Vegitarians

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:49 pm

Ever since christmas I have not really been able to eat meat anymore. For christmas dinner we had some beef, and my parents undercooked it and the texture, feel, and taste were just awful. Since then I've been avoiding meat, and realized last week that I want to become a vegetarian. I've been doing some research on what to do to start, but want some advice from fellow vegetarians on cook books and such that I should invest in. Also how to avoid the temptation to eat meat again at the start of the conversion. I've been avoiding meat by eating chicken ramen, which is made from meat but has no meat in it. I'm slowly getting used to no real meat, but I am still sort of craving meat. I also need to let my parents know, seeing as how all we ever eat is meat around here. Any info, advice, etc would be geat.

RMD · Post by **RMD** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:51 pm

Or you could just got eat something that want cooked poorly and get over your little I wanna be a vegitarian kick.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 10:53 pm

No, I've always been like that. The only meat I've ever been about to eat is beef and chicken. When I do eat it, it can;t have any fat in it what so ever or I won't eat it.

RMD · Post by **RMD** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:00 pm

Beef and chicken covers like 2/3 of the real meat groups. I mean I don't see the point of being a complete vegitarian. I think balance is more important.

CupNoodle · Post by **CupNoodle** » Tue Jan 16, 2007 11:08 pm

MORE LIKE VAGINATARIAN AM I RIGHT

DaMadFiddler · Post by **DaMadFiddler** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 12:35 am

Your best friend, *regardless* of diet, is http://www.AllRecipes.com

That said: as counterintuitive as this may sound, the transition is much easier cold-turkey than a slow easing-out process. Just drop it all, at once, at the same time. For the first month or so, you'll try to eat mostly the same way. Getting pizzas just with different toppings, making the same dishes and just leaving the meat out (which works well for most pasta dishes), getting a soyburger or some veggie bacon/sausage/what-have-you when the craving hits.

That won't last. You can't eat exactly the same way, just without the meat...it will feel like a limitation, and you'll get bored with your diet. What you need to do is use it as an opportunity to *expand* your tastes rather than limiting them. Take the opportunity to try things you might not have bothered with before...try new kinds of soups, new ethnic foods (Indian food is very good, very cheap, and largely meatless), and playing with new recipes at home.

It's still a little tough when you visit family for holidays or whatever, because you want to adhere to your diet but you don't want to be an imposition. To help avoid this...once you've found a few recipes you like, offer to help cook meals when you're in this situation. They'll appreciate the help, and you can make sure there's at least a dish or two you can eat.

It's not that hard, but it is an adjustment. The easiest way to MAKE it hard is to try to act like everything's going to be the same. If you need any recipes, product recommendations, or substitution guides, I'd be happy to post some.

Sir Slash · Post by **Sir Slash** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 1:23 am

i agree with DaMadFiddler, if your going to do it.. ease out

but more importantly i really don't see why you want to totally dump meats, if you crave it why not have it, just cut back on what you don't like

Veggita2099 · Post by **Veggita2099** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:37 am

I know this means nothing as over half this forum (probably most of it) is atheist. But the Bible makes it clear that there is nothing wrong with eating meat. Even health wise if you watch your diet you will find meat to be not only acceptable, but also healthy. Turkey is generally pretty healthy and is certain parts of the chicken (breast meat is good for you).

Don't let one bad meal break you of a lifetime of meat. What if next year your family served you moldy/rotten vegetables and it made you sick? Would you never eat vegetables again?

Skynet · Post by **Skynet** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 2:40 am

I got sick from eating pork once and I've never touched the stuff since. Not all meat, just pork. Hell I still eat ham and bacon!

not just souLLy now · Post by **not just souLLy now** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 3:11 am

See I thought Thomas' post said 'Anyone know anywhere I can get some good advice on becoming a vegetarian?' not 'Hey everyone can you convince me not to become a vegetarian'.

It might not be the way you choose to live but leave it be, when I was younger I started going out with a girl and turned her away from vegetarianism which she'd been happily doing for a year; at the time I thought I was being really clever, but now I just realise it was just a pretty shitty thing for me to do.

DMFs advice seems pretty good, I can see some time in the future me going vegetarian for at least a while or at least majorly cutting down on my meat intake.

ace · Post by **ace** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 4:50 am

I know how you feel Thomas, I went vegetarian (well mostly cut meat out of my diet - specifically beef, and specifically for the same reason) for a long while. Ultimately I was craving a steak one day and decided to get one. After two years away from steak, biting in was bliss.

