VEGETARIANS: Please, Help a Newbie Out

congrats! i've been veggie off and on (yes, i'm guilty) since i was a teenager (i'm now 32). it helps that i grew up eating korean food, which is already heavy on the veggies, tofu, and mostly only fish. so i'd suggest (if you like it) different cuisines famous for their veggies (and non-meat): e.g., korean, japanese, and most FAMOUSLY indian food.

tofu is great. i went full vegan for a while but it was a bit hard (and expensive) but this was almost 10 years ago. a lot has improved with the variety of foods out there now. but i still live the vegan "lifestyle" when i can (e.g., trying to not wear leather, suede, etc.) i'd recommend going into the veggie/vegan diet slowly and experimenting with it first, especially if it's entirely new to you. for instance, maybe just cut the red meat and chicken and stick with fish... it can be hard to go cold turkey on meat--even for me as a veggie but closet meat-lover.

but really, there are tons of veggie or vegan books out there - many already recommended on your post - that'll help you out. one thing is pretty certain - at least in my case (although this is probably supported by other scientific evidence). when i was on my veggie diet every physical i had, i had amazing results--particularly with my cholesterol. the doctor was always blown away with how "good my blood was." the whole are you getting enough protein, vitamin b thing... to some extent it's true but as long as you're eating a variety of foods, including nuts, etc. then you're fine. or worst case, take a vitamin supplement. no big deal. biggest thing though - off heavy meat, i just felt lighter, less gassy, bloated, etc. in general. so it's definitely the preferable way to live--even if you don't go all out vegan or even veggie at once.

again, take it slow, experiment and have fun.

congrats!

I have been a vegetarian for 20+ years and like a large portion of the population, I still wonder what I should make for dinner. Lately I have been using Emeals (they have a vegetarian option). You pay a monthly fee and each week they put together a list of 7 simple recipes (prep time is listed but varies). You get a shopping list (there is a free app that makes shopping really easy). So you can have all the ingredients on hand for all your dinners for the week. There is less food waste and the best have found their way into my regular dinner rotation. I usually have leftovers for lunch.

This is a really easy way to figure what vegetarian meals you like and enjoy cooking. Almost everything is been great.

Gram (aka chickpea) flour is your friend. Become familiar with the many splendid strange flours that our culture rarely uses. Learn a good veg tamale recipe, they store well and are a quick awesome snack. Also, there are some Asian noodles that have a superior nutritional profile to wheat pasta - try learning to make japchae and soba, for starters.

I will be brief, and I don't mean to beat you over the head about becoming a vegetarian, by all means do as you like and I hope you are successful. However, be advised that vegetarianism isn't for everybody's body.

The biggest dietary challenge of being a vegetarian: Protein/carb ratio. Your protein sources as a veg, by and large, are very heavy in carbohydrates. I've known a lot of people who thrive on this. Personally, it wrecked me and caused pretty bad spikes/troughs in my blood sugar throughout the day. Keep an eye on your hair, your fingernails, and your energy levels.

I was vegetarian for about six years after working in a Chinese restaurant (I saw THINGS, man...) I was a very well-informed vegetarian, no junk food here. I am thinner and healthier now that I eat some lean meat every day. That's just me!

One more thing - To keep your protein up while you pursue this new style of eating, I STRONGLY recommend trying TruFood Vegan mixed with Growing Naturals raw yellow pea protein (plain). VegaOne is a smoother meal supplement than TruFood, but TruFood is a helluvalot cheaper. This stuff will make you a super hero! I drink it every single day, I swear by it. I mix it with cold water and a little cold coffee, you could get fancy if you wanted to.

Some recipes:
http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes.php?recipe=1611 --Intro to gram flour. I like to add peas 'n stuff. These travel well.
http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/japchae --Japchae by Maangchi, she is amazing. Give her site a browse.

My son went veggie about 6 months ago for ethical reasons and he has certainly lost weight as a side-effect. As other have said you need to be careful about your food choices as lots of things that are not meat based are also unhealthy!

We cook lots of things based on lentils and chickpeas which are cheap, easy and versatile. We have things like veggie curries and bean stews that are really tasty. Also we do roasted veggies (yum and sooo easy) quite a lot. He loves mushrooms (tasty and nutritious) and also tofu which can be used in all sorts of dishes. Eggs are another good source of protein. Cheese is tasty but not so great if you're trying to lose weight so use small amounts of strong cheeses like feta for flavour.

Really you need to spend some time browsing on the web or in a bookstore to find recipes that appeal to you. Try to avoid processed 'fake meats' as they are not only pretty unhealthy but most seem to be pretty horrible and expensive. Eating out is more challenging as most restaurants are fairly unimaginative for veggie options and there is a limit to how much pasta or risotto you can eat.

Good luck. Try new things and have fun. Remember the clue's in the name ... eat lots of vegetables and you can't go wrong.

This lady speaks with sense!
I have been vegetarian for 31 years. (I just never enjoyed eating meat as a child so gave it up when I left home)

I stopped eating meat.

Simple.

It doesn't have to be complicated.
All 3 of my children were brought up vegetarian and are as fit, active and healthy as anyone else.
As I got more interested I started to find alternative protein sources, like quorn, some dairy products, soya proteins and chick peas etc.
If you want to try new stuff then do it. Don't be put off by people who like to get complicated.
Just my advice, but as I said, I've been vegetarian for a long time.
(By the way, the reason I put on weight, and ended up on this site, is that I got very lazy after my 3rd child was born, and then seriously started eating sweets and stuff, which I've had to train myself away from.)

Check out some of the vegetarian groups here for information: Happy Herbivores, Team Vegan.

There are plenty of healthy, slim vegetarians. (I never struggled with protein until I had to eliminate gluten from my diet.)

Check out blogs like OhSheGlows, PeasandThankYou, and ChocolateCoveredKatie.com for tons of recipes.