Vegetarians or Vegans Out there?
 

What has been your experience since becoming a vegetarian or vegan? Any good recipes? I am trying to become a vegetarian. Please share your experiences. Any really good restaurant chains out there?

SC

Hey Summer!

Sorry to crash :) I've been a vegetarian since I was a little girl (a total vegetarian -- no chicken, red meat, fish but I will eat dairy) and it's actually really simple after awhile. I can't imagine ever eating meat again. Especially in my family where cholesterol/heart disease is a problem, my cardiovascular health has always been great and I feel so much healthier for not chowing down on lots of meat.

You can find vegetarian things at most restaurants. Lots of chain restaurants (Chili's, Red Robin, TGI Fridays) have veggie burger options. There are plenty of salads, pastas, rice dishes, etc. that can be customized to suit your needs. If you explain that you're a vegetarian to the waiter and ask nicely, I've found they usually go out of their way to help me find something to eat. I've never had a kitchen refuse to modify a dish to make it meat free and most of the time my waiter will be like "Oh yeah, my (sister/best friend/neighbor) is a vegetarian, don't worry, I'll talk to the kitchen for you." They're very understanding. And it's always boring, but there's ALWAYS salad :)

Learn to love Thai, Indian and Mediterreanean food (La Shish is one particularly good chain) because eastern cuisines have lots of tasty vegetarian stuff. Hummus, baba ganouj, falafel, paneer, tofu pad prik....yum! Morningstar Farms has the best selection of meat replacement products...vegetarian "chicken" patties, "burgers," "hot dogs"... even veggie sausage and bacon. It's great and incredibly tasty.

Nicer places, even if it's a seafood place or a steakhouse, will go out of their way to cater to a vegetarian. I've called up ahead of time and the hostess has actually had the chef create a "special" pasta dish just for me...it's great!

Now, the problems I've encountered...

People don't seem to understand that being a VEGETARIAN means NO MEAT AT ALL (yes, fish and seafood is MEAT! Yes, chicken is MEAT!) That's probably because so many people call themselves vegetarian and eat chicken/fish. Nuh-uh. That kind of eating is something else entirely. But because of this, be prepared to explain yourself over and over again...

My uncle: "Oh you're a vegetarian. Do you eat chicken?"
Me: "No, I eat no meat at all."
Uncle: "But you eat fish."
Me: "I don't eat meat."
Uncle: "Fish isn't meat."
Me: "Oh, is it a vegetable?"
Uncle: "Well NO but it's not like a COW."
Me: "Ew."

I've also gone to weddings and plated dinners where I'll check the "vegetarian" option and been served fish and even chicken. I don't like to cause trouble in these circumstances, so I go hungry and make a Taco Bell run later or ask for extra vegetables from the kitchen. That sometimes can be a problem.

Be prepared to cook a LOT too, because it's easy to fall into the trap of going out and the only thing you want to order is like, cheese fries. You have to force yourself to make the majority of your diet vegetables. I have vegetarian friends (and I even fall into this trap sometimes) that will skip over the salad for mac&cheese and other fried deliciousness. If you aren't really strict with yourself about the vegetables, you can actually gain weight on a vegetarian diet, which isn't fun.

If it's still out there, I received an amazing book called "A Teen's Guide to Going Vegetarian" when I decided to give up meat. It has lots of easy recipes and motivation to go vegetarian and it's not too "save the animals-PETA" preachy. I know we're adults now but I still use it for recipes and healthy vegetarian tips. I highly recommend it if it's still in print.

Good luck and PM me if you need any more advice! :)

I'm lacto-ovo (eats eggs and cheese) vegetarian. I cheat every now and then with chicken or fish, but that's like once every other month.

I'm most satisfied when I go to Italian or Asian restaraunts, lot's of tasty vegetarian dishes there. I find mexican and traditional American restaurants vegetarian unfriendly. There aren't any vegetarian restaurants or chains that I know of. The only stone vegetarian restaraunt I heard of is The Green Zebra in Chicago.

Be prepared for some drama from family and friends. Remember that one Bernie Mac show when one of his daughters went vegetarian and he kind of flipped out? You might get a few reactions like that, lol.