When I was a kid, I would eat anything, anyway it was prepared. I'm not exactly picky now, but I'm more particular. I love chicken for example, I could eat it with any meal, but like you, I can't STAND having fat on my meat. It makes me feel so queasy inside, I want to throw up the second it touches my tongue. I don't even like skin on my chicken anymore. I have grown to loathe rotisserie style chicken over the years, since we used to have it once or twice a week at my house, plus an additional once or twice a week as left-overs.

I love all kinds of meat, but they definetly have to be lean.

Anyways, best of luck. If it's not working out for you and you are craving meat though, perhaps it's not in your best interest to be a vegetarian. Just eat what you feel like, as long as it's healthy.

mkfreak · Post by **mkfreak** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:16 am

RMD wrote:Beef and chicken covers like 2/3 of the real meat groups. I mean I don't see the point of being a complete vegitarian. I think balance is more important.

I would have to agree.

ace · Post by **ace** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 5:27 am

Who says you can't have a balanced vegetarian diet? Protein doesn't just come from meat, for example.

perry · Post by **perry** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 6:40 am

not just souLLy now wrote:See I thought Thomas' post said 'Anyone know anywhere I can get some good advice on becoming a vegetarian?' not 'Hey everyone can you convince me not to become a vegetarian'.

I don't mean to do it in a big and clever 'im the meat eater, lets make the vegan eat meat' way. The way I see it is, if you crave meat, then you eat meat. I always figured vegetarians would have a moral problem with it.

bizzle · Post by **bizzle** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 7:16 am

CupNoodle wrote:MORE LIKE VAGINATARIAN AM I RIGHT

Yes.

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 8:53 am

I never really crave meat, well every so often I'll crave a cheeseburger, but anything else I'm fine without.

DaMadFiddler: Thanks, I'll check out the site you posted for recipes. Also the family advice seems good. I'm the type who doesn't want to impose on others, so I'd probably try to cook my own meal so they wouldn't have to spend extra time doing it for me. Luckily my family does make a lot of veggy meals for holidays, it's just when my parents run the family get togethers or a standard meal they always make meat the main course will staying pretty light on the side dishes.

Post by **Christuserloeser** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:25 am

I'm doing hamburgers/cheeseburgers with some substitute like soja/tofu. I usually avoid substitutes since they taste like meat (which now smells and tastes pretty disgusting to me, pretty much since a few weeks after I became vegetarian in 1997)... - but for hamburgers I just love it

Anyway, good luck on your decision. I am sick of people that try to convince vegetarians to eat meat but you also gotta be careful not to become one of those vegetarians that try to convince EVERYBODY to become vegetarian - or even their cats* >_<

After all eating meat is not the same as eating human flesh ^^ (we may now laugh about it, but I've met some people... you wouldn't believe it...

)

* (which, just btw, is impossible as cats, unlike humans, actually are carnivores: they'll die!)

perry · Post by **perry** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:36 am

Christuserloeser wrote:I'm doing hamburgers/cheeseburgers with some substitute like soja/tofu. I usually avoid substitutes since they taste like meat (which now smells and tastes pretty disgusting to me, pretty much since a few weeks after I became vegetarian in 1997)... - but for hamburgers I just love it

Anyway, good luck on your decision. I am sick of people that try to convince vegetarians to eat meat but you also gotta be careful not to become one of those vegetarians that try to convince EVERYBODY to become vegetarian - or even their cats* >_<

After all eating meat is not the same as eating human flesh ^^ (we may now laugh about it, but I've met some people... you wouldn't believe it... )

* (which, just btw, is impossible as cats, unlike humans, actually are carnivores: they'll die!)

I'm a carnivore. Like a caveman, I just eat meat.

Wanna see me beat my chest ?

Post by **Christuserloeser** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:43 am

You do the impossible then

'See the living caveman how he uses fire to cook & digest meat!' - Just joking, I know for a fact that there actually are humans that live(d) entirely on a meat diet - or fish in this case: Inuit. But that's about it, I don't think it's exactly healty. But I am a smoker so health isn't what I am after ^^

jaredfogle · Post by **jaredfogle** » Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:55 am

Sir Slash wrote:i agree with DaMadFiddler, if your going to do it.. ease out

Go back and read DMF's post.