Wanting to Eat Less -- and Eventually No -- Meat, But Don't Know Where to Start

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zamphir66
zamphir66 Posts: 582 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Title Says It All.

Any tips? A Beginner's Guide?

I mean, I get the basic idea -- beans, rice, yogurt and eggs for my protein mainly -- But I'm so fuzzy on how to go about making "meals" that don't focus on meat.
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Replies

  • mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12
    mnbvcxzlkjhgfdsa12 Posts: 204 Member
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    What type of foods do you usuallly eat or enjoy? Try those but substituting the meat for a non meat option.

    I’d be happy to give you a few pointers - I’ve been vegan for 20 years.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious
  • vingogly
    vingogly Posts: 1,785 Member
    edited June 2018
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    Just search for "vegetarian recipes" in your browser - there's a lot of recipe sites out there like:

    https://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipes

    I've moved to a mostly pescetarian diet - fish, non-animal proteins, dairy and eggs. I have no interest in becoming 100% vegetarian or vegan, but some use pescetarianism as a bridge to full vegetarianism. Here's a pescetarian recipe site:

    https://pescetarian.kitchen/recipes/
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious

    I think OP is asking about lacto-ovo vegetarianism, not veganism.
  • CharlieBeansmomTracey
    CharlieBeansmomTracey Posts: 7,682 Member
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    janejellyroll wrote: »
    CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »
    title says eventually no meat? are you going vegan for ethical reasons or? just curious

    I think OP is asking about lacto-ovo vegetarianism, not veganism.

    maybe thats it ,was just wondering was all
  • toxikon
    toxikon Posts: 2,384 Member
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    https://www.skinnytaste.com/recipes/vegetarian/
  • Toblave
    Toblave Posts: 244 Member
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    https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/what-the-health-a-movie-with-an-agenda/
  • vallary14
    vallary14 Posts: 215 Member
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    Experiment with tofu. I didn’t like it the first time I had it because someone used silken in a veggie chili recipe. But then I had it where it was seasoned well and baked. Try freezing for a chewier texture and try to press excess water out. I like it cubed in a stir fry and the baked slices are good hot or cold is great on sandwich, salad or just to snack on. There are so many kinds of beans. Hit the bulk foods section at Whole Foods and try a variety that’s new to you. Pick up some quinoa while you’re there too and use it instead of rice, quinoa is a complete protein making it a great center of the plate.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I think one good way to start out is just go ahead and cut any meat products that you don't really like. For example, I used to eat pretty much "all" meat except wild game/exotic stuff...but I never cared much for turkey, ribs, sausage, or pork chops, and rarely ate steak. I've always liked hamburgers, chicken that is not on the bone, and the occasional bacon on a BLT. So I kept eating those things while cutting out all of the not-so-appealing (to me) meats. It made it a lot easier to go meatless. I went meatless for a year but now I am back to what some call flexitarian, I order meat in restaurant meals a couple of times per month, but don't eat meat at home except fish/seafood (husband is pescetarian)...and we eat primarily vegetarian/vegan meals with lots of tofu, beans, eggs, various meat substitutes, etc. We use mostly vegan websites and cookbooks for ideas because they tend to be creative and high quality much of the time (Isa Chandra Moskowitz is one good source for recipes) and it's no big thing to just use regular dairy cheese, for example, instead of buying or making vegan cheese. Good luck!
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,900 Member
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    2,417 vegetarian recipes here: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25

    163 vegetarian recipes featuring beans or legumes: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25&f[1]=field_recipe_main_ingredient:789

    107 featuring tofu: https://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/search/ ?f[0]=field_special_diet:25&f[1]=field_recipe_main_ingredient:786

  • strongwouldbenice
    strongwouldbenice Posts: 153 Member
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    For meals that feel like they 'need' meat, I'll use substitutes, like meatless burger patties or meatless schnitzel with sides.
    For meals such as pasta, rice, curry, tacos, pizza, I add lots of veggies I enjoy and usually beans/lentils/chickpeas (maybe not on pizza :D ) and make sure the sauce is yummy and I don't even think about it 'missing' meat.
    Just go slow and find things you love eating that don't have meat, or can be adapted to be meatless. Better to take a year to stop eating meat than go cold turkey for three months, make yourself unhappy and switch back. Good luck!
  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
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    Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.

    hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
    meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
    steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
    chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
    beef stew becomes bean stew

    swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...

    There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
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    Cbean08 wrote: »
    Just make everything that you normally like to eat, remove the meat part and use a substitute.

    hamburger patty becomes an Impossible Burger patty
    meat lasagna becomes veggie lasagna
    steak and potato becomes tempeh and potato
    chicken tacos becomes tofu chorizo
    beef stew becomes bean stew

    swap chicken and beef stock for vegetable stock, add beans instead of chicken to salad, eat cheese and hummus sandwiches instead of turkey...

    There are a lot of options, and a lot of vegetarian products on the market now that require very little prep or seasoning. Many restaurants offer a decent amount of vegetarian options or are willing to accommodate requests.

    Can you buy the Impossible Burger where you live? Where I am we only can get them from restaurants.
  • nowine4me
    nowine4me Posts: 3,985 Member
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    Might wanna try a vegan or vegetarian meal subscription service to get you started. I use Hungryroot (it’s WFPB).
  • CarvedTones
    CarvedTones Posts: 2,340 Member
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    I stopped eating mammal meat for ethical reasons (carbon/acreage footprint and they readily bond with humans). That's a good half step towards going vegetarian. I eat vegetarian a fair amount because fish and poultry doesn't provide a lot of variety. I use morningstar crumbles a lot. Extra firm tofu marinated and cooked in the air fryer is good.

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