How to become a vegetarian? Where to start? How do you fight old habits?

Question

I've grown up eating a vegetable a day at dinner... and thats about it. Sometimes growing up we'd have veggies at lunch time or a salad for lunch... but again, thats about it.

I don't know the first thing about preparing vegetables and making them taste good enough to eat... what are some good ways to get started eating more vegetables?

I have nothing against meat or animal products - I enjoy them to be honest, but this is about eating more healthy and trying to show my 1 year old son that veggies are good!

Answer 1

Do it gradually. Don't do it all at once because you will probably fail - especially if you still have a little voice in your head saying "ooohhh, but meat is sooooo good". LOL.

Experiment with some vegetarian dishes 2-3 nights a week. This will give you an idea of what you will like and not like. Buy a good vegetarian cookbook to give you some ideas.

Answer 2

I don't disagree with what other people have said. Once you get used to eating more veggies, they'll begin to taste better and better. You'll start to crave them. If you want to know how to cook them, then I suggest you buy one of the Moosewood cookbooks. They give you lots of recipes and ideas. There is even a 'simple suppers' version if you don't have lots of time for preparation. I also suggest that you ask friends to help you locate a good local restaurant that serves vegetarian food. That way you won't feel trapped, and can enjoy going out without just ordering side dishes.

Answer 3

The vegetarian food pyramid says one should eat 5-9 servings of fruits and vegetables every day. Even if you shoot for the low end of that range, it could be a very big improvement. I also believe most health professionals are now recommending getting your "five a day" whether you're vegetarian or not.

I know it sounds like a lot, but a serving is only 1/2 cup cooked for most veggies (1 cup raw for some veggies like leafy greens), so if you eat 2 cups of cooked veggies a day plus a piece of fruit or two, you'll be getting the minimum of what you need.

As for making them taste good, well, that's easy!

*If you have herbs and spices in your cabinet, don't be afraid to use them. Add a few sprinkles of herbs like thyme, oregano, parsley, rosemary, chives, basil, etc.
*Adding minced garlic and/or diced onions makes most savory dishes better.
*Nuts make nice additions to a veggie medley, too -- pine nuts, sliced almonds, chopped walnuts or pecans.
*Make a sauce for the veggies. One easy way is to saute the veggies in olive oil, then sprinkle them with a tablespoon or two of flour, then lower the heat and add about a cup of vegetable stock and stir until the sauce thickens. (I love to make my stock using "Better than Bouillon" vegetable flavored bouillon paste)
*As your son gets a little older, you may want to consider using the "rainbow" method, possibly devising some kind of chart to track progress. The idea is that you're trying to have fruits and vegetables from every color of the rainbow every day. For example, red could be strawberries, orange = carrots, green = broccoli etc.

Congrats on your choice and best of luck!

Answer 4

Vegetables taste great raw or steamed. You shouldn't need to make them taste "good", they are naturally perfect.
Its really gross when people make kids eat broccoli with cheese or dip veggies in ranch or some other dressing.
Vegetables should be eaten as close to raw for the full benefit of nutrition. Once you bring veggies into your diet more, your taste buds will show appreciation by picking up the many different flavors of the particular veggie you are eating.
One thing about veggies is, you should always rinse them well.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Baked veggies.

in a caserole dish

Red peppers, onion, green peas (canned), potatoes, carrot

mix with some olive oil, seasoning and a bit of water and bake in oven for about 1 hrs at 350 -400 degrees... its really good and hearty

Also, becoming vegan at first is a challenge but to not offset protein... become a fan of eggs and tofu and perhaps for a while fish so you can weed out the meat.

Answer 6

It's a Whole Life Change. There are really good vegetarian and vegan recipes that will satisfy you like meat did. But You can't slip around, if your gonna do it then you have to stick with it. If you just want to incorporate these into your current habits it might be easier. I'd stick with the regular vegetarian.
Like Lasagna, he won't know it doesn't have meat. Wait for the commercial to end.
http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Making-a-Vegetarian-Lasagna-Video/Detail.aspx
http://vegetarian.about.com/od/maindishentreerecipes/Vegetarian_Vegan_Main_DishEntree_Recipes.htm
http://allrecipes.com/Recipes/Main.aspx
First understand Vegan is different from vegetarian and much strickter. http://vegetarian.about.com/od/glossary/g/Vegan.htm
Here are many Vegan recipes you can start trying.
http://www.veganmeat.com/recipie.html
http://www.veganoutreach.org/starterpack/recipes.html
Fat Free vegan recipes: http://www.fatfreevegan.com/

Answer 7

Well I am not really a vegetarian but, I consider eating meat and vegetables together. I don't eat rice and sweet foods and beverage like cola etc.

I will make you healthy together with proper exercise and workout it will make your body attractive and will make you more confident to face the world.