Converting from meat to vegetarian..Where/how to start?

i grew up on tv dinners and chinese takeout. meat, meat, meat, no veggies. if it was pizza, i'd order the 'meat lovers'. i loved seafood.

i went vegan about 15 years ago. 'cold turkey', so to say. it took me several months to sort everything out. at first i felt hungry, but it was generally mental -- meals felt like they needed 'meat' to be complete, and it took awhile to adjust to that. finding 'replacements' for that worked well, and having people to talk to helped a ton.

after a few months, it was easy. now i have zero urges for meat. we now raise lovely hens here, so i'm no longer technically vegan (an egg a day) but those chickens are super well loved, sit on our laps, etc, so i'm not concerned about the ethics of it. there's also a non-vegan ingredient in one supplement i take. but basically, i'm pretty darn close.

with any change, it will take loved ones awhile to get used to it. get ready for jokes, etc. 'vegans' often get a bad rap because every once in awhile there's a militant one, but in my experience, there are countless meat eaters that are far more aggressive and rude than those rare over-the-top vegans. it's no wonder some lash out, lol.

some thoughts -- early on, if you are absolutely craving something and it's testing your limits, let yourself have it. you don't want to give up just because you had a bad day, so let yourself have that bad day and then get back on track. do the research yourself to find suitable restaurants that both you and your family can find a good meal at. sometimes parents/friends can get pissed that you don't want to go to grab pizza, but if there's a place next door you can grab something at, don't even bring it up and just be casual about it. let them eat what they want. guaranteed an uncle or someone like that will try to eat steak 1 inch from your face telling you how good it is... just let all that slide.

i definitely recommend people go vegan rather than vegetarian, because in my experience (having known plenty of both), new vegetarians eat like crap. tons of cheese and dairy, as they try to replace stuff with 'comfort' food (pizza every night!). if you just go vegan, you're forced to do the research and will find better alternatives in the long run.

over time (a couple months) the alternatives will completely replace previous foods in your headspace. for example, i absolutely love trader joe veggie meatballs. i can't even remember what real meatballs taste like, and have no desire to find out... it's just been 'replaced'. foodstuffs like gluten, tofu, seitan, etc, have extremely different tastes/textures based on cooking style. if you don't like one kind of tofu, you might love another. i love fresh, firm tofu. i'm sure 15 years ago i would have thought it was disgusting.

don't overdo soy. it's an easy rookie mistake.

cook your own food. don't put the work on someone else (like your mom) or else it only adds to the tension. find solid, awesome recipes and then share with your family as a side dish to whatever they're having. if you're good at it, you'll impress them. most meat eaters think of salads and tasteless tofu when they think 'vegan', and that couldn't be further from the truth nowadays.

most of my family is now vegan or close to it, and i never preached once. over time, they just slowly found it for themselves, mostly due to health reasons (i did it for ethical ones). times have certainly changed.

you're lucky, nowadays vegan food at the store and restaurants isn't just plentiful, but awesome. 15 years ago it was hard to find decent replacements for everything from cheese to cookies to whatever. now, it's easy. coconut bliss? hell yea.

if you drink coffee with milk, i recommend rice milk. if you go with soy milk, try different brands. some separate terribly and look disgusting in coffee. others don't. i avoid soy milk in general, though, and go rice just to reduce soy intake.

good luck!

i grew up on tv dinners and chinese takeout. meat, meat, meat, no veggies. if it was pizza, i'd order the 'meat lovers'. i loved seafood.

i went vegan about 15 years ago. 'cold turkey', so to say. it took me several months to sort everything out. at first i felt hungry, but it was generally mental -- meals felt like they needed 'meat' to be complete, and it took awhile to adjust to that. finding 'replacements' for that worked well, and having people to talk to helped a ton.

after a few months, it was easy. now i have zero urges for meat. we now raise lovely hens here, so i'm no longer technically vegan (an egg a day) but those chickens are super well loved, sit on our laps, etc, so i'm not concerned about the ethics of it. there's also a non-vegan ingredient in one supplement i take. but basically, i'm pretty darn close.

with any change, it will take loved ones awhile to get used to it. get ready for jokes, etc. 'vegans' often get a bad rap because every once in awhile there's a militant one, but in my experience, there are countless meat eaters that are far more aggressive and rude than those rare over-the-top vegans. it's no wonder some lash out, lol.

some thoughts -- early on, if you are absolutely craving something and it's testing your limits, let yourself have it. you don't want to give up just because you had a bad day, so let yourself have that bad day and then get back on track. do the research yourself to find suitable restaurants that both you and your family can find a good meal at. sometimes parents/friends can get pissed that you don't want to go to grab pizza, but if there's a place next door you can grab something at, don't even bring it up and just be casual about it. let them eat what they want. guaranteed an uncle or someone like that will try to eat steak 1 inch from your face telling you how good it is... just let all that slide.

i definitely recommend people go vegan rather than vegetarian, because in my experience (having known plenty of both), new vegetarians eat like crap. tons of cheese and dairy, as they try to replace stuff with 'comfort' food (pizza every night!). if you just go vegan, you're forced to do the research and will find better alternatives in the long run.

