New to this veggie thing

[DancNSpin]

Right now I call myself a "considering vegetarian." I have always eaten meat, and I like it, but I don't crave it, and lately it has become less appealing to me as I have started to eat healthier. My boyfriend is a "typical man" in the sense that he would eat all meat and only meat every day if he could. He likes very few vegetables and is very picky about what he will eat. He is also very thin, so he doesn't feel that he has to watch what he eats - as a result he eats a lot of very unhealthy things that I won't touch (like Hot Pockets:spew:) We often eat together and it is presenting a problem. I'm trying to compensate...like last night we made tacos (with beef, sigh) but I made him get whole wheat tortillas (which he complained about the whole time). He is a wonderful guy, but this is starting to become annoying.

The other thing is, he thinks that this is a fad with me. He says "you're not going to become a vegetarian, are you?" and other things like that. He also asks why I do it, and on that I guess I am not very educated. I mainly did it because I feel better when I eat healthy, along with the fact that this is the first time in my life that I could afford to eat healthy. I do know that there are hormones and chemicals in meat and dairy but I don't really know specifics. I got hold of a Vegetarian starter kit magazine, but it doesn't list any sources, reliable or not. He wants facts and credits and I don't know where to find them. Also the other day (this should probably go in the stupid omnivore quote section) we were at the natural food store and looking at organic fruits. He said, "well if it's organic, what happens if I end up eating some weird bug that's in there? At least preservatives won't kill me all at once, they have to build up." Sometimes other people's stupidity leaves me speechless. Does anyone have any tips or know of any good sources? This is starting to annoy me, I hate not being educated about it.

[shagginabit]

Before I went veggie, I went to alot of websites, like peta, goveg, and vegan.org. Then I went to the local library and picked up some books. That helped me. Then, I talked to other veg*ns and asked alot of questions. You can find alot of sites that talk about why a veg*n diet is great healthwise and ethic wise as well.

[silverundertone]

..found this site in a search..

http://altis.ac.uk/browse/cabi/92ca2254bb61eaa208608083177e4ed9.html

not sure if itll be of any use...but u can give it a try if ud like..:shy:
..
i hope u find some useful information...good luck with the veggie thing..
..just do whatever feels right to u..and if people dont understand...thats their problem.

[kristadb]

AS a side note, make sure you get information pertaining to your own country. If you are American, then most of the info will be based on the US. If you aren't American, the last thing you want is to present information about things that may not even happen in your own country (ie growth hormones).

[Peter Parker]

a book titled "becoming vegetarian" or if you prefer "becoming vegan"

[DuckThatWasn't]

www.veggiegirl.com
www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan
www.veganhealth.org (which has info from the FDA, I think)
www.goveg.com (possibly not the best place to go since it's associated with PETA and plenty of people don't consider them trustworthy
http://www.tbrhsc.net/patient_information/nutrition_articles/go_vegetarian.asp (supposedly impartial site with info sources available)

Hope this helps you. Keep us posted!!

[IamJen]

Thumbs up to veganoutreach.org ! They have good info on veganism and you an even order a "vegan starter pack".

You might also do a google search on insects in food. If your bf thinks he's bug free because of not eating organic, he's sadly mistaken. :D

You're taking a great step in educating yourself. Most of us here have had folks wonder when our "vegetarian phase" is going to end. Gaining knowledge shows that you are making a life choice and not just following a whim.

[catgirl67]

I'm new at this too, but I did alot of research before I jumped in. Even with the research, I am still confused. I got some great advice. Take it is slow or as fast as you need to.

I have to agree w/ you on the hotpockets! They're pretty gross! Check out all of the websites people posted on here. I'm sure your bf will come around. If not, I'm sure you will do fine.

[epski]

Kudos to you, first of all, and keep researching the web. That said, there are a number of solid-to-great books out there, including The Food Revolution.

[Blue Plastic Straw]

Another good resource, if you're living with a meat-head, is Living Among Meat Eaters (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0609807439/103-1755467-2777465?v=glance) by Carol J. Adams.

