Hey everyone. The last time I posted at veggieboards was in 2013 when I was 30, now I'm 32 which is kind of depressing.

In 2013 I had an epiphany. That is that my whole life I had eaten meat justifying it by saying "this is natural", then I started thinking about it and realized that just because something is "natural" doesn't make it "good", after all, the bubonic plague and tsunamis are natural.

I tried to go full vegetarian at that time but I kind of wimped out on it and just stopped eating pigs and cows. I've only eaten chicken, turkey, and fish for the past two years pretty much with a few exceptions, like a few times I've gone to Walmart Neighborhood Market and they have free pizza samples at the deli with pepperoni. Sometimes I'm able to resist these but a few times I ate them, that's the only time I've eaten pork in the past two years though.

I am becoming more serious about it now. Here's what happened. I work as a land surveyor and we were surveying a farm one day. There was an outdoor chicken coop where chickens were running around. One chicken was sitting on top of a pig as the pig walked around. As I walked by all the chickens followed me. That evening when I got home I looked up pet chickens on youtube, and saw how nice they were. I don't want to eat them anymore.

I bought some expensive whey protein powder. Is it true that I can get all my protein needs from this and I can safely stop eating meat completely without any neurological effects? I play chess and it's very important to me, I need my brain to be in good shape for my chess.

Also just to show how uninformed I am about all this, I thought whey protein came from wheat. Now I find out it comes from milk. Isn't there any protein powder that's grown in a vat from enzymes or something I can take?

Hey, congratulations on taking this next step! You don't need protein powder. You can get all your protein needs from plants. Tofu, soy milk, all kinds of beans, nuts and nut butters are all high in protein. Good luck!

Thank you. I've been eating a lot of tofu lately. About a year ago I noticed the grocery stores around me started carrying "super firm cubed tofu" from Nasoya. That's my favorite kind, and I eat so much of it, sometimes 3 or 4 packs per day.

But I'm allergic to nuts. Is there really no protein power that's grown in a vat and doesn't come from animals? And what about wheat germ?

Wow. If you're eating that much tofu, are you sure you really need any more protein? Are you a bodybuilder or something?

I don't know much about powders but I'm sure someone else here will be able to help you.

I'm not a bodybuilder. It's just I've always liked tofu even before I became a vegetarian. And when I go to the store to buy my groceries I buy all the super firm tofu packs they have a lot of the time.

I remember one grocery store around here used to carry really firm "grilled" tofu. I like that even better than Nasoya, actually a lot better. It was like $5 for a little rectangle of it though.

Does tofu have all the amino acids?

What size are the packs of tofu? 4 ounces is considered one serving (with 20% of a days protein-10 grams). I can easily 8 oz at a time, but only have it like once a week.

All foods, besides most fruits, contain protein. People are so indoctrinated with needing protein they get conditioned to think they're at risk. That's almost impossible for omnivores, could be for people going plant based without any knowledge.Very easy once you start eating a wide variety of foods including beans, lentils, whole grains, tofu, tempeh, seitan, and trading fast food visits for the packaged vegan foods like Gardein, Boca (some varieties), Field Roast and others.

As for plant based shakes there are a wide range available. Search amazon.com or iherb.com and read reviews to see if anything in particular seems to suit you.

I really Alive! Ultrashake soy vanilla. It mixes super easy and smoothly with OJ. I;ve never used a mixer, just stir, sit a minute, and stir again. It also has a lot more than just protein.
http://www.iherb.com/product-reviews...75-g/4112/?p=1
My son favors this one-
http://www.iherb.com/Green-Foods-Cor...4&sr=null&ic=1
I dislike the stevia in it-although mixed with cold coffee it's okay. It also has a lot of different vitamins as well as probiotics which can take getting used to- As in it can cause gas until your body adjusts. I guess all probiotics do, they're good for you. It has algae based DHA which some people can really use. It's what fish oil is touted for and good for mental health. Some people can formulate DhA from EPA which is what the omega 3-6 thing is all about. From different types of fats contained in seeds and nuts in particular. I supplement with algae dha because I find a difference in attentivness.

too much protein is not good and is hard on the kidneys.
You don't need to supplement protein but i like the idea of having a easy morning shake that is complete. DO look for ones with more than protein.

Welcome!