over time (a couple months) the alternatives will completely replace previous foods in your headspace. for example, i absolutely love trader joe veggie meatballs. i can't even remember what real meatballs taste like, and have no desire to find out... it's just been 'replaced'. foodstuffs like gluten, tofu, seitan, etc, have extremely different tastes/textures based on cooking style. if you don't like one kind of tofu, you might love another. i love fresh, firm tofu. i'm sure 15 years ago i would have thought it was disgusting.

don't overdo soy. it's an easy rookie mistake.

cook your own food. don't put the work on someone else (like your mom) or else it only adds to the tension. find solid, awesome recipes and then share with your family as a side dish to whatever they're having. if you're good at it, you'll impress them. most meat eaters think of salads and tasteless tofu when they think 'vegan', and that couldn't be further from the truth nowadays.

most of my family is now vegan or close to it, and i never preached once. over time, they just slowly found it for themselves, mostly due to health reasons (i did it for ethical ones). times have certainly changed.

you're lucky, nowadays vegan food at the store and restaurants isn't just plentiful, but awesome. 15 years ago it was hard to find decent replacements for everything from cheese to cookies to whatever. now, it's easy. coconut bliss? hell yea.

if you drink coffee with milk, i recommend rice milk. if you go with soy milk, try different brands. some separate terribly and look disgusting in coffee. others don't. i avoid soy milk in general, though, and go rice just to reduce soy intake.

good luck!

All of this! Excellent post and great advice here...listen to this person!

I've been a vegetarian for nearly two years now, and it is quite a transition. I'm actually a pescatarian, so I do eat seafood, and I really think that's the easiest way to start, because you are still getting a little bit of meat in there. I'm not a huge fan of fish either, but I do like shrimp and crab and the occasional less strong flavoured fish. If quitting cold turkey seems hard, ease yourself into it. Start by cutting out red meat, and then going gradually from there, and it gets a lot easier. I used to miss chicken a lot, but there are so many vegetarian alternates that I don't need to miss it. My biggest problem is getting enough protein, and I still have trouble with that. It's quite an adjustment to make, but welcome to vegetarianism!

When I went veg, I started slowly. I cut out meat on Saturdays, then weekends, then weekends and Monday, etc. It got progressively easier until I got to the point where I don't need meat any more, and if I have a craving, it's usually because my body wants protein and I satisfy it with some soy, beans, nuts etc. I did it for several reasons, most prominently to lower my carbon footprint, but also because I started seeing eating meat as a non-necessity.

It took my family a while to get their heads around it, but they try to accommodate it when we have family dinners. If my dad cooks chicken or steak or whatever, I just pile on the potatoes and green beans.

If you'd like to add me, feel free.

Lots of good advice here!
I stopped eating meat almost 4 years ago, and it's one of the best decisions I've ever made. For most of that time I did eat fish occasionally (like once or twice a month), but I recently cut that out as well. I typically eat around 70+ grams of protein a day, so it's really not very hard to get lots of protein on a meat-free diet if you put a little bit of thought into it.

New vegetarians do have to be careful, because vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean healthy. I actually gained a bit of weight after becoming a vegetarian because bread and cheese are still on the menu! Just focus on trying to eat lots of veggies and fresh food and you should be okay.

I don't have a super clean diet, but I do eat a lot of salads and fresh and steamed veggies. My favorite protein sources include beans/legumes, seeds/nuts, and the occasional meat substitute (Lightlife is a good brand, and Boca and Morning Star make some pretty delicious stuff). And as someone else mentioned, mushrooms do make a great meat replacement!

Feel free to add me and check out my diary for some ideas. And don't be too hard on yourself when starting out! Just like losing weight/getting healthy, going meat-free is a lifestyle change. It takes some learning and getting used to!

I'm excited for this new change! However...I'm concerned about the cost, I guess? Aren't vegetarian/vegan dishes and foods more expensive than "meat products?" I know I can get rice, beans, fruits, and veggies easily, but for replacement foods and such, would it run up my tab? I only have a part time job, and honestly, I can't even work there because I have a messed up ankle so the grocery fund is a little low.

Thanks so much!

in general, for the average American eating healthy will always be more expensive than eating unhealthily. Even quality hormone/chemical free meat is far more expensive than, say, a burger from McDs. Organic, non-GMO, fruit and veggies without pesticides are far more expensive than their counterparts.

'Fake meats' can be expensive, but there are definitely alternatives. Rather than buying pre-made ones, buy the core ingredients (usually seitan/wheat gluten, tempeh, tofu, etc) and experiment in cooking style and flavorings. Or make your own! There are actually some really good gluten recipes online. For variety, there are a -lot- of things you can do... for example, freezing tofu then thawing it will completely change it's texture (i love it either way). Marinate! Our local food coop sells huge rectangles of tempeh for a very reasonable price.

However, the core ingredient you're really trying to replace in many cases with fake meats is protein. My wife is perfectly happy just adding beans and other alternative items to her dishes. (i'm partial to trying new fake meats, which isn't as healthy because they're processed). So it's definitely doable for a reasonable price.

But they're no escaping that a healthy diet can't generally compete on pricing footing with, say, a 99cent burger from a fast food joint. it will almost certainly cost more to eat well, or to be vegan/vegetarian... but sorting that cost out, and making other changes in your spending if required, is well worth it.