Make sure you get enough protein and iron. The first month after I went vegetarian in 2002 I started losing clumps of hair! I was not getting enough protein, I notice the more eggs I eat the less I have that problem. Speaking of eggs, original eggs are high in cholesterol, try Egg Beaters (eggs without the yolks). You can eat as many eggs you like that way. As for iron, it's somewhat harder for your body to absorb iron from plant sources. Just make sure you eat iron rich foods with foods high in Vitamin C AND low in calcium.

I pretty much enjoy being vegetarian, and I think it's something worth the try.

Vegan
 

I am a vegan. I started in 1992.

Here is a link to the largest vegetarian restaurant chain in the world:
http://www.kingdomofyah.com/Soul%20V...Worldwide.html

Today, being a vegan is simple. There are vegan hotdogs (brand: Yves), vegan hamburger patties, vegan ice cream, vegan pizza, etc.

WOW. Not only I didn't know there were vegetarian restaurant chains, there's one located in my city. :o You learn something new everyday. :)

I applaud you for going vegan and staying vegan that long. There's no way I can give up cheese.

Hahaha, that's me! :p People look at me strangely when I say I'm vegetarian, people look at me even more strangely when I say I HATE salads. I love cooked veggies, but I hate lettuce and raw spinach, which makes up most salads. When I go to typical chains like TGIF's I chow down on cheese sticks and french fries, and then order ice cream for dessert. I'm glad that fruit salads are gaining more popularity.

So true. Mozzarella stix are my downfall. :D

ETA: Dionysus, I hear you about the vegetables... I hate bell peppers and onions and so when people try to be nice and order me a veggie pizza or whatever, it is usually loaded w/peppers and onions.... they think I'm totally weird for wanting to pick them off. But I love all other vegetables! Even Brussels sprouts, radishes, and beets. Go figure that one out!

Here is one of the best links to vegetarian restaurants in the USA:

www.happycow.net

I am a strict vegetarian. I use to be close to vegan, but then I got very sick with an undiagnosed seizure disorder. So, I had to go back to eating dairy. I had to make that compromise.

But, I highly recommend giving yourself a timetable as to when you want to be come a "level vegetarian". If you want to become a vegan, you will need to give yourself at least a year to accomplish that goal. Especially if you have not had your metabolism checked by a professional healthcare provider.

You need to know your basic blood glucose, cholesterol, triglycerides and possibly other levels such as your AST and Albumin levels.

Then, you need a good multi-vitamin for vegetarians. I have had to switch recently, because I react to something in the Maxine's Nature Made Brand. And some of them have too much stuff in them that I personally disagree for human consumption--that is my professional opinion.

The last thing you must do is get your B-vitamins. Vitamin B12 is NOT made by plants. You MUST use an animal source. Cyanocobalimin is insufficient for required B12 amounts. Or you can have anemic issues even with a Iron booster...

And you cannot do this without meditation or spirituality.

Good luck on your pursuit.

Vegans can get Vitamin B-12 from nutritional yeast.

Iron can come from a multi-vitamin or blackstrap molasses which has the highest amount of iron outside of the animal kingdom.

Vegans can get calcium from soy milk, soy cheese, etc.

Hello AKA_Monet,
Why did you have to go back to eating dairy? Couldn't you use soy cheese and soy milk?

AKAMonet, have you been to Sipz in Clairemont Mesa? There used to be one in Poway but it's closed. They're going to open one in North Park. I've heard it was good but the Poway one closed before I got to try it. :(

I'm not a vegetarian but I eat so little meat compared to your average American that everyone thinks I'm a vegeatarian. I love Morningstar Farms! Their breakfast sausage patties are delicious. I eat them as snacks. :)

Actually, according to Cecil's Medical Books, Nutritional Yeast produce cyanocobalamin-a Cobalt coordinated porphyrin crystal lattace. Which means it has an attached functional group that is not properly absorbed through the gut. You will get some level of B-12 from yeast, but not enough to make-up for the loss. The first symptoms are psychiatric and neurological...

The best source of Iron is from Beets, actually... Blackstrap is okay especially as an alternative to caffienated beverages, such as coffee. Usually, iron is coordinated with other chemicals that cause it to be malabsorbed...

Calcium in soy products is added probably from shells. I would avoid coral because it destroys the coral ecosystem... Coral has been utterly destroyed throughout the ocean and it takes millennia for coral beds to make a comeback.

