Hey everyone.. this is my second day as a vegetarian, and I know thats not a big deal and all, but I think I'm gunna starve!
My family dose not support me in this and it seems everything we have to eat in this house has meat in it!

This morning I had for breakfast waffels with peach slices of them, and for lunch i cooked noodles and put in sliced tomatos. Is this good? Am i getting the right kinds of vitamins and whatnot? And what kinds of things do you think might be good that i can make with stuff usually used with meat?

Did that lsat line make sense?

oh well.... :hungry:

What sort of things were typical for you to eat in a day when you weren't veg.

If all you've had, fruits and veggies wise today, is one peach and one tomato you need like, another 2-3 servings of fruit and 4-6 servings of veggies at least. Also, while pasta has protein, you really should be getting more than that, and protein in with breakfast AND lunch. If that was all I ate in a day I'd be hungry too by dinner time. Can you go shopping with your parents and purchase a wider range of fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and whole grains?

Welcome to Veggieboards! :)

Your breakfast and lunch sound tasty and nutritious. It's really hard to say about the vitamins because I'm sure you will be eating other things!

The main thing, I think, is to eat in the commonly accepted healthy manner, just without meat, fowl, fish etc. Eat lots of veggies and try to avoid processed, empty-calorie stuff. Limit the white bread kind of stuff, as whole grains are better. Just common sense. :)

Most people eat too much protein anyway, so you don't have to eat protein sources on the order of the standard meat-eaters' diet... just make sure to get some protein every day. Beans and grains are good sources. Lots of veggies have protein too.

There's tons of nutritional information around here, just have a look around and above all have fun with it! Going vegetarian can be a great opportunity to explore different tasty foods. :thumbup:

Everybody has to start somewhere. Congratulations on getting to your second day! :up: The next thing you know, you'll be celebrating your second week, and then your second month, and then your second year as a vegetarian... :yes:

I suggest you read this thread: http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=30855 to get ideas on what some of the others on VB eat for their meals and snacks.

Some protein is going to keep you "fuller" than what you've eaten so far...

If you could get one thing at the store, have your folks get you some canned beans...

You can drain and rinse (if you want) and add to salads, soups, pastas. Any type - black beans, pintos, kidney, red beans, black-eyed peas, garbanzo/chick peas, lima or butter beans...

You can mash any of the beans and make burrito filling, taco filling, a "sandwich spread", a dip for whole grain corn chips with pinto or black beans; hummus with garbanzos or white beans;

Mash and add broth and you have a creamy bean soup. Any type of beans, again....

Obviously you'll want items in your diet besides beans - it's just that's a quick easy way to add something "filling" to your diet without needing a complicated recipe or time or ingredients...

Make sure to get lots of whole grains, fruits and vegetables too...

Without knowing what your family typically eats, how much you'll be able to have your folks purchase - if anything - and how good your cooking skills are - it's hard to know what to suggest specifically...

Good luck though!!

Considering I lived off quesadillas for my first month or so, I'd say you're doing great. :) You'll get the hang of it. If you can, go to your library and check out some vegetarian cookbooks for ideas. :)

YAY!
Thank you all!
These ideas were really helpful! Thanks!

What helped me is to get some cookbooks with ideas for some easy-to-make meals. Most vegetarian cookbooks have a small section in front about nutrition as well, and once you know how to make a few things from a cookbook you can sort of invent your own meals. As far as nutrition i'd say just add some more veggies and proteins. There are lots of creative and yummy ways to stir-fry vegetables or throw together a tasty salad... as far as protein I eat a lot of veggie burgers and tofu and sometimes i make stuff with beans. Good luck!

I'd recommend this book. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764563351/qid=1123107573/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-0709449-4150538

It's pretty good.

If you don't have a rice cooker yet, get one. There are fancy ones available up to the $150 range, but you can get a simple one for as little as $10-15. Visit your local co-op or supermarket's bulk bins and get various types of *whole grains* to try -- unpolished rice like the red from Bhutan, quinoa, barley, rye berries etc. You can also get into sprouting and add sprouted grains to things like soups to make them heartier -- I really love sprouted lentils and rye.

Remember to include some (healthy) fats in your diet. If you're looking not to starve! Tossing that pasta/tomato with some olive oil (and maybe some herbs or seasoning for flavor!) will help to make it a more satisfying meal. Margarine and/or maple syrup on your waffle helps to round things out.

