Uneasy meat eater?

Question

Even though I enjoy the taste of meat, over the years I'm becoming more conscious of what I'm doing with the fact that it's better for the environment to eat a vegetarian diet(and becoming more concerned about animals being killed as well. No I'm no danged PETA hippy), but would like to start off slowly and not miss out on any nutrients. What would be a first good step to take?
And which foods can I eat to keep my protein and iron levels up?

Mmmmm love peanuts. Haven't tried tofu though.

Answer 1

Good first steps:

1) Don't start with telling yourself no! "No I can't have this, no I can't have that..." becoming vegetarian should be a choice that makes you feel happy, not make you feel like you are being scolded every time you need to eat.

2) Read labels. Spend time checking the labels of the food you already eat, there is most likely more vegetarian food in what you already eat than you might think. Poultry seasoning has no poultry in it and A-1 sauce is mostly fruit, tomato paste, and pepper. Become aware of how many foods are NOT vegetarian that seem like they would be. Chicken and beef broth sneak into some weird things, like mashed potatoes, pasta sauce, or vegetable soup, and gelatin can be a stealth ingredient as well. There are a few companies (like Progresso and Amy’s) really help us out and label their foods as non-vegetarian (some Progresso soups), vegetarian, or vegan. I just wish this was a food industry standard, like the Kosher labels are.

3) Research. The net is a vast resource of knowledge for any level of aspiring vegetarian. You can Google anything, Wikipedia is somewhere I often look to find the origins of some weird ingredients, even find vegetarian cooking videos on YouTube.

4) Experiment. One of the easiest things to do even before eliminating meat from your meals is to add veggies to everything. Think of what your favorite vegetables are and try mixing them into other foods you eat that sound pleasing to you. That’s how I discovered this: Beanie Spaghetti

1 can Garbanzo beans (drained)
I can black beans (drained)
1 package frozen spinach (thawed & extra liquid squished out)
1 can Hunt’s Traditional or Mushroom pasta sauce
Ravioli or spaghetti noodles

Mix beans, spinach, and sauce together in a large pan or microwave dish and heat. Cook noodles, drain, & serve.

I have also made this with sautéed eggplant and it was good enough on it’s own that I didn’t want the noodles! This makes a really thick sauce.

Don’t be afraid to try new foods. Morningstar Farms and Boca are both really good brands to try for more direct meat replacements, Gardenburger is good if you like the taste of grains (and sometimes mushrooms). One thing to keep in mind is these are not meat, it takes a while to get used to the fact that they can have an aftertaste. I would not suggest cooking a fake meat patty and eating it plain, prepare it like you would the meat version, with a bun, lettuce or fresh spinach, tomato slices, sprouts, whatever you like.

5) Especially for vegetarians, cold turkey isn't good. If you are an avid meat eater and suddenly try to switch to being vegetarian overnight, your success rate is very low. Look at being a vegetarian as a whole solution, not to just help the animals, but to improve your health as well. Treat it as a lifestyle change, not a fad diet, on one week, get deprived, back to eating meat for another week and overeating… that would really be bad for your body (and I hope no one would actually do this.)

Most of all, don’t be afraid to ask people what’s in things (sometimes you need to ask specifically if there is any meat products in food from restaurants or if it was homemade.) I wish you the best of luck if you finally make the choice to become a vegetarian. I know it’s something I'm still proud of everyday with myself, even 3 years later.

Answer 2

Ha, I might be a PETA hippie, if I was old enough. I'm under 18 and I did it. Try eating lots of beans, soy, and dark leafy green. Plus iron supplements or vitamins provide good sources of nutrients. A good first step? Try veggie burgers if you like burgers. Or look for vegetarian restaurants. All equally good. Also check out this website chooseveg.com
It convinced me into being vegan. Plus there are so many substitutes you can use that are just as useful. and healthier! Good luck!

Answer 3

My wife and I are vegetarians from way back.

Beans (uh, they are good for your heart), soy products like tofu and fake meat such as Boca burgers; good for protein, especially when they are combined with grains such as rice, bread and noodles.

A lot of people have strong opinions about tofu. I'm not sure why; it has little or no flavor on it's own, but it's a nice high protein thing to cook in a "Chinese style" stir fry with other vegetables. It kind of absorbs the taste of other foods around it. I guess a lot of folks are turned off by the texture and the funny name. I got interesed in tofu because I had a Chinese neighbor back in the 70s. She had her own restaurant for a while. We called it "bean curd" back then, and that name doesn't sound any more appealing than "tofu" in my opinion.

