Go Veg! Help with becoming a vegetarian!

i have one word for you SOY my friend is a vegetarian and she substitutes meat for soy. i tried it like the soy burger patties you can get at walmart and it was good. tasted like a mcdonalds burger. anyways soy is way better then meat and i read somewhere that in japan women dont get menopause because of the soy in their diet. it makes them healthier. i would be a veggy but i gotsta have my chicken anyways. PEACE

I saw that and I thought I was going to be sick.
1. Decide what kind of veg you are going to be (I couldn't live without honey & dairy, so ovolacto was the way for me to go)
2. Natahav is correct... Soy, soy, soy, but there are fruit smoothies with whey (see my "Shake it" post in the food section here)
3. Morning Star products. Although I am no longer a veg, I still mainly eat like one. Almost everything I have tried is GREAT and their corn dogs rock.

Hope it helps

I love to see this kind of post , it might be a long post.....

Welcome to the vegetarian world !!

hi there, i have been a vegetarian for nearly 3 years, when i fell in love with one !!! . i didnt have to become a vegetarian, but i decided to give it a try for 1 week and see what i though and i never went back, i had tons of support, my mom and dad got rid of all meat except fish and seafood ..

do you know the brand quorn ?? thats is what i live on, although they have a wider range here in the uk, (so much easier to be a veg in the uk, they mark all the veg product with a V symbole. makes life so much easier) i know that they have quite a bit in the us, its not soy but a kind of protein. they are just like meat, i gave some chicken (fake one) to a friend and she never picked it up !!!

i agree with fitkitty, you have to decide what kind of vegetarian your going to be, i'm ovolacto as well (i eat eggs and milk) but you also have to decide how much of a vegetarian your going to be, there is a lot of products out there that have bits of animals in them that you would never have guest, a lot of vegetarian know about it, try to do their best but will eat some when they are not sure (im one like that) and some vegetarian are very strick would never think of taking it without knowing if its truely veg (my bf is like that), but as long as your informed, i give you some exemples

rennet in cheese, rennet is an enzime taken from the stomach of a calf, if you buy your cheese at a grocery store, look at the ingrediants, if you see microbial enzime your fine, it means the enzime derives from a plant. tillamook does good veg cheese, or go organic (still take a look through), this becomes more complicated when you eat out, my boyfriend had to wrote to a lot of chain restaurant to try to know, and i know that pizza hot is ok. (well maybe not if your trying to loose weight !!! )

gelatine, made of animal bones, watch out from it in yogurt, of course jell-o, but other things like sour cream, pudding mix and a lot more.

wine, beer and spirits, finings, its a part of a fish they use to filter, so there is no residue floating around. although you dont actualy drink it, because its sediments at the bottom before they bottle it, they producers have no reason to use a plant based product instead and a lot of vegetarians avoid it. its not easy to find veg alcool since that you cant remember all the brands ect. but if your in a store, you can find lists online that you can bring with you..... this is where i falter the most, i have a hard time refusing a glass a wine. or beer. your lucky because most american beers are ok.... (not the ones in the uk) and all beers coming from dutch sounding countries too, like heineken or grolsh ect...

other then that, beware of soups(beef chicken broths) and asian foods ( some use fish or oister sauce ) , ho and things made with lard sometimes it hides in pastry but i never check

i sure didnt mean to scare you, you dont have to fallow all that !!! i just wanted to make sure you knew about it, my boyfriend has been a very (very!!!!) strick veg all his life and only learned about the alchool thing a couple years ago. you have to find your own level of comfort. i am confortable with drinking wine and eating unkown cheese when im out, but at home, i try to buy the right stuff, that is my level of confort. anyways, everytime you avoid meat, its makes a difference. for the animal, the planet and for you. being a veg is a wonderfull way of life.

by the way, the reason why soy is so good for women is because it contains a lot of estrogen, a female hormone, not that good for men in big quantities....

there are great vegetarian of veg friendly restaurants all around the usa (i been to half the states and never had a problem finding a good restaurant ) but the best of the best is austin texas .. hummm so good. i used to have a book that was a guide to all the veg restaurants in the us. cant remember the name through

hope that helped !!
may

Careful ... the Quorn brand has eggs in it.

FOR ME ... It kind of defeats the purpose of not eating the chicken if there is egg in it. There are other really good products that do not contain eggs if you choose to take that route (light life is one of my favorites). I also live in one of the most vegetarian friendly places in the world, so it's super easy.

Welcome and good luck!

I wasn't full vegg_ian, But i did pescatarian, (fish), for 3 years nad went from almost 300 to around 189. It was the bomb. I ate all the time, felt great and learned that soy, tofu and veggie substatutes were the bomb.

Then of course, I started giving in because of all the crappie choices restaurants had and all the bad choices my family ate nad gave it up.

Now I wish I would have continued...

I think about doing it gradually again....

I sure was getting healthy. I miss that life style.

I think I ate so many salads, that I was actually growing roots!!! ahahahahahahaha.....

Welcome!!!
You'll love it!! The food is fantastic...There is so much you can make...And you'll feel more peaceful
with your self....Is like meat eaters are more 'aggressive' (don't take it personal guys:flowerforyou:

I also eat fish and free-range eggs or organic ones....the chickens are treated nicely, living in good conditions, and not in cages....And the eggs taste much better!!!

I take Spirulina Capsules: Fantastic for vegetarians...Nature's richest source of protein, 300% more than fish, meat or poultry( but with zero cholesterol)
Go to Google and find more info. about Spirulina....

Good luck
Peace&Love:flowerforyou:
Sonia