Going Vegetarian, pls vegetarians need your help!

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  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
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    First of all, YAY! Congratulations! :)

    Second, what's a vitamin shot? Haha. Like many other veggies on this thread, I've never heard of it and I've never needed it. I've been pescetarian for about 3.5 years. I can't believe it's been that long! Honestly, it's not that hard - at all. I grew up on meat and potatoes and I made the switch in a day. The best tips I have for you are to get creative, try new things, eat a LOT of fresh vegetables and don't rely on dairy and bread/pasta/carbs for sustenance. In fact, I have been cutting back on my dairy and carbs a LOT lately and that hasn't been that difficult either. Just do your research. The research alone has become a huge passion of mine, so be open to it. It's always better to be informed about your choices. :)

    My diary is open. I'm not perfect, but I do a pretty good job and I'm not hungry all the time. Avid meat eaters always assume I eat lettuce and that's it. Silly kids... :)
  • Vendetta2300
    Vendetta2300 Posts: 41
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    I have been vegetarian for a couple of months only, so obviously I dont have that much experience.

    I just wanted to recommend a cookbook called "How to cook everything: vegetarian". It is more than 800 pages, but has a huge amount of cool recipes. All I ever want to eat is in there. Everythings is structured according to foodgroup, it has advice on how to handle and cut, dice, or mince every vegetable you've ever heard of (even some you havent!), and it has variations on every recipe, so you can make it vegan. I usually get bored by cookbooks, but I can honestly say that this book has changed my world!

    Arh, well, propaganda finished :blushing:
  • runjennarun
    runjennarun Posts: 6
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    I had been reading some of the websites, that you guys kindly suggest! I will download a couple of books that you guys suggested (thank you!) and I'm setting an appointment next week to talk to a dietitian! So Wish me best of luck as I am entering this new chapter in my life! Thank you thank you thank you!
  • bookwormie
    bookwormie Posts: 32 Member
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    I've been vegetarian for a little over a year and am mostly vegan (I eat dairy if I visit my relatives because I don't much like the conflict and they can't conceive of a meal without dairy). But I eat vegan now at home always. There's a phrase I read somewhere I keep in my head "beans and greens," ie. make sure you get a good amount of beans and dark green leafy veggies (spinach, kale, broccoli etc.) every day. Of course, if you're eating dairy, then you can adjust as necessary. Beans are sometimes high in calories, but pretty low in fat. And lentils are similar, and quicker to cook, although you can always freeze beans, if you cook them from dried. I have a cookbook I like "Vegan on the cheap" - maybe you can find it in a library. I like it because it has recipes for the more expensive prepared stuff (veggieburgers, hummus, soy cheese, all sorts of things). Tofu took me a bit to get used to, but now I've learned how to cook it, and it's fine. I made myself a goal to try a new food every month when I first went vegetarian.

    Best of luck to you - it's really not as hard as you might think it is. I'm glad I went vegetarian, I feel so much better about food and animals and health now. MFP is really helpful in tracking the nutrients, too.

    Hope I helped!
  • runjennarun
    runjennarun Posts: 6
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    I've been vegetarian for a little over a year and am mostly vegan (I eat dairy if I visit my relatives because I don't much like the conflict and they can't conceive of a meal without dairy). But I eat vegan now at home always. There's a phrase I read somewhere I keep in my head "beans and greens," ie. make sure you get a good amount of beans and dark green leafy veggies (spinach, kale, broccoli etc.) every day. Of course, if you're eating dairy, then you can adjust as necessary. Beans are sometimes high in calories, but pretty low in fat. And lentils are similar, and quicker to cook, although you can always freeze beans, if you cook them from dried. I have a cookbook I like "Vegan on the cheap" - maybe you can find it in a library. I like it because it has recipes for the more expensive prepared stuff (veggieburgers, hummus, soy cheese, all sorts of things). Tofu took me a bit to get used to, but now I've learned how to cook it, and it's fine. I made myself a goal to try a new food every month when I first went vegetarian.

    Best of luck to you - it's really not as hard as you might think it is. I'm glad I went vegetarian, I feel so much better about food and animals and health now. MFP is really helpful in tracking the nutrients, too.

    Hope I helped!


    Thank you for your help, I will look for the book, I'm already trying new veggies, for example a few months a go I try Brussels sprouts for the first time and loved them!! So of course every now and then I get something that i had never try before! Thanks for your opinion and ideas!
  • kristelpoole
    kristelpoole Posts: 440 Member
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    101cookbooks.com!!!!!
  • blondebiker
    blondebiker Posts: 19 Member
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    Hi Jenna! I've been a vegetarian for a little over 10 years and I run too! Feel free to friend me!

    The two nutrients you need to be careful about, especially as a woman, is iron and vitamin b12.
    Foods with iron: wholegrain cereals/flours, leafy green vegetables (eg. collards, kale, broccoli and other dark greens), eggs, blackstrap molasses, legumes (eg. lentils, red beans), apricots and figs. (http://www.vegetarian-diet.info/iron-vegetarian-diet.htm)
    Foods with b12: eggs, dairy, fortified cereals and non-dairy milks (e.g. almond and soy), whey protein, yeast.

    Protein is very easy to get if you have a well-balanced diet. Quinoa and legumes (e.g. beans and lentils), whole grains and nuts all are good sources of protein and pretty easy to prepare: http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/articles/get-enough-protein-veg-diet.php

    A well-balanced diet of the above will also help make sure you don't go crazy on the (simple) carbs. For GOOD (monounsaturated) fats, avocados, nuts and olive oil are amazing sources.

    Wholefoods.com , wholefoodsmarket.com and allrecipes.com have a lot of great recipes that include nutritional information so you can monitor your intake. MFP also has a lot of these recipes already in their database so it's simple to enter! I'm sure others have great links as well! If you cook your food, you'll find that vegetarian diets tend to be easier on the wallet!

    Vegetarianism and running: I started running in the last couple years so I can't compare my performance to what I would have done as an omnivore. However, I'm continually getting faster and further ( 7 miles last Saturday) and I don't feel weak or sore so my body seems to be handling things pretty well! Just make sure if you go vegetarian to eat well and eat right!
  • runjennarun
    runjennarun Posts: 6
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    Thanks for the information! I had been reading your suggestions and so far I had learn so much! Thank you Thank you!
  • dayzeerock
    dayzeerock Posts: 918 Member
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    Stop by your local library and check out a variety of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks, that way you can find some you like without having to pay for them.

    Also thekindlife.com is a great source for all things vegan/vegetarian. It has recipes, forums where you can talk and ask questions with people on all levels of the veg journey. It's a really great site.

    As far as "vitamin shots"...I think you're probably referring to B12 injections. My B12 levels have always been perfect, and I've been vegan for a LOOONNNGGG time. I know meat-eaters that need the injections, but have yet to meet a veg who needs them, contrary to the popular belief that you can only get B12 from meat sources.

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