steps to start being a vegitarian? need some help

im a buddhist, i have been for about a year now, and i know that being a vegitarian can make you healthier and everything and buddhism promotes it, so what are some steps i can take to being a vegitarian without going cold turkey?

 

Without going cold turkey? That's what I did, I went straight from meat eater to vegan, never regretted it or had any difficulty with it.

But you could start cutting out dairy and eggs, and phasing out red meat, then phase out white meat and fish.

 

I did it gradually over about a month and a half. 2 servings of meat a week for about 3 weeks, then 1 serving of meat a week, then eventually I got to 'never again!' in June.

Btw, Morningstar Farms makes really good vegetarian "corndogs" and "chicken" nuggets.

Oh, and do some research, too!

 

I don't think I would suggest cutting out dairy and eggs first, if that is even what you want to do. Dairy and eggs are in a lot of things and could make things seem like a lot of work at first having to check every label. Though getting in the habit of checking labels is good because you will be doing it a lot. If you want you could stop or phase out the main products now, such as replacing cow's milk with soy, rice, or almond milk.

I would suggest cutting out beef completely. Eat any other meat except beef, but cut back on eating all meat. Try not to eat it for every meal. Look up vegetarian recipes online or get a good cookbook and start making some dishes that appeal to you. After awhile (depending on how slow you want to take this, a week or two?) cut out pork, then chicken, and finally fish all while cooking more and more vegetarian dishes. Once you are comfortable with this diet, then you may want to look into cutting out dairy and eggs.

 

Careful though, if you plan to go vegan, Morningstar Farms' products are NOT vegan, they contain egg and sometimes milk.

 

I was only eating red meat when I was depressed so that was the first thing I cut completely out. I set a date and said that I was going veggie by that date. But then I wondered why I should wait for a certain date to get here. I just said okay as of tomorrow I'm not eating any meat products or any fast food. That was July 9. So far I've only had fast food one time and that was a baked potatoe from Wendy's. I haven't intentionally eaten any meat products since then. I did find out after I ate soup once that it had pork stock in it. But I didn't get all bent out of shape because of it.

I still eat eggs, cheese, and butter. I haven't drank cow milk in years. I use rice milk. I've noticed lately that I get nauseous when I eat eggs so I am slowly eliminating them. If they ever make a really good vegan cheese I'll probably make the total switch. But I really like cheese. I've also switched to raw sugar.

I don't use any of the substitute meat products. Are the corn dogs really all that good. I've been tempted to try them. I will probably also eventually try the chicken nuggets because I find myself craving them alot.

Good luck onyour new found path to health. It works so many miracles for me and so many others.

Kathi

 

Go slow, especially if you're eating a lot of heavy meats (beef, pork, mutton) and fast food. If you do it suddenly your body will be more than happy to kick into "purge overdrive" and rid itself of toxins. It often does that by way of boils (sorry, I know it's gross but it's happened to me twice).

 

first learn how to spell vegetarian! but yeah, I am not completely vegetarian right now, i eat chicken maybe once a week, and fish once every few weeks (I figure that as long as its humane and organic, its not as bad). It was really easy to cut out red meat, because after a few weeks without it, it starts to taste nasty! Its also pretty easy near where I live, because usually there are many vegetarian options at all the restaurants, so you dont feel left with the one veg choice. Good luck and stick with it! you will be glad.

 

Just because it is organic does not mean it is humane. Labels can be misleading. If you want to eat humane meat check into where it is coming from, and good luck.




Spaceboy13, since you are Buddhist you might find it interesting to look into Indian dishes. India is a vegetarian paradise so you can find many good veggie dishes at Indian restaurants and in cookbooks.

 

Hey SP;

I've actually been asked this question so many times. "Is it hard, what did you do, etc"... to be honest, it was the easiest thing I did in my life. I would say it was about as difficult as changing a pair of socks. The best advice I can give you is do some research on how to substitute the protein your getting from animals, to protein you can get from other products (i.e. tofu, eggs (unless your going vegan), etc). Then at that point its just trial and error... Try different foods, restaurants, etc. You'll eventually find that there is a ton of food you enjoy as much or more than the food your eating now. You will also probably find that your tastes change, and you begin to crave things you never thought you would eat... for example, I've really started to love ethnic foods (i.e. things with curry, lentils, etc)... I would have never ate things like Hummus before (now I love the stuff)...

But really, you'll probably find there is nothing too it.. if you find the right foods for you, its the equivalent of an meat eater choosing a chicken burger vs. a beef burger.

Good luck, and let us know how you do...

Peace
Soc

 

Good advice from Soc. Its really all about experimentation. Find what you dig and keep on doin it. There are so many foods out there that you haven't been exposed to yet and you don't know if you'll love em or hate em. You've got a lot of work ahead of you to see what you like and dislike but good luck with it. I've been vegan for quite some time now. I'd say the hardest thing to cut out is cheese just because it tastes so damn good! Once you think about why you do it, completely worthwhile. However, if you go veggie... all the cheese you can eat!!!

Not to derail the thread but... how is the whole toking situation working with the Buddhism? :H