Just don't make the mistake of eating "naked" food. Vegetarian doesn't mean boring! Flavor comes from all over... Seek out seasonings, nuts, and oils.

There's a wonderful PalmPilot program I found called EasyHealth, where you enter all the food you've eaten and it tells you how much vitamins/minerals/calories/carbs/protein are in your diet and what you should add to your diet to correct any deficiencies. So if you've got a PalmPilot, I highly recommend the thing; that's what I'm using now to make sure I'm doing this veggie thing right.

You could also do the food-log thingy online, with something called www.fitday.com. I haven't tried it myself - I like having the food log on my Palm - but I think it's just as good.

I found out that I need lots more iron, lots more zinc, and lots more protein... sigh. Gotta get some fortified tofu or something. And I hate tofu.

OMG!! thanks!
I made a good vegi chili for dinner tonight, it was awesome, the beans are really filling! and I'm gunna try the rice tomorrow. Oh, larisa0001, where can I get that palm program? Do you know?

Anyway, thanks so much everyone. and CharityAJO, thanks, becuase had i not read that I probably would have cooked really bland boring things. LOL ^^;;

I found out that I need lots more iron, lots more zinc, and lots more protein... sigh. Gotta get some fortified tofu or something. And I hate tofu.
I'm skeptical of claims that most people should eat more protein. The average person in the US gets 2-4 times the RDA, FWIW. You might look at seitan as an alternative to tofu.

OMG!! thanks!
I made a good vegi chili for dinner tonight, it was awesome, the beans are really filling! and I'm gunna try the rice tomorrow. Oh, larisa0001, where can I get that palm program? Do you know?

Anyway, thanks so much everyone. and CharityAJO, thanks, becuase had i not read that I probably would have cooked really bland boring things. LOL ^^;;

:up: Veg chilli is one of my fav foods and I never ever liked meat chilli! Try new things, there are thousands of things you can eat and only a few you choose not to!

I just wanted to say this, before I start talking about what foods you can eat, lol.

You should really talk to your parents about it, it's not fair that they're alienating you from your family for your eating habits, I had to talk to my parents before and several times in between because some people just don't understand, they may just be concerned about you with all the bad media vegetarians get for fainting and stuff.

Anyway! Vegetables are great, a bunch of broccoli with rice and soy sauce is awesome, oh and with fruits cinnamon = friend.

if you parents are still iffy about you being a vegetarian and you still have to salvage around the house for food, it's okay, I had to do that for at least a year before my mom started buying things for just ME to eat. I don't remember how that came about except that I told her I was going to make dinner for her and made some kind of tofu pasta dish, after that she started buying me things.

Anyway, if you go to the store by yourself, you should pick up a few boxes of veggie-burger like things, Morning Star has a Chik'n line and it's really really awesome, you can make sandwiches and stuff with them and put them with pasta, they're really good, I think they have like, chik'n patties, chik'n nuggets, buffalo wings, and these chik'n tender things, which I wouldn't reccomend unless you like mustard. And if your store sells those bags of frozen bean and cheese burritos I would get some, they're a quick fix when you don't feel like cooking.

Pasta is lovely.

Congratulations on going veggie. Just try to eat a varied diet with plenty of fruit and veg and you should be fine (though you could always take a multivitamin too if you're really worried). Try not to obsess too much though at this stage else it will drive you nuts!

Theres is plenty of things to eat without meat in it
like waffles, and soups, and potatoes, and bread, and cheese and cereal
I thought most people only had meat for dinner?

Congrat's and hang in there. My first week I lived off Oriental RamenNoodles, untill i finished my research. A good book that im reading is becomming vegetarian by brenda davis. its a good book and it gives you lots of info on the subject and has recipies at the back to try.
HTP
Good luck

You guys aren't recommending enough fats. Without fat, you get real hungry (and you aren't really eating healthy at all) and then it's much harder to stay away from non vegan foods.

Need to recommend nuts, coconut milk, flaxseed oil, peanut butter, etc.

Typical day for me:
Breakfast- Amy's Black bean burrito and fruit smoothie consisting of rice milk, coconut milk and frozen pineapple/blueberries.
Snack on nuts, ghiradelli chocolate chips, and tea throughout day.

Lunch-Amy's lentil soup.

5 pm- Another bean burrito or couscous with chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and lot's of coconut milk, two spoonfuls of flax seed oil.

9 pm-Peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

On such a diet I'm 220lbs and can do a chin-up with 120 pounds tied to my waist.