Calling all Vegetarians?

[Anonymous]

I've recently made the decision to become a vegetarian, I know this will be a huge change in lifestyle but im prepared to do it.
I need tips and advice from prople eho have made this transition.
How was it for you in the beginning?
Recipes you enjoy?
How to train your mind against eating animals?
Benefits of being a vegetarian?

Thank you all in advance ♥

[Kiwedin]

I went vegetarian about 6-7 months ago, and went vegan not long after. I watched documentaries about animal cruelty and decided that I couldn't be a part of it anymore because I don't condone suffering of any kind. I realized that every time I bought meat or dairy, I was supporting factory farming and basically voting for it to continue happening.
The transition to vegetarianism is actually really easy. I was surprised at how much I didn't even care for meat anymore, because I pretty much used to live on meat. I also used to be into the body building scene and ate a lot of meat, because I thought I needed it to gain muscle and protein. What's difficult is giving up dairy, and I still struggle with it now, but it's a process.
My advice to you is to just educate yourself as much as possible on everything vegan, vegetarian, raw vegan, factory farming, etc. etc. People are going to constantly question your eating habits and ask you why you don't eat meat, so it's good to be well informed on every aspect of your diet. Gary Yourofsky has some great lectures on Youtube, I really learned a lot from him and how to respond to the questions that people give you. This is one thing I love about being vegan, I pretty much win every argument haha. Freelee the Banana Girl is someone I learned a lot from too, her video about dairy is what made me go vegan after I went vegetarian lol.
Check out Cowspiracy, Forks Over Knives, Earthlings, Food Inc, and Vegucated, they're all really great documentaries about veganism. Also some YouTube channels that are great for recipes or just veg things are Fully Raw Kristina, Rawvana, 40 Below Fruity, Izzy Davis, Happy Healthy Vegan, Megan Elizabeth, Mango Island Mamma, and I can't think of any more off the top of my head lol. Good luck :)

[Asker]

Thank you so much for all your insight! I truly appreciate it and you gave me so much more than I expected to receive.
I am serious about this new Change in lifestyle I think me jumping to vegetarian to vegan is going to take some time but hopefully I will gradually get into becoming vegan.

Im going to check out all those videos right now thanks hun!

As for people asking about lifestyle change.. I dont have many people in my corner with my vegetarian decision as I still live at home and my SO thinks its a silly idea

[Kiwedin]

Same here, I'm Native American, so my whole family goes hunting a lot and we pretty much live on wild meat. My grandparents are always like "What kind of native are you?" lmaoo

[GoldenSunshine]

I became a vegetarian when I was 6 or 7 so I don't remember much about the change :P but at the beginning I didn't abruptly stop eating meat. I usually ate meat once a day (for example lunch) and the rest of the meals were vegetarian. I think the transition took about half a year.
I'm not much into cooking, but check the vegetarian food in the supermarket, there should be several things to choose from :) You can make normal recipes, just change the meat into something else of your choice :)
I love being a vegetarian because I'm doing something good for the environment, the animals and it makes me feel more healthy :)

Good luck!

[slimcharles]

1. Giving up meat was easy, but cheese took about a year for me to completely lose the cravings. Once you lose the taste, the smell of animal foods is repulsive.
2. Beans and rice, mashed potatoes, and soup with bread are mainstays for me.
3. Avoid replacing meats with fake meats as they have large amounts of oil (veggie burgers, gimme lean, and daisya cheeses)
4. Avoid replacing meats with foods that are high in sugar or fat, like french fries, fried seitan, doughnuts, Indian curries, or fried tofu.
5. Most vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease and diabetes if they keep the oil down.
6. Most important - start taking a b12 supplement daily. B12 is found in bacteria that live in the ground, but our food supply is too clean for you to get them from vegetables. Without it, you can suffer from neurological disorders.

[Anonymous]

I've always been a vegetarian. I never ate meat in my life, its more of a religious /caste thing. Meat is a more complex food, it digests slowly and gives out energy slowly. Vegetarian food is lighter and digests faster, this could make you feel more active through out the day. However you might tend to eat larger qualities.

