I want to wean myself off of meat in the next 3 months. I eat tons of pork, fish, and chicken. Not much beef.

I'm a good cook. My strategy is to make, say, a pork dish one night, then a veg version of the same meal the following nite. The plan is that I will hopefully have several "Alternate" dishes by the time I run out of meat, not counting the egg and cheese based stuff I already know.

Anybody else ever worked it from this angle? Any suggestion?

We had chickens growing up and had a sort of a backwards thing going... If we ate no meat during the week (certainly we would be eating eggs) we would be rewarded with a roast chicken on Saturday). My sister and I came up with some pretty creative ways of making eggs - some we still use today.

I think what you're doing is great. Since you're a good cook, you can focus technique and pairings in a regimented juxtoposition and probably come up with some wonderful meals.

My boyfriend's doing the same thing, so I've started putting tofu in his meals just about every other day. There are a lot of great ways to cook it - especially if you chop the tofu into small cubes (the smaller the better when you first start eating it, I think) and fry them in a pan with some vegetable oil. You can put it in all kinds of things, even with meat if you want to at first. Pretty soon I think you'll find that the tofu pretty much replaces meat in a lot of dishes. Just a suggestion: if you've never had tofu before you might want to chop it small and put it in dishes with a good amount of sauce (the tofu will take on the taste of the strong sauces). Hope that helps a little :) Good luck!

I love to cook too and usually throw together my own recipes (usually can never duplicate anything then, because I can't remember exactly how I made anything! :help: ). I find it creative to revamp recipes to make them vegetarian.

A cookbook that I found useful as I was easing into vegetarianism is Vegetarian Family Cookbook by Nava Atlas. She has wonderful recipes that are appealing to many people. I still find it a great book to refer to when I get in a rut.

Good luck on your new venture!:chef:

I think there are many possible ways to become vegitarian. Some do it slowly, some do it quickly, but as I have seen from some others on this board, it is easy to lose interest in your food if you dont at least have a bit of the "kindness to animals" theme as a reason. I did something like what you are proposing. I went from the big meats to the fishes over a period of time. I think it helps to dramatically increase your vegitarian meals-- and eat the meat as "flavoring only." I know it will make your transition time longer, but some people who are big meat eaters might benifit from a longer transition time. Plus many people would not be so off put on giving up something that is just an ingredient. Or, try to get to a cook out on Memorial day and give away half your meat!

I highly recommend vegetarian-izing your favorite meat dishes, especially since you say you're a good cook. It will be fun for you and give you a chance to use your creativity while creating soem comfort foods that remind you of your old favorites. But the possible downfall that comes to mind is this. If you make the meat dish one night and then the veggie version the next, you may get into the habit of comparing the veggie version to the meat version, and the veggie version will very likely suffer in comparison to the meat version you're used to, because it's not exactly the same. It simply won't be the same. You've got to open yourself to that concept and be ready to appreciate vegetarian dishes on their own merits, without comparing them to meat. (Although I will admit that certain dishes can come mighty close.)

So I would also recommend trying a lot of completely new foods that aren't like anything you're used to having. If you like to cook and eat, it's also a lot of fun. Try a new ingredient or a new recipe every week or two, and start learning about ethinic cuisines-- there are many wonderful veggie dishes to explore.

If you're busy discovering all these exciting new foods, chances are you'll find it easier to eat meat less and less, worked in between your new veggie repertoire.

Thats a good idea :)

I want to wean myself off of meat in the next 3 months. I eat tons of pork, fish, and chicken. Not much beef.

I'm a good cook. My strategy is to make, say, a pork dish one night, then a veg version of the same meal the following nite. The plan is that I will hopefully have several "Alternate" dishes by the time I run out of meat, not counting the egg and cheese based stuff I already know.

Anybody else ever worked it from this angle? Any suggestion?

