I have been a meat eater all my life(I'm 21 now). I used to eat meat for every meal everyday. Pathetic isn't it. So I have decided to become a vegetarian. I have already started to eliminate meat from breakfast, and I only eat 2 meals a day. Can anyone give me some tips on weaning myself off of meat?
meat for breakfast!! well given that is unimaginable for me I would say that it will be an easier one for you to miss...this means that you aren't eating lunch or dinner? How about making things that are easier to leave meat out of...like macoroni cheese and use kidney beans instead of the ham....or sandwiches if it is lunch tme without the meat in them....you might even like to substitue some of the fake meat products at first if you are finding it hard but I think you might find them a bit weird coming straight from meat....anyhow good luck and try googling vegetarian recipes on the net and you will be overloaded with ideas of what you can eat...by the time you try every new recipe and food out there you should be an old old man!!
I don't eat lunch. I dont get hungry enough for three meals a day. I ate sausage and/or bacon for breakfast. Now, other than finishing off the sausage biscuits I have left, I've started eating cereal.
you might find you get a bit hungrier now!! try porridge for brekky, it fills you up and might keep you going like the meat did and it is full of good stuff!!
There are some neat 'vegetarian starter kits' around. The one from Compassion over killing cok.net is probably the best one. Good luck
I was a vegetarian as well but then was disgusted by how many animals i was killing everyday, so I decided to become a vegetarian around Christmas. I started off eliminating beef (which I rarely ate anyway) then pork, ham, turkey, then chicken. Fish I am still weaning off but I am pretty much living off bagels, hummus, avacado, and sprouts, or fruit smoothies for breakfast. Lunch I normally just have like a protien bar and vitiman water, and dinner salads or veggie sandwiches. I am a lot happier since I have become a vegetarian, and I feel a lot better about my self. Good luck and if you have any questions about becoming a vegetarian just let me know. Peace Kimmy
Hey hippyman, congratulations! I say you should go cold turkey on all meat (like quitting smoking). But I understand if your situation doesn't permit that. Take it at your own pace. The main thing is: don't wuss out! A lot of people take it one animal at a time. What are your reasons for going veggie, health or compassion? If it's health, you definitely want to stop eating pigs immediately. Likewise with all the other high-cholesterol, high-fat animals. If your reasons are compassion, then just pick your favorite animal and say you're not going to eat it anymore. Repeat as necessary. It helps a lot to find a good substitution, like the others have suggested. And don't just say "I guess I'll substitute bread for steak." Get creative. Go to Chinese restaurants and see what amazing things can be done with tofu. Going veggie can be a lot of fun. Good luck
wow, Kimmy, veggie on the Western Slope. Isn't that illegal? Do round out your diet more with beans, whole grains and mor eveggies in more forms. Hippyman, if you are 21, there is no good reason not to go cold turkey. Another step down option is pick days that you are veg. I went veg at age 13, a long time ago. I would be veggie all week, then all but Sunday ( I have fasted on shabbos for years) then complete vegheadedness. I guess it took a semester, maybe less. I was off all but fish within two weeks.
My main reason is for the enviornment. After I read how much rainforest is being cut down everyday to make way for ranchland, I felt so guilty, I knew I had to do something.
if you are used to eating a lot of meat in your diet, then substituting that with fake meat might help. although be warned, do not expect most veggie-fakes to taste like real meat... so that could end up hindering your process, depending on how your tastebuds are. i didnt eat fake meat when i went veg, because there wasn't a lot of fake meat available at the time... and now that there are fake hot-dogs and fake bacon and tofurkey, it's tasty to me, because i'm not comparing it to something i miss. seasonings help a lot. tofu absorbs the flavor of whatever you cook it with. going gradually, like drumminmama suggested, is a good suggestion. you could start by cutting out red meat, then poultry, then seafood... or you could have days/weeks that you dont eat meat, then a day or two that you do. having good recipes on hand and a decently stocked kitchen makes things a lot easier, as well as some general knowledge about nutrition. i knew a kid that went vegan back in high school, and after a couple months he was horribly malnourished because all he would eat was carrots, crackers, and water. seriously, that was his whole diet, horribly imbalanced. and while im sure you are more intelligent than that, it's a good idea to make sure that you get enough iron or protein, etc. and that you're not loading yourself full of sodium from canned veggies or frozen meals. if you eat out a lot, check out veggie menu options at places around town, you might find some awesome places to eat, and you'll know where you can go and find something more satisfying than a piece of cornbread and the saladbar at a steakhouse. asian, indian, mexican and middle eastern restaurants tend to have a lot of veg-friendly recipe options. it helps to have staples handly in the kitchen, like tofu and bread and noodles and fresh fruits and veggies... as well as some seasonings and sauces. as for breakfast foods, toaster-waffles are fast and easy. and there's pancakes, too! if you are going to eat eggs, then there's another option, cause then you can eat french toast and omlettes. if you dont eat eggs, then you can make scrambled tofu, and toss in some tumeric to make it yellow, and some veggies. hash browns are good, too. same with muffins and bagels. theres fake bacon and fake sausage, too. vegweb.com has some awesome recipes, and not just for breakfast foods. for dinner i like to make stir-fry, or curry, or mexican (with refried beans or black beans, or fake-ground-beef with 'taco seasonings'). i also like to make fruit smoothies with soy milk. if you're "on the go" a lot, then you can prepare something to take with you.. you know, make a sandwich, or toss an apple or granola bar in your bag. you can also make something like trail mix or a goo-ball.
Actually, now that I've read up somemore on it, I think that becoming a fruitarian would be easier. There are not a whole lot of veggies that I like.
Hey i think it's great you've decided not to eat meat anymore!! check out www.vegcooking.com Good Luck!
learn to like them. And avoid the ubiquitous black label Ranch Style Beans...they have beef fat. Bush's is veg. what veggies do you like/ what ones will you eat?