As for calcium, you really don't need THAT much, especially if you have vitamin D--colecalciferol. Vitamin D sits with melanin. As long as you have sunlight, you have activated Vitamin D. The absorption of light makes it work and converts calcium to a usuable source. The bone morphogenic genes are just becoming known. The importance of adequate sunlight has only just become more appreciated in molecular studies.

I had to go back to eating some dairy--I still do not drink any milk, straight-up--for the free fatty acids I needed for neurological reasons. I was having one too many dizzing and fainting spells, an undiagnosed and asymptomatic seizure disorder. I have had 4 MRI's that are unable to find anything and 1 seizure test. I already have benign hypertension. All of these issues are genetic. I inherited genes from my parents. My genes activated on me at an early age. As a stop-gap measurement, I had to change my lifestyle to one more consistent with my "spiritual beliefs". I refuse to be dehabilitated by cardiovascular/cerebrovascular disease. I've watched my grandmother and grandfather die slow deaths due to stroke and diabetic complications.

That is why I am a strict ova-lacto-vegetarian. I eat egg beaters, or egg whites. I might have whip cream or cheese. I eat these items once a week or less. But, I take a B6/B12 vitamin I know is made from milk products. I add cream to my coffee unless a non-dairy creamer is available... One day if I can, I will go back to being full vegan. But, given my health and my genetic composition, I doubt I will every be able to.

When I am in Clairemont again, I'll have to check it out. It wasn't there when I lived near there... So it must be rather new. Is it any good? I'll have to tell my folks, because my father is a vegetarian...

I like the Morningstar Farms sausage patties too... They do add chicken stock to their products. Of course they are owned by Kellogg, which I think is partly owned by Campbell's Soup... But I'm not sure.

Dayum, I really miss Cereal Match. Where I am now, they don't sell it. :(

I am not vegetarian, but my boyfriend is, and that means that my meat consumption has dropped drastically. I might have chicken twice a month, but thats really it.

We do a lot of stir-frys. Trader Joe's has a wide variety of sauces for stir-fry, and we occasionally do a west indian-style curry (the key to making it edible was adding a bit more oil then we would usually use). I will eat pretty much any vegetable outside of onions, and there is nothing he doesn't eat, so that makes it easy for us.

The most important thing for us in eating is definitely time. When we don't have time or energy to cook and start eating out our diet suffers dramatically. It goes from vegetable stir-fry with brown rice to pizza 4 times a week. Thai food is a great alternative (the place near us makes an OUTSTANDING eggplant and tofu curry), but they don't deliver and papa john's does.

I have also discovered Amys brand frozen foods- they make FANTASTIC frozen meals, burritos and wraps. My new favorite is the vegan spinach paneer wrap- it's amazing.

Basically, find a good health food store with some variety and start thinking about how you can adapt the things you already eat to fit into a vegetarian lifestyle (for Thanksgiving we had a quorn roast that I cooked like a turkey, with stuffing on the side made with mushroom broth. It was wonderful!).

Thank you all so much for the wonderful information!!!

I am happy to say that I had a great lunch today - brown rice with spaghetti sauce and ... don't laugh ... tofu balls. But it was great!! There were great veggies too. The lady at the restaurant also gave me great tips.

She said protein shakes are good for protein and that Whole Foods and Trader Joes are great. I know that they can be kind of pricey so I'll have to be careful. She said they sell egg whites by the container so you can make great omelettes. Whoo hooo!!!

Anybody got any good and quick recipes? Post for all to see!!

SC

YUM!!! :)

Whole Foods sells brown rice pasta. It's tastes really good. The texture is a little different but I liked it. Mr TooCute didn't:rolleyes: Whole Foods is pricey which is why I call it the DEVIL, lol! I'm not vegetarian but I'm trying to eat better and use more organic products. They have the BEST sushi ever but watch out for the wasabi. It's HOT!

lovelyivy84 - My mom used to LOVE Amy's Frozen Dinners. He favorite was the brown rice and black eye peas! (country:p)

I MISS WHOLE FOODS!

And their amazing, amazing bakery.

*sniff*:(

Just saw it on the news...
 

High IQ Link to Being Vegetarian

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6180753.stm

I guess I'm the exception, la la la. ;)

Vegan hotdogs are nasty!

Amy's vegan pizza is really good though.

I recently started my veganism, before I only ate white meat. (And of course no pork.) But it was a personal choice for me to go vegan.