I like sizzles, pastas, and a lot of other things :-)

[plain_table]

You might find stuff over here: https://www.vegsoc.org/food

I cook broccoli, have lots of nuts, have lots of (whole wheat) pasta, there's bread items, varieties of rice dishes, porridge (oatmeal), etc.

You can make pancakes (using whole grains, etc)... <---- I haven't tried cooking this one yet. Once I did, but it didn't turn out well...

[Mesonfielde]

There's no way that doesn't screw over your protein intake, considering humans are omnivores, and we don't have 4 stomachs like cows do. And I personally wouldn't give up bacon, but that might be just me.

[traxlem]

there's alternative methods to intake protein.

[GoldenSunshine]

Actually it doesn't screw up the protein intake, the protein from plants is enough for humans :) Vegetarians are also proven to live longer and staying healthier (lower risk of getting cardiovascular disease and some forms of cancer) :)

[32916]

Humans actually don't need that much protein, only 150 grams a day (or some where around the 100-200 gram mark, I can't recall it exactly). However, there are some essential nutrients which can only be found in animals, theses are nutrient such as creatine (a protein) vital for anaerobic energy priduction and vitmin D3.

The reason why vegetarians have typically longer lives is due to most people over consuming meat and vegetarians have more "healthy" livestyle behaviors. If more people consumed the correct amount of meat and had the same life style as vegetarians, I'm sure the disparity between vegetarians and omnivores would be decrease or perhaps be reversed.

[Anno_Domini]

The problem with meat is not the meat itself, it's the hormones that get pumped into the animals, either to keep them pregnant (for milk or babies) or to make them grow faster. It's just not easy these days to get your meat from traditional farm-based sources where the animals are treated humanely and fed their natural diet. Most of what we eat now comes from huge industrial meat farms and factories.

Our world population is just too big now to sustain itself on a traditional grass-fed, free range meat diet.

[Anno_Domini]

@32916

[32916]

True, that's huge problem we can't fix at the moment. However if we support ethical farmimg practice we maybe avle to see new developments in how our meat is produced. Personally I believe we will eventually reach a point (now) where greasing animals is to ineffective and will need to create pure protein in labs, without the animal.

[koko124]

I reject that. I think there's enough land for grazing that isn't being used right now.

There are also so many subsidies from the government that make things like corn and soy artificially cheap.

[kangy]

can i know the reason behind the change is due to health or religion?

[Asker]

Its basically a lifestyle change. I dont want to eat meat anymore

[kangy]

Good move i would say. I know I can't do it. The max i did was when I was a vegetarian for a year now I only have it 2 x in a month, tried to take one meal without meat per day.
For myself, the benefits are my temper became better, i felt healthier and i know i was happy animals are spared from killing.
Never easy in the beginning, lots of people discouraging me including my mum, but also had supportive vegetarian friends. You need to be very determined.
By making that change i believe you know the reasons to keep yourself going

[32916]

If you want animals to live better lives I suggest you continue buying meat, but only buy from animals from farms that raise the animals ethically.

[slimcharles]

The problem with "ethical" meat is that in the US the Dept of Agriculture defines free range where the conditions are barely better than non-free range. Unless you are getting it from a farmer or cooperative, it could be just as nasty as the cheap stuff.

[traxlem]

My go to for all things (recipes) vegan, there's also a great how to on there on how to make your own almond or any plant based milk. :) good luck

[traxlem]

https://www.vegetariantimes.com oops

[koko124]

I personally don't understand vegetarianism, unless the principle behind it is not wanting to consume dead animal flesh because you hate the taste or the idea disgusts you.

I think a lot of people could benefit from eating *less* meat. But I've seen enough benefits from various animal parts that I don't want to ever become vegetarian. I eat meat a few times a week, usually non-traditional cuts.

[Chappie020]

https://www.youtube.com/user/chappie020/videos check my YouTube account!