You've correctly identified that a successful transition to veg*nism relies upon education and training (food selection and food preparation), not just the abrupt mindless elimination of particular categories of foods from one's diet. How long does such a transition take? It depends upon many factors, some out of the control of the prospective veg*n. Therefore, I would just take your time and try to make the transition as natural and painless as possible. Good luck! Welcome to the movement! :hamster:

let me first emphasize that this may not work for you, and it may not be the approach that you want to take, but for me.....

i never made the choice to be a vegetarian until about 3 months ago. i was walking down the street and found a stand that carried newspapers (check the photo section under group meetings). one of the stands carried a vegetarian starter kit (sponsered by peta). i grabbed it since i like to cook and knew it would have recipes. after i read about the ANIMAL part of vegetarianism, i almost grossed myself out into being a vegetarian. i know that won't work for everyone, and that may not be the route you want to go, but since it PROBABLY was the only reason i would ever be a vegetarian, i'm not complaining since i'm happy with my decision (i feel like it was meant to be)

like i said, it worked for ME, and it may not be the route you want to go, but it's one way to do it.

I looked at alot of PETA discussions and their website and to tell you the truth, their tactics almost made me sick. I already made a decision, I don't need anybody to scare or disgust me into making it again. I don't think they have much to offer me and if I kept on reading their publications it would probably make me not want to hang out with other vegetarians!

I do appreciate the advice, though. I just don't think is, as you put it, the route I want to go.

I looked at alot of PETA discussions and their website and to tell you the truth, their tactics almost made me sick. I already made a decision, I don't need anybody to scare or disgust me into making it again. I don't think they have much to offer me and if I kept on reading their publications it would probably make me not want to hang out with other vegetarians!

I do appreciate the advice, though. I just don't think is, as you put it, the route I want to go.


I agree with you on that definitely... that's a lot of why I joined this board, hoping to find other vegetarians/vegans that I would like to have on the same side of the arguement as me... It annoys me that a lot of people are so emotional about being vegetarian and don't think quite so logically about it (which PETA sometimes appears to).

I think you should consider though (and this took me a while to learn... :) ), PETA is dedicated to animals' rights, so they must make a strong stance in order to get peoples' attention. Although it does put off a lot of people, it does get their message out loud and clear. As with any social movement, you must have those who are shouting the message a little too loudly in order for people to listen to those who're patiently trying to make a change. :)

Please don't think all (or even most) vegetarians are like that. We're out there! :)

hey Derek, I empathise, totally. What clinched it for me was totally falling in love with Curry paste (pataks mild). I learned that you could have a magnificent, unforgettable meal without meat, with just rice and a few ingredients. I learned food could be cheap, easy, hassle-free, and better for me and the envoronment and the animals would benifit.

Curry has a savory quality that, for me, satisfies a lot of meat cravings. Lentils also do the trick.

I am also quitting meat gradually. I no longer eat pigs or cows. In August, I stop eating chicken, and then in November I stop eating meat altogether. I've stopped cooking meat, which I seldom did anyway, and even before my "deadlines" come, I try to eat in as vegetarian a manner as possible without killing myself over it. Sometimes it feels like I'm giving myself too much time; other times I feel a silly panic and it seems like too little, so I figure that, at least for me, it's a good pace.

What someone posted upthread about the dangers of the inevitable comparision of meat and meat-substitutions was a very useful point. I eat veggie burgers now and I like their texture and complex taste very much, but subjecting them to an inadvertent Coke-or-Pepsi taste test might be a bad idea before you've kicked meat. And you can't kick meat until you kick meat. Catch 22, I suppose.

I went cold turkey. Hmmm.....Maybe we need a better term. Cold tofurkey? Warm vegetables?

When/if I am tempted to eat meat, I think of what Paul McCartney said:

"I would not eat anything that had a face, nor a mother".

Think about it. :)

I went cold turkey. Hmmm.....Maybe we need a better term. Cold tofurkey? Warm vegetables?

haha!