Imperial1

BAM!

TTT for RD. ;)

i'm so happy someone bumped this thread back up!

can anyone tell me what kind, if any, of vegetarians do only eat fish? ok, i know that fish is NOT a veggie, and therefore wouldnt be vegetarianism, but i mainly want to cut out land animals to a bare minimum...

Nobody that calls themselves a vegetarian should eat fish. Some do, but the main consensus in the vegetarian community is that there's no such thing as semi-vegetarian (either you're a vegetarian - no animal flesh - or you're not).

That said, do what you want. You want to cut out land animals? Just eat fish. There are plenty of people out there who swear off poultry/red meat and still eat fish. Most just don't attach a label to their eating habits. If someone asks, just be like "I really don't eat much meat at all, but I'll have fish on occasion."

I'm not well versed in the macrobiotic lifestyle, but I do know that most macrobiotics don't eat any meat except fish. Maybe that's something you'd want to look into? It did seem a little extreme when I looked into it but it might be something to try if you still want to get a little animal protein from seafood.

ETA: I lied. There's totally a label for fish-only eating habits. I found out it's called pescetarianism. LOL, if you think being a vegetarian is confusing, try explaining pescetarianism to curious passerby.

mmm, yeah. and my 6 year old cant pronounce that either, im sure!

im not anti-meat, im anti-chemicals/antibiotics/etc. i sat back one day at a restaurant and watched my daughter order her 300th chicken tender meal and said to myself, "that is why she is sooo tall, and soooo getting a figure earlier than she should!" I did my research, and im trying to cut her from most chicken/beef, we will still do eggs, cheese, etc.

What a great idea!

Organic meat is very expensive, but organic eggs aren't so bad, and organic milk and cheeses are common now. I get clowned by some of my relatives for eating organic, but I care about my health enough to invest in the best produce, point blank. Plus it tastes AMAZING- I didn't know certain vegetables COULD be tasty until I tried them from organic local markets.

i have a coworker who has been a vegetarian for YEARS, and since i got pregnant, she's been sneaking in little awesome tofu/soy dishes, and turned me on to several dishes i have given my daughter. she didnt know what it was but she loved them, and that has given me the go-ahead to continue.

i do buy the 8th continent soy milk/chocolate milk,:p LOVE IT!! (hubby wont have it, he grew up in the country and any milk that aint cow, aint right!:D) and ive looked into organic fruits and veggies. i think it was the word ORGANIC that had me thinking, oh hell no...its just prissier food that costs more. now i know the difference.

my family growing up never ate pork, rarely ate beef or chicken, it was mostly turkey everything. i am probably going to go back that route...i guess i am becoming a "flexitarian" for the moment!

Thanks!!

mini Hijack/
Are you or her dad tall? I'm just wondering why would would assume the chemicals first.
end jack/

OneTimeSBX, my Dad has that theory too. I think there might be some merit to it. Some of the food that we eat these days has alot of hormones to make the animals produce more or bigger. Even look at chicken. Chicken legs are way bigger than they used to be seems to me. LOL. The kids these days are developing much, much faster and are much bigger than we were at their age, and I'm only a 70s baby. The difference between me and my sister (an 80s baby) is ridiculous in terms of development timing, build, height, etc. and no there is no one that she would have gotten it from. Many of her friends are the same way whereas we were undeveloped at a young age, she was filling out and getting the attention of random men in places like gas stations. :eek: I'm like, don't you guys know that she's only 11 or so????:confused:

My naturopathic took me off dairy and red meat b/c of the effect that it can have on the body so I don't think that it's too far fetched to realize that some of the drugs in food could be passed on to humans and have a similar effect either internally with various ailments and the growth of indicators of these ailments or externally with development of the externally-viewed body.

This is an informative thread. I have thought cutting down on my meat intake, but my problem is I just don't know what to cook or buy after a while. I feel like I'm eating the same thing over and over. I have no idea what to do with tofu, lol, but I do buy lots of soy milk, and I also buy the veggie chicken patties, hot dogs, burgers, etc. The Morning Star chicken patties really taste like the real thing.

there are NO tall people in our family on either side lol, im 5ft4, hes 5ft5. i pretty much round out the tall women, he's about average.

i know there is a chance she will have inherited a gene from god knows where to make her 5ft11, but ive noticed even the past few months as i have limited her consumption of certain foods, she has slimmed down a bit...coincidence? i dont know. but if i can get her healthier anyway in the process, ill do it

It works well as a chicken sub. Any recipe that calls for cubed chicken can be replaced with cubed tofu.