I like tofu, too- it's so versatile! It does have all the essential amino acids, yes, although if you also eat whole grains (at the same time, or within a few hours) your body will be able to use both the tofu protein and the grain protein more efficiently. However, unless you're eating a lot of foods that have lots of calories but almost no protein, you should be fine.

You might want to try small amounts of other foods, such as different kinds of beans, to see if you like them. Last night at my food co-op, I bought about 31 pounds of quick-cooking rolled oats. I make a sort of muesli with them, and I know they're one of my favorite foods, so there's no way they will go to waste. But I also bought some dry flageolet beans, which I haven't had before- I hope I like them! (If I don't, I'll eat them anyway but won't buy more.)

What question did you have about wheat germ? It is rich in protein if I remember right, and it's quite tasty; I don't know if eating a lot of it would be a bad idea. (Oh- raw wheat germ will go rancid if you don't refrigerate it because it has some sort of oil. I don't know about toasted wheat germ, which I used to add to my oatmeal.)

EDITED TO ADD: Silva makes a lot of good points.

Thanks for the ideas and recommendations.

The Nasoya tofu packs are 7 oz I believe.

Sometimes also, I buy a large Mellow Mushroom pizza with artichoke hearts, tofu, and mushrooms, and I eat the whole thing by myself within an hour. Also about once every two weeks I go out and get a tub of frozen yogurt and eat the whole thing at once. Luckily all the package sizes have shrunk over the years though so when I do this I'm only eating 1.5 quarts instead of 2 quarts.

I've used the Sun Warrior protein powder. It tastes okay. I don't think it has nuts in it, it was wheatgerm and something else from memory. Check out the website to see if it's okay for you. But there's also proteins made from pea flour.....

But again, you don't necessarily need protein powder. There's a formula for working out how much you need, something to do with weight times activity levels times age? (Does someone know the formula?).

As for the rest of your diet, I hope you're eating more than just tofu :P I mean, don't get me wrong, I like tofu as well. But there's plenty of ways to eat it and plenty of other things to eat.

A varied diet, as others have said, is key to staying healthy.

Haha, don't beat yourself up dude.

There's plenty. Soy protien is widely available. Pea protien is available.(it's not a nut is it?)
http://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/10-b...n-powders.html

check these out. some may contain nuts so you can check the ingredients of each

Hi Mogwai,

Welcome aboard!


The following successful athletes are all vegetarian or vegan:

Jan Muller, Muay Thai World Champion

Bill Pearl, 4-Time Mr. Universe

Joel Kirkilis, Victoria, Australia Regional Bodybuilding Champion

Jake Shields, MMA Fighter: Elite XC Welterweight Champion, Shooto Middleweight Champion, Strikeforce Middleweight Champion

Mac Danzig, UFC Fighter


The following intellectually-successful persons are vegetarian (or were vegetarian, during their lifetimes)

Linus Pauling, 1954 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 1962 Nobel Prize for Peace

Albert Schweitzer, physician, 1952 Nobel Prize for Peace

C.V. Raman, 1930 Nobel Prize for Physics

Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, 1983 Nobel Prize for Physics

Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, 2009 Nobel Prize for Chemistry


The U.S. Department of Agriculture's dietary guidelines, and their “ChooseMyPlate.gov” education materials, now fully accommodate vegetarian diets. The USDA has replaced their old-style "Meat Food Group" with the "Protein Food Group", which includes beans, peas, lentils, nuts, and seeds: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/healthy...egetarian.html . The “Dairy Group” now includes calcium-fortified soymilk: http://www.choosemyplate.gov/food-groups/dairy.html





Also, be sure to eat enough calories! Not eating enough calories is one of the biggest mistakes that new vegetarians make. This mistake is easy to make, because starchy vegetables (beans, corn, potatoes, grains) and sweet fruits are low in calories, compared to most meats. I strongly suggest that you use online meal calorie/nutrition websites, such as http://nutritiondata.self.com/ , to plan vegetarian meals that will provide you with enough calories to maintain your weight and energy: http://www.calorieking.com/interacti...hould-you-eat/

Welcome back to Veggieboards! You know, when people say it's natural to eat meat, I have to wonder. To me, it is so unnatural to breed animals for food, to keep them penned up somewhere, to milk them, force them to lay eggs, and send them through a slaughterhouse, then buy shrink wrapped meat at a store. Even in prehistoric times, people had to develop weapons in order to kill animals. As far as I know, there are very few animals we can kill with our bare hands. And then they still have to be skinned, deboned, feather plucked and cooked to be edible (at least most meat). How natural is that? If we based all of our beliefs and actions on what is "natural", we would all be living very very different lives than we do.

