Hi, I"m Monika. How are you? I'm new. I have given up beef and pork. It was easy, but what I want to know is, how to give it all up? I live in a house with other's. They are not vegetarians. It's going to be hard to give it all in this house. My mom cooks meat everyday. She is so nice though. She said to me, Meka, i don't care if you don't eat beef or pork, I'll cook you want you want. Ain't she sweet yall? Hahah. It will be really hard because there's meat everywhere. I want to be a vegetarian for health reasons. I not really disgusted by meat. I love it. Since i'm not disgusted by meat, i'm more prone to eat it when my mom cooks:(.


I just don't know how to cut out all meat with a house full of other's who eat meat:(.

Monika

Well, your mother said she'd cook whatever you want. Now's a good chance to start looking for other food to like. Browse through recipes, give her grocery lists, and of course help her with finding the right foods since she's so sweet about it. :-)

Once you get going on the vegetarian bandwagon, it's a lot easier.

It's good that you have such a supportive mother. Try to get used to eating your vegetarian option when others around you are eating meat. You'll feel good about yourself for abstaining, and pretty soon the cravings will go away.
Try the receipies on here too, they are so good AND filling - you'll soon find that you don't need meat to feel satisfied.

what are your health reasons specifically? the more that you know about yourself and your reasons, the easier it will be to forgo things.

meat doesn't really disgust me either, but my reasons are largely ethical.

I have this same problem its so hard for me only my family dosent support me that much so im on my own. But I agree go looking for some vegetarian options. Also if you are doing it for he alth reasons just think about your health. Every time you eat piece of meat your damanging your health.

yeah, im the same. im still living at home for another 2 weeks.my parents eat meat with every meal. and i just eat vegetables, and sometimes beans. sucks sometimes when their food looks so much better than mine! but i just tell myself that i am doing a good thing. jjust think about the reason you are doing it.

When I first went vegetarian, I set a distant goal like "six months from this date I will be completely vegetarian..." or something like that. I chose January 1st, because it was easy.
To prepare for that end date, it was helpful for me to start out with one meal that was vegetarian. One meal is easy. Pasta, sauce, salad. hummus, pita bread, cucumber. cereal and orange juice.
It didn't really matter what I was eating, so long as I was aware of the fact that the food I was eating was vegetarian.
Once one meal got to be a habit, I went a day without meat. At the end of the day, I threw a little party (o.k. not really, but I mentally thought "YAY!" and threw streamers.... :) )
That got to be a fairly easy habit as well, so while, officially I've been vegetarian since 1/1/05, I was technically vegetarian since about a month before that.
I was staying with my mom for the month of January and she was fairly supportive (aside from a few, "well I need some protein." comments), and meals because fairly easy (then again we both cook.) we'd just make something vegetarian that meat could be added to for those who wanted it. So something like cooking up a chicken breast to go on top of the pasta and sauce....
I wasn't disgusted by meat, (in fact, I'm still not) but after a while of making a thoughtful effort to eat a heathy vegetarian diet, I just sort of stopped considering it a food....does that make sense?

would she and the rest of your family be willing to try meat alternatives with you? she seems pretty understanding so it's worth a shot. the products made by Schneider's Oh Natural are really meat-like, try the "beef" tips, great in a stir fry or just with potatoes and veggies, or in a "steak" sandwich. even my omni boyfriend said if i gave it to him and didn't tell him it wasn't steak he wouldn't know.

how old are you? maybe it's time to learn to cook for yourself? find some recipes (lots of great ones here at VB) and get your mom to help you make them first so next time you'll be able to do it on your own. this way if the family is having meat you can just make your own stuff and not be tempted to have theirs.

as for how to give up the other meats, well just think to yourself "why is it ok to eat chicken and not ok to eat beef? what's the difference between eating a pig and eating a fish?"

before i went veg, as early as i can remember i always refused to eat anything i considered cute like rabbit, lamb, duck, i wouldn't eat wild game meat like deer etc, but i would eat beef pork and chicken without hesitation. as i got a bit older i started thinking why is it ok to eat a cow but not a rabbit? then spent some time on a hobby farm and saw these animals up close and dammit they're cute too! i've seen a cow act affectionate, i've seen them recognize their "owner" and follow them around looking for a scratch on the head, get excited to see people... yeah i just couldn't understand why anyone wanted to eat her. i just pretty much stopped seeing animals as food and started seeing them as intelligent thinking feeling beings.

also reading some really scary PETA articles pretty much sealed the deal :naughty:

Just like Zoebird, I think if you know why you're giving up meat and are well-connected with your reasons, it will be a lot easier.

I definitely understand how meat could be tempting when it's just all around you, and it seems easier to eat than not to. I am sure your mother's a great cook, but it might help if you get ahold of some good recipes -- like off of here and http://www.vegweb.com. Get in the kitchen and try them out.

Try to find some books and websites on vegetarianism for health. There's a lot out there, but the Seventh Day Adventists have a lot of good material. The Seventh Day Adventist church here also offers cooking classes and a free lunch on Saturday. (Saturday is their Sabbath, just so you know if you decide to drop in. Sunday is just another day.)

Visit the local bookstore -- like Borders, Barnes and Noble's, Books-a-Million, one of the places at the mall? What's cool about those places and you can sit down and really read through their books before you decide to buy -- or not. There will probably be book on vegetarian cooking and nutrition in the cooking section. You can look through the books and find ones that are suitable for you.