There's a little Jap-American place near my house that makes the BEST Hibachi Tofu and springrolls!

New research...
 

Good luck with Fish... :)

Fish increases cholesterol storage

Tofu is really easy to prepare. In fact, it's very porous, so you can marinate it and it absorbs flavor well. I love it. You can also use soy crumbles in place of ground beef/turkey. You can also use veggie dogs, burgers, and soy "chicken" patties.

Check out www.vegcooking.com for recipes or search www.allrecipes.com for tofu/meatless/vegan recipes. I have a bunch that I just printed. That should hold me until I get used to being vegetarian.

I considered becoming a pescatarian, but I just don't want to eat chicken anymore either. While I LOOOOOOOOOOVE seafood (and might still eat it until I ease into this new lifestyle), I know that I have to give it up. I need to reclaim my health.

As for the babies getting bigger, it's a REALITY!! My little cousin is almost 4 and I can already see that she is going to be big sexy fine when she gets older! :eek: It's shocking!! While I know that kids grow at different rates, it's crazy for little girls to have "shapes" at such a young age. It's frightening. I blame cow's milk and the hormones in beef/pork/chicken. These kids are starting to look older for their age, the onset of puberty is hitting earlier, their behaviors and hormones are all out of whack, etc. While not everything is the fault of milk and meats, I know that it plays a BIG part. When the Lord decides to bless me with kids, they won't be getting any of that mess.

i realized that too...we went swimsuit shopping in May. i refuse to put my child in a 2 piece, and every single tank suit we tried on was skintight thru her booty. she ended up in a size 12...:eek: at the age of 6, you have no business with that much behind lol! of course, im built like that too, but my curvy genes didnt kick in until i was 19...we went school shopping 3 times last year. even buying things a size or two too big didnt work, her behind was too big. poor thing, she's skinny every where else lol!

I feel your pain. I was inspired by a relative to try Vegatarianism. I buy a lot of things at Whole Foods Market here in Houston <---relative works there so that helps... but I've tried the Vegan meatballs, made a pizza with "gimme lean" and rice cheese <----good stuff!!!, and I've bought a lot of the gardenburger products. The portabella patties/ "riblets" are excellent. I'm slowing having to learn how to eat and taking red meatout of my diet all together. I already don't eat pork (just never cared for it). I started about a month ago. I did notice though that the vegatarian products are pretty high in sodium and I've had problems with my BP after I had my daughter.

Come Veteran Vegetarians... where are those recipes!!!!

OneTimeSBX,
One thing that I have also noticed just by trying on jeans myself in places like Macy's is that the sizes nowadays are much smaller than they used to be. You cannot tell me that I wear a 12/14. I am all of 130 lbs. and 5'1". When I first started buying jeans in Macy's as a teen, I wore a 4 or a 6 and I wasn't much smaller. How is a person who is 130 lbs. all of a sudden a 12/14. Come on now. The sizes are smaller nowadays. That might be some of what is going on with your daughter if you are thinking of what a size 12 in girls *used* to be. The sizes are much much smaller now for some reason.

SC

The size thing varies from store to store.

About a year or so ago one of the local news stations got a "fit model", a "perfect size eight", according to industry standards. They hit a local mall and had her try on jeans at Banana, Bebe, Gap, etc. Guess what? She was a 4 at the largest. She even fit a zero at Banana!

This is why I worry about fit and not digits on the tag!

I'm a new vegetarian. I've surprised myself because I would clown those who are vegetarians. I started giving up pork for lent but that wasn't as much of a sacrifice so I decided to bring it up a notch and give up meat for lent. I was surprised with the changes to my body that took place. ALL impurities of the bodies were no more. I felt more energy. I never had problems with “movements”. In fact they were VERY regular. It would have been harder for me to give up rice than meat. I was surprised at all of the food that I have been able to eat.

I’d highly suggest it to anyone.

Thanks! Now, if one day I can just trick my husband and daughter into eating tofu instead of ground beef/turkey... :p, because there is NO WAY they'll eat it willingly, LOL!