As others have said, there are a lot of plant based proteins: all kinds of beans (one cup of lentils for example has 18 grams of protein, and even a half cup serving of white beans or black beans have 7 or 8 grams all by themselves); whole grains like brown or wild rice, quinoa, millet, barley, oats...; vegetables like leafy greens, broccoli, squashes; nuts and seeds; peanut butter. Seitan, made from vital wheat gluten, really packs a punch in regards to protein and is very easy to make at home. Tofu and tempeh are great too!

There are tons of plant protein powders on the market without even any soy or nuts/seeds. Vega, Sunwarrior, PlantFusion, Orgain, etc. are just a few I can think of off the top of my head. Pea protein seems to be very popular. Really though you don't need those to thrive but they can be helpful for an extra boost.

The great thing about eating a lot more plants is that they have all kinds of nutrients...macro and micro...that will boost your brain power. I went through all three years of my recent schooling and graduated with a 4.0 gpa (even after two semesters of anatomy and physiology), landed my dream job, and earned a certification after a 4.5 hour grueling exam on a vegan diet. Granted, the day of that exam, I think I ate 1000 calories beforehand lol.

Best wishes on your vegetarian journey!

I recommend getting a book or two on vegetarian nutrition, and printing out the loma linda vegetarian food guide pyramid. A healthful vegetarian diet, sufficent in all nutrients (and macros like protein) is not difficult or expensive, with a little knowledge and planning.

In addition to my vegetarian diet I take women's one a day multivitamin, and 2 capsules of flaxseed oil, just in case.

added- for those of us who didnt grow up veggie, it takes a little studying to find out what is a protein source, what are the calcium sources, etc. Its worth the time to learn those things.

Thanks so much everyone for all the encouragement and info about protein options. I think I'm really going to be able to do this.

Buddy, as a lifelong vegetarian & a vegan 99% of the time I'd like to say converting to a meat-free diet is not only natural its super easy. Our bodies do not care for meat, I've NEVER tasted it, nor even look at it.

As far as proteins are concerned its one of the natural fears of an omnivore.. what if I don't get proteins, what if my body falls apart on a vegan diet - none of this is gonna happen. Protein is not required in large quantities at all, you can comfortably get the daily amount of proteins in chickpeas, green peas, nuts and nut butter. To start with you could take processed vegan protein powder to allay your fears then gradually move on to a more natural diet-based supplementation.

Please start it right away, as each day you are vegan you are not only taking a stand for all the blessed creations of earth, you are also reverting to the most natural way of life possible.

Not to put a dampener on your message because I think it's lovely, but as someone who wasn't a lifelong vegetarian....I can tell you the switch to vegetarian wasn't easy, much less super easy.

There's lots of bumps along the way and a lot of things to take into consideration, like re-learning how to eat.

Still, you're right, you can be healthy on a vego diet! Good luck AdorableMogwai and please don't feel disheartened. You can always learn more and do better, that's all any of us on here are doing

It wasnt the easiest thing for me either, because I had to learn a little about nutrition, and learn what was vegetarian/vegan out in restaurants and fast food places.

I was raised omni by omni parents, and had very little exposure to vegetarians at all in my childhood/teen years. So I had to do a little research, before I was comfortable making the switch.

Even now, I have a very conservative veggie diet, because I am just not interested in doing anything radical. in my opinion a vegan diet is not radical, but macrobiotics or rawfoodism would be. (and there are plenty of healthy raw foodists and macrobiotic followers!)

Hi! Good to see you connecting the dots. If you have ever wondered why cows are eaten rather than Lions, it is because they are a peaceful, tolerant animal. It seems that being peaceful is not a survival trait. I had a pet chicken once. A mini Rhode Island red hen. Eggs so small you wouldn't eat them any way. She liked sitting on my lap and being petted. Strangely, right now I have some loaches, and also rats. They are also peaceful animals and really good pets. The loaches are a food fish in areas of the world. They actually get in my hand and wiggle around, having all sorts of fun. Yep, a food fish has a life.