[DancNSpin]

Thanks for the info guys, I'm checking it out right now! On a side note, last night I spoke with my boyfriend and told him that since he bitches about my food all the time that he should go grocery shopping and keep stuff over my house (plus that will cut down my grocery bill, lol). So he brought over like 2-3 bags of stuff. It wasn't vegetarian and definitely not health food by a stretch, but apparently he refrained from buying stuff that was really disgusting (like HotPockets) because he knew how I felt about it. He got stuff like fruit/cereal bars and granola bars, and although everything was prepared food and really REALLY salty, it wasn't terribly bad. All the meat included was chicken and fish too. I'm sooo relieved to see him being considerate about it.

[Nirvana19105]

You know what I think you should do? Why don't you just go get a vegetarian/vegan cookbook from the library and try some recipes out? After a few days of eating exciting new food, you might find you really wont want to bother with meat anymore.

[shagginabit]

*agrees with Nirvana* How about vegan planet? That's a good one.

[DancNSpin]

I do like vegetarian food, that's not the problem. I originally started eating this way because it forces me to eat more vegetables. Also makes me cook more, which results in less processed food! I have gotten a hold of a few more recipes that I'm going to try. Last night I made a tofu stir fry with a flavor mix that I bought at the natural food store, and it was pretty decent, although I'm not sure that I'm a tofu fan. I just want to know more about the other reasons not to eat meat, and especially the reasons that people go vegan, since I don't know much about it. I mean, if we're talking animal cruelty as the problem, then what about getting free-range and organic chicken and organic eggs and dairy? There's just a lot of things I don't know and I don't like feeling uninformed. I just downloaded "Meet Your Meat" though, going to watch it soon.

[Vicky]

Jess, i just read 2 pages, looks like a good book to read !

[catgirl67]

I do like vegetarian food, that's not the problem. I originally started eating this way because it forces me to eat more vegetables. Also makes me cook more, which results in less processed food! I have gotten a hold of a few more recipes that I'm going to try. Last night I made a tofu stir fry with a flavor mix that I bought at the natural food store, and it was pretty decent, although I'm not sure that I'm a tofu fan. I just want to know more about the other reasons not to eat meat, and especially the reasons that people go vegan, since I don't know much about it. I mean, if we're talking animal cruelty as the problem, then what about getting free-range and organic chicken and organic eggs and dairy? There's just a lot of things I don't know and I don't like feeling uninformed. I just downloaded "Meet Your Meat" though, going to watch it soon.

"Meet Your Meat" is a must see!

[DancNSpin]

I just watched it. It made me :cry:

[epski]

FWIW, I think the chickens have it worse than the cows, overall. :(

[DancNSpin]

It was actually the scenes with the pigs that really was horrible, although they were all really bad.

[bluegrrrl79]

When I first went vegetarian, my boyfriend was concerned and thought I would be unhealthy. But I read up on it and was able to inform him, now he's totally cool with it and loves when I make him veg. food :) So I think just educating your boyfriend will help a lot, of course first you gotta educate yourself as well. I think that's a lot of it, people just don't know, so they make snap judgements about it. I would try to go easy on him though, if he's used to frozen meals and stuff, maybe try making meals that you can both enjoy, like next time use both regular and whole wheat, that way he can choose which to use and you're both satisfied. Or like next time make both meat and refried beans and rice, so you can both just put what you want on.

A tip on the tofu- extra firm has a more solid texture, not quite as smushy, better for stirfries in my opinion!

[DancNSpin]

Thanks. I actually used extra firm, just something about it doesn't taste quite right. It's hard to make 2 different things at once, both of use are usually on a budget, but I think it will help now that he has separate food over here. I thought his food choices were horrible and unhealthy until he said "Aren't you impressed by what I got? I didn't get my usual because I knew you would disapprove." That seemed like a major step to me because although he doesn't know too terribly much about healthy food, he did keep me in mind when he went food shopping for himself. One thing that makes things difficult is that he does not think it is a meal unless it includes meat. He turns up his nose at things he's never tried because they're healthy. That is the most frustrating thing to me, because I am just now getting into this and he's a terrible influence, and because I just can't stand it when someone says they don't like something they have never tried.