Hope this helps.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm 26. I know i'm too old to be living with my parents. I'm tryin to move out:). I don't have a job righ now. So my mom buys the food. Sometimes I will cook something, but since I still eat the other meats, I eat what my mom cooks. She has started to cook more chicken and turkey, because i told her I have stopped eating pork or beef.

I loveeeeeeee cook books. My sister and I have so many haha. I read them all the time. I know a good recipe. It's called Cabbage with Celery. It's good. You just sautee them in some olive oil. Put your seasoning in it ( Garlic powder, salt, pepper). And eat. You all can use it ok:D. God bless.


Monika

I can't really understand people giving up meat for health reasons. I've never seen a study which suggests that small amounts of meat is unhealthy. I guess I could understand it from the perspective of not being tempted to eat more than a small amount. Like people who give up sweeteners for health reasons. One cookie a month won't hurt you. But if you can eat one cookie why not two. Or three. Pretty soon you are eating boxes of cookies and cakes and stuff like that.

But to get off meat altogether I would suggest you try to approach it from a consistency perspective. You said you would find horsemeat gross but it's the same thing as other meat you eat. I would suggest you get yourself a copy of "Peaceable Kingdom" and "Meat your Meat". You can see in the first film the difference between people who love animals and those who are indifferent towards animals. Then hopefully you'll choose to be one who loves animals. All animals.

You can get "Peaceable Kingdom" at www.tribeofheart.org or at www.navs-online.org

I also don't find meat to be gross per se. It's the wholly unnecessary killing of animals that I find gross. Actually I did see my Grandma eating the heart and other organs of some animal and all the veins and valves were rather disgusting.

Thanks everyone for your advice. I'm 26. I know i'm too old to be living with my parents. I'm tryin to move out:).


At 26, I still lived with the folks. If anyone wants to hold it against you, just tell 'em "nunyabiznus...."

To become a Vegetarian it does take time. You have to go at your own pace. When I started out, it was hard. My mother cooks meat all the time and my father also is a meat eater. But Now, they respect my eating choice and my mom love my vegetarian cooking in the first place lol.

well it good to hear your trying to become vegetarian ^-^. when i frist whent vegan in 2003, i was the only one in my family (i'm 16 and i live with my parents and my brother all of which were not vegetarian at the time). thankfully like your mother, they were suportive, but figured it whouldn'tlast (:P fooled them). anyway for me i just stoped. after i found out what goes on to produce the food i was eating, i decided that i couldn't suport that kind of cruelty. from someone who used to chow down on 4 steaks a day it apeared to be a big change, or at least to thouse around me. all i can say is to try you best, some people find it easier to become a vegetarian in steps, slowlying cuting out meat as you go. like wiht many good life changes, things take time, just keep up the good work, and learn to try new foods, variety is key. just remind yourself about why your doing this, when this "temptation" you seem to be experiencing hits. Also try looking up new ways to make old favorites or check out your librarie and book store for veg*n cook books or try www.vegweb.com hope that helps. Congrats and good luck
B.A.D.:bobo:

You're lucky that your mum is supportive!!

When I went vegetarian I remember thinking that I was going to do it for a week, just to see if I could do it, but I managed to do it for 6 years, before I turned vegan...

It's easier now, I think, with all the meat-replacements which are available.

But good for you for starting to change your lifestyle! I wish you luck for the future :)

peace and love amy-jane xx

In my opinion, deciding to not eat the meat when someone cooks it in front of you is not much different than walking through a store and deciding to not purchase it. Whenever I even think about taking in some meat for protien and calories, I think of a few things about distinct human characteristics and the problem with meat in your system. I would like to add that I have never been acquainted with a greater mode of existence since ceasing to consume meat.

Heres what I remind myself...

http://www.celestialhealing.net/physicalveg3.htm
http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/natural.html
http://www.veganviews.org.uk/vv80/vv80carnivores.html

I can't really understand people giving up meat for health reasons.


Why don't you understand it? A lot of people do it. I am:D. Vegetarianism is not only for people who don't like the treatment of animals. I just think a vegetarian diet is healthier:).


Monika

It is.

And it's a lot healthier for the animals...

i wrote a whole paragraph about how meat eating can be healthy as well, about how its about what you consume, how much, and if you know whats going into your body.... but I didn't really want to push the subject, so... I'd just like to say if you can live a healthier lifestyle as a vegetarian, that would be great! follow your heart and do what will the best for you... if your heart is really set on eating vegetarian food, regardless if you family cooks and eats it, eventually you'll adapt to it, just give yourself time, and enjoy the meat your eating while your still at it =P and i sound like i'm pro meat, haha, nope, i just have a neutral standpoint on how i view things, at least from a health perspective, i'm vegan, happy and loving life

i wrote a whole paragraph about how meat eating can be healthy as well, about how its about what you consume, how much, and if you know whats going into your body.... but I didn't really want to push the subject, so... I'd just like to say if you can live a healthier lifestyle as a vegetarian, that would be great! follow your heart and do what will the best for you... if your heart is really set on eating vegetarian food, regardless if you family cooks and eats it, eventually you'll adapt to it, just give yourself time, and enjoy the meat your eating while your still at it =P and i sound like i'm pro meat, haha, nope, i just have a neutral standpoint on how i view things, at least from a health perspective, i'm vegan, happy and loving life


Thank you geniusone for your great reply :). It was so nice. I loved it. Take care. God bless.

Monika