My ex-vegetarian (traitor!) sister in law used to make her own tofu. She gave me her tofu maker but I don't have a clue how to use it. I'm probably too lazy to do it anyway.

I also love wheat gluten fake meats like Seitan and Mun Chaiya or "mock duck." I used to buy a lot of Mun Chaiya at our local international store, but now I'm leary of eating it because of the scare about wheat gluten products from China that came up recently. I never heard of any contamination of anything other than pet foods that contain gluten, but I'm not in a hurry to start eating Mun Chaiya again just yet.

Iron, the best iron source I know is molasses. But a lot of vegetables like greens and peas are high iron. Also get plenty of vitamin C from fruit and fruit juices--vitamin C helps in the absorption of iron. (I didn't make it up, I went to nursing school and my wife is a dietitian.)
I never even think about iron, to be honest. Women may need to pay more attention to iron levels than men in some cases, but I can't recall that my wife ever did.

I don't belong to PETA, but I am kind of an old hippie, sorry. I used to have long hair back in the 60s and 70s, but now I completely shave my head (hair falling out anyway) but I don't have any black light posters and I gave up all drugs besides coffee. I do wear sandals even the in fall. I really wanted to be beatnik instead of a hippie, but I was too young at the time. Oh well, I didn't really like turtle neck shirts anyway. (Uh, they weren't made from real turtles as far as I know.)

Answer 4

Mock meats are a good alternative when switching. Start by incorporating some of these in with you normal everyday diet. Also, cut out red meat all together. From there you can gradually find out what foods you enjoy with mock meats and eventually phase out all meat. Switching to soy, rice, or almond milk helps too.

Answer 5

Hi, I wanna be a vegetarian too. Because its best to stop killing and then eating our animal brothers and sisters! A research revealed that no matter how well red meat is refrigerated, the moment the poor animal is killed, its flesh starts to rot. When people eat this rotten meat their body cells can't cope with this and the cells gradually become ill. It shows its neither ideal nor natural to eat meat.

I found a very reliable program for non vegetarians to follow to leave off eating meat and eventually become a vegetarian.
Its a five year program. Its best, I am already on it. I and my sister have done 2 years of it. You can stop eating all kinds of red meat now. You can eat chicken, fish, veggies, dairy products, fruits etc. But no red meat. After 5 years from the day you start you stop eating chicken and all kinds of fish and become a vegetarian. I quit red meat 2 years ago, I am way more stronger, better and cleansed than before. I would finish with some quotes:

"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. "

Albert Einstein

"Truly man is the king of beasts, for his brutality exceeds theirs. We live by the death of others: We are burial places!"

Leonerdo Da Vinci

"Animals are my friends...and I don't eat my friends"

George Bernard Shaw

Answer 6

WHICH FOODS CONTAIN PROTEIN?

These foods are all good sources of protein, so try to include a mixture of these in your diet each day, and vary the types you choose:

-- pulses (such as lentils and beans)
-- nuts and seeds
-- eggs
-- soya
-- mycoprotein, sold as Quorn�
-- wheat proteins, such as cereals, bread, rice and maize
-- milk and dairy products

Milk and dairy products are also good sources of calcium. If you don't eat these foods, choose soya, rice or oat drinks fortified with calcium instead.

WHICH FOODS CONTAIN IRON?

Although meat is the best source of iron, it can also be found in:

-- pulses
-- green vegetables such as watercress, broccoli, spring greens and okra
-- bread
-- fortified breakfast cereals

Answer 7

Yes, I see where you're coming from. However, bear in mind that in this dimension or space/time continuum all life is based on predation. Even plants are lifeforms so even vegetarians are predatory.

The only real way we can be 'kind' to our fellow lifeforms is to eat no more than we need.

POSTSCRIPT

What is PETA? An American thing?

Answer 8

Just simple foods like corn meal, nuts, beans, spinach, broccoli, and avocados are good but if you eat tofu don't eat a lot of it and only in moderation.

Answer 9

Good for you! Go slow! Beans legumes and more beans! But try them in dips and salsa etc to get use to them. Vegetarian lifestyles are very healthy so don't let anyone talk you out of it.

Answer 10

Why stop eating meat? I know what they say about about it being better for the environment but honestly your going to stop eating meat because cows fart too much.
Don't get me wrong that's your choice if you decide to go with it. But doctors all over the world say "everything in moderation." A all meat diet is no good but turning vegetarian isn't the answer either.