Helen: I agree that it sounds unbelievable. But a lot of people do NOT make the connection between fur and living animals, just as some people do no make the connection between the dead corpse lying on their plate and the sweet little bunny hopping around in the field.

I went cold turkey. Hmmm.....Maybe we need a better term. Cold tofurkey? Warm vegetables?
I say cold tofurkey all the time. :D Sometimes I just say cold tofu.

I've also gotten in the habit of saying holy crow instead of holy cow. Or sometimes holy cannoli or holy guacamole (or holy guac). Yes, I am a dweeb.

I went cold turkey. Hmmm.....Maybe we need a better term. Cold tofurkey? Warm vegetables?


So did I. This worked for me. I don't do good at weaning.I have quit everything cold turkey: drugs, alcohol abuse, relationships, smoking, eating meat, etc. :lol: I'm one of those people that just up and one day decide "I'm not doing this anymore" and walk away.

It's easier for me. But they have given you some great weaning advice. :D

I went cold turkey too. Being a good cook is definitely a huge help. Finding fast, affordable meals is a huge help, too! My favorite 15 minute meals:

1. gnocchi in red sauce with mushrooms and roasted red peppers (while the water boils, prepare a quick salad with field greens, fresh mozerella and organic tomatoes, to be topped with high quality balsalmic vinegar and olive oil). after the gnocchi cooks (only 3 minutes!) and you've strained it from the pot, dump the liquid and use the same pot to quickly cook down the mushrooms in olive oil, with the canned roasted red peppers (sliced up thin of course) and with some jarred garlic. add the jarred sauce, and toss in some dried oregano too if you have it, and some ground fresh pepper at the end. very impressive looking and very tasty.

And then 2. veggie fajitas (nothing could be faster, yet make such impressive results). quickly prep the mushrooms, onions and peppers (a combo of red and green are great) and cook in a wok on high heat with some fajita/spanish spices for a few minutes (adobo, saffron, etc). dollup into wraps with low fat shredded cheese, and have some avocado and fresh chopped tomato on the side for garnish. each can be made in 15 minutes, start to finish, no joke. Accept the culinary challenge, you won't believe what you'll learn to do quickly and healthfully!

I understand completely. See, I have no problem with not eating meat, and I avoid gelatin as much as possible (I have a medication with it as an ingredient though. :/), but i have but one weakness so far: chicken broth. Though I had a small bowl today, and as I was eating it, I thought of what it was: meat in a liquid form, dead chicken soaked in water. The broth didn't taste as good as it stated out to be when I was finished. Though i'm a salt fiend, and chicken broth satisfies the craving for salt. I haven't found a good, salty-ish veggie broth yet. :(

When I started thinking about going veggie about a year ago, I started collecting vegetarian cookbooks. I LOVE cooking so I'm always open to experimenting with new foods anyway. My two favorite cookbooks right now are "The Passionate Vegetarian" and "This Can't be Tofu!" I've found it really hard to just substitute tofu and other meat alternatives in my own recipes until I try a recipe that's actually designed for that food. Once you know how to cook with it, it gets a lot easier to make substitutions in your own recipes.

I just stopped eating meat one day. It was just easier to stop than to try and go back and forth. (And it was easier on my system!!!!!)

If you like to cook try Moosewood cookbooks, there are alot of them on Amazon or the library. I was going nuts my first month untill I got a good cookbook. Even my husband is happy with his meatless meals, but once in a while he cooks his own meat.

hey napalmtheory- did you know you can get chicken flavour broth in solid stock cubes (add your own water to make stock) that doesnt have any actual chicken in it? i've never had it myself, cos i've not had chicken since i was 3 either, lol, so it didnt appeal to me- but a friend of mine uses it and thinks its pretty good! if you look out for it, its around- especially in health stores, but also in many supermarkets. i've seen one made by McCormicks- they have beef flavoured stocks like this too. you can also get a no-chicken noodle soup in a can made by 'amys' brand, thats meant to be really good too. hope this helps!