vitamins, and since you are probably NOT 'past menopause' you NEED your iron, and even if you eat lots of leafy greens, the BEST way to be SURE you got all you need is by taking that pill every morning. Good luck, and GOOD HEALTH!

Answer 3

About the chicken thing, you can buy Yves vegan chicken strips, and you could probably use them in the same recipes your family makes.

Veggie ground round has a lot of iron and other nutrients in it. You can switch it for anything with ground meat in it, like lasagne, pasta sauce, cabbage rolls, etc. Bonus: It cooks in two minutes and comes with different seasonings

I'm not a big tofu fan, but some of the seasoned ones are tasty and very easy to prepare - just fry up in a bit of oil with some veggies and serve on rice or pasta. I tried smoked tofu recently, and it's REALLY good, even right out of the package!

Basically, the main parts of a healthy vegetarian diet are grains (wheat, rice, quinoa, bulgur, cous cous) legumes (beans, soy products) nuts and seeds, and lots of fruits and vegetables. If you include fortified foods like cereal, soy milk, and veggie burgers, you probably don't need to take vitamins. Good luck!

Answer 4

Ima young vegetarian as well!! If you want to explore more, there are plenty of things that have a lot of flavor without meat in them. Maybe you can even get your family to try some of them!! I've found that Brands like Quorn and Gardenburger make really tasty frozen vegetarian things like Riblits, which are made form veggies but taste just like barbecue ribs!! And quorn makes excellent chicken substitutes. Also, to substitute a hamburger marinated portobello mushrooms are delicious! Basically, eat a lot of vegetables and fruits to get what you need. I personally take a multivitamin/mineral, but if thats not for you, then to get iron eat ALOT of green leafy vegetables. Spinach is like the wonder food for that. And if you're looking for some new dishes, try a vegetarian cook book, like "The Clueless Vegetarian" (I own that, and its GREAT) Tofu is one of personal favorites, and preparing it in a stir fry with teriyaki sauce or stir fry sauce or whatever you like is tasty. Add yogurt, blueberries, walnuts, oats, and like i said green leafy vegetables to be healthy. Good luck, and if you should ever feel deprived, just remember there are plenty of foods you can eat with just as much flavor as if you ate meat. :D

Answer 5

My favourite vegetarian staple is tinned chick peas-I always keep some in the cupboard. They are great in curries or casseroles. Also if you puree them in a blender you can make them into felafels ( with breadcrumbs onion and spices) or into dips. I have never tried tofu, so I can't help you there, but another non-meat dish that I love is chargrilled vegetables-just any vegetables you like cut into even-sized pieces and drizzled with herbs and olive oil, baked in the oven.(You could even add chunks of firm tofu) Also I love Quorn cottage pie, which you can buy as a chilled ready meal, and Quorn southern-style burgers- just as good as southern fried chicken (in the freezer section). Mmm, who needs meat!
Don't you get loads of stupid, useless, unhelpful answers on here, obviously from young boys.

Answer 6

Yeast extract and spinach are rich in iron. You can add yeast extract to freshly-cooked brown rice (a spoonful will do for half a saucepanful) for a great taste, and add mushrooms, carrots and peas to the mix for a thoroughly delicious meal. Spinach is great, but if you don't like the taste, just add it to a cheesy dish like macaroni cheese or veggie lasagne.

Answer 7

Talk to a dietitian! That is the absolute best advice I can give you. The dietitian can tell you what kind of vitamins you need to take to get all of your nutrients, as well as what kind of foods are best for your individual body chemistry.

Good luck with your new lifestyle!

Answer 8

OK with tofu it's actually good. what you can try doing is butting it on pizza or in a salad with pineapples or frying it with soy sauce. that's what i do and it's good. or try tofu dogs you cook them like regular hot dogs but them on a bun and but as you wish on it. Go to your local grocery store and get the non meat products they have like fake lunch meat and stuff. You need to get your protean so eat nuts and chic pees.

Answer 9

Outside the question why did you choose to do this, my only sugestion is to eat some meat. There are ricks concerning this type of diet. I think I would look at things a bit differently, especialy with diebetis being prevalant in the Hispanic community. i would tgry to have a more balenced diet and not deprive your body of the protiens found in the most common of meats.

Answer 10

make sure you get all the nutrients, especially protein. this site tells all you need to know.