All things you eat have protein in them, but meat is the most saturated. Potatoes have protein. Beans have protein. The brain favors Glucose, not fat or protein, so you have no problems as far as loosing brain synapses or what so ever. (Not a brain scientist here). Most vegetarians or vegans will have absolutely no problem getting enough dietary required protein from vegetables and starches. Protein is amino acids. There are certain Amino Acids that we cannot make in our bodies, and are called "essential." Many years ago, the thought was that a person with a totally plant based dietary had to mix certain vegetables which did not have all the amino acids we needed.beans have some, rice has some, so they said mix beans and rice. The trick in all this is to eat a broad range of grains, beans, fruits and vegetables. People who get in trouble are those who eat only one thing for every meal day in and day out.

About the only vital nutrient that vegans must beware of is vitamin B 12 which occurs in animal foods (more precisely fecal matter on animal foods).

Nice to meet you Mogwai and good luck in your journey!

I'll add my bit of advice, as a a forty-five year vegetarian.

Get into beans! By a crock pot and a pressure cooker, and try kidney, pinto, fava, black, chili, mung, navy, lima, and garbanzo. Then the lentils, red and brown, and the Indian varieties split mung, toor, masoor, and urad. And don't forget split peas, yellow and green, and fresh peas.

Throw in some coconut oil and a few spices and you have delicious dals and soups. Mix beans with vinegar, salt, olive oil and a bit of sugar and you have bean salads. Toss lentils or black beans with Mexican spices.

These are high protein plant foods and once you start you will never get bored.

Beans are the Protein Heroes of the vegetable world, yep yep. Coconut oil is delicious, but it's almost 100% saturated fat. Use it carefully: http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fats-and-oils/508/2

Well yes I can understand that it will never be easy in places like Australia, Europe & USA, mostly because vegetarian or vegan food supplies are intentionally short-supplied. There just isn't enough of it. You have so many snacks & even drinks/sodas are made of substances like gelatine, esther gum, fish oils etc. This is sad because they are not yet understanding that to some people usage of animals products is immoral. Secondly the restaurants also do not co-operate much when it comes to giving vegetarian or vegan meals, you simply cant order one with the same confidence as an omnivore. These are all a problem of demand & supply, I think the situation is better now with more awareness & knowledge thanks to the internet. It has to change in these countries & I'm sure with more people like us it will.

Yes maybe it was easier because I grew up on such a diet, but I've learnt much more from here than ever imagined. I learnt which products might have animal content and where to avoid them & also understood how truly evil the milk industry is. A veggie diet is quite easy to balance out as long as one has the proper raw-materials in the kitchen, a mix of vegetables for vitamins & fibre, pulses for proteins, grains for fibre, fruits for antioxidants etc. I also understand that an omnivores body will take a few weeks or even months to get adjusted to the vegan diet but after that it will seem like the most natural way possible. All these problems can be avoided completely when the trend catches on & people are raised veggie by default. The industries might adapt accordingly and make it easier.

This seems to have improved lately. Vegetarian restaurants and social groups can now be found in nearly every major city in America. Certain countries in Europe are vegetarian-friendly too; just in the city of Rome, Italy, there are 24 vegetarian-only restaurants and cafes.

Oh my wow, SO MUCH THIS!

I always loved beans as a carnist. But I didn't realise how many there were out there until I went veg.

There are few things nicer than a bowl of beans in a nice sauce, or even with a little oil drizzled over them.

I really love edamame. So easy to prepare, it's a wonderful snack!



I think, it's more the social aspect than lack of food around. Though, it certainly helps to have more options in the normal supermarkets these days.

I don't know what it's like in the U.K or America, but in Australia (particularly rural Australia) it's really hard, socially, to be vegetarian. Animal industries are a big part of our cultural identity (though that is always shifting, we're still a relatively young country).

Restaurants are getting better too. As we have more tourists, they need to make sure there's options for everyone. Not all restaurants are great, but most are.




You're right. Learning about it was difficult for me though. I so badly wanted to be 'natural' on a vego diet, I think I made some mistakes in the very beginning. I was so committed to not flaking out, that I took the first bit of information and ran with it.


Still, it's all a process and I'm glad we're all "getting there".

Great point. A bit of olive oil is delicious too, or canola, