Vegetarian Experiement

jen0619

I have always thought about going to be a vegetarian so I am thinking of trying and seeing how well it goes for the next week/week and 1/2. Any suggestions?

I had also read that in today's modern society there are different types of vegetarian is that true?

pocketsam

Quorn!! Low fat and good protein and the quorn website has loads of recipes. This is my first week of no meat (just fish).

I had home made Tandoori quorn in Pitta tonight & it was SO good! Also had Quorn cottage pie with sweet potato mash on top (instead of reg potato) this week.

Its also so much cheaper than buying meat and much quicker and easier to cook.
Hope thats helpful

ProTFitness

Yes there are different styles of vegans. Eat lots of bean, whole grains, veggies fruits ect .

here is a vegan Web page
http://www.vrg.org/

superhippiechik

I am a flexitarian. I eat a primarily vegan diet,but if I am really craving something I eat it! When I first went veggie I ate a lot of Amy's Dinners. They are like a TV dinner but waay better tasting and good for you tooo!

Violentbeauti

I was just looking into this myself. There does seem to be 8 different kinds of vegetarian. And then there's the vegans of coarse. I'm going to be starting a "semi-vegetarian" diet the beginning of the month.
This is the website I read up on, hope it helps you out some.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vegetarianism

aviduser

Trust me, being a vegetarian is not the answer to losing weight. Eating healthy is. Do not go crazy on the Quorn--I have read some things about it. Eat tofu, tempe, seitan, beans, quinoa and eggs (if you're not vegan) for protein.

But just remember, cupcakes and cookies and ice cream are vegetarian! (my particular problem) So is booze, beer and wine.

Vegetables tend to have more food volume with fewer calories, which can make you fuller, but it is still possible to be a vegetarian and develop poor eating habits. Veg or no, the real key is eating healthy, balancing proteins & carbs, and watching your calories.

BTW, if you were wondering why you should trust me, I was a full vegetarian (not vegan) for 15 years. I added fish back into my diet for occasional meals about 2 years ago.

Trishkit

As a vegan, I have a few tips:

I would suggest staying away from meat substitutes, initially. If you're just coming off meat, you're going to compare everything you try to what you've had before, and generally people seem to find it hard to taste things for what they are. If you have a Boca burger and expect it to taste like a hamburger, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you give it time and treat it as a new food, you'll be more likely to enjoy what you eat.

Try adding in beans, lentils, and whole grains for more protein and fiber. Quinoa is also a great source of protein and is very flexible, as long as you find good recipes for it. I like to mix up a batch of pesto (basil, pine nuts, some sun-dried tomatoes, and a bit of oil) and mix that in with the quinoa, and toss some pine nuts and roasted pumpkin seeds on top.

If you're looking for quick and easy, Amy's Kitchen makes some good microwavable dinners, all of which are meat-free. My meat-loving husband often opts for those, when we're pressed for time. Amy's has a pretty good variety of tastes (Indian, Mexican, plain-old American), so you get a bit of variety, there. Obviously, you really want to avoid living off those, though.

Trishkit

Trust me, being a vegetarian is not the answer to losing weight. Eating healthy is. Do not go crazy on the Quorn--I have read some things about it. Eat tofu, tempe, seitan, beans, quinoa and eggs (if you're not vegan) for protein.

But just remember, cupcakes and cookies and ice cream are vegetarian! (my particular problem) So is booze, beer and wine.

Vegetables tend to have more food volume with fewer calories, which can make you fuller, but it is still possible to be a vegetarian and develop poor eating habits. Veg or no, the real key is eating healthy, balancing proteins & carbs, and watching your calories.

BTW, if you were wondering why you should trust me, I was a full vegetarian (not vegan) for 15 years. I added fish back into my diet for occasional meals about 2 years ago.

Thank you for saying this! When I became vegan, I had friends and family who assumed that just because I cooked something vegan, that it was good for you! (Ugh, drove me up the wall!) I make some damn good peanut butter cookies and truffles, but no way are they CLOSE to being healthy. It's very easy to be a "junk food" vegan or vegetarian. I love the occasional treat (when I deserve it), but I try my best to avoid the junk; it's not worth my health.

jen0619

I have eaten many vegetarian and meatless. I love boca burgers and amy's products as well as other lines of meatless foods. I love gardein products. The only thing I don't think I could give up is dairy products I have tried soy milk and almond milks they are not bad at all. I just don't prefer sweet tasting milks. Thanks yall

kimwig

As a vegan, I have a few tips:

I would suggest staying away from meat substitutes, initially. If you're just coming off meat, you're going to compare everything you try to what you've had before, and generally people seem to find it hard to taste things for what they are. If you have a Boca burger and expect it to taste like a hamburger, you will be sorely disappointed. But if you give it time and treat it as a new food, you'll be more likely to enjoy what you eat.

Try adding in beans, lentils, and whole grains for more protein and fiber. Quinoa is also a great source of protein and is very flexible, as long as you find good recipes for it. I like to mix up a batch of pesto (basil, pine nuts, some sun-dried tomatoes, and a bit of oil) and mix that in with the quinoa, and toss some pine nuts and roasted pumpkin seeds on top.

If you're looking for quick and easy, Amy's Kitchen makes some good microwavable dinners, all of which are meat-free. My meat-loving husband often opts for those, when we're pressed for time. Amy's has a pretty good variety of tastes (Indian, Mexican, plain-old American), so you get a bit of variety, there. Obviously, you really want to avoid living off those, though.

Yes, as a vegan you do have to think a little more carefully about food (but it does help not being able to even think about some of the fast food places).

Cutting out diary helped (got rid of cheese and cream etc which have so much fat, and it made me come up with different recipes for pizza!).

Experiment with food, use the 'Net for research. There are a lot of off the self vegan meat substitutes (which I now really prefer to meat), but as with many processed foods be ware of the salt content.

.... And yes vegan is not always low fat /sugar, there are plenty of recipes for cookies and cakes etc that do not use butter or eggs but can still give plenty of calories. As with anything you still have to manage your portion sizes etc.

However veganism gave me a better focus, helped take some "bad for me" foods out of the equation. I know eat well, am rarely hungry, and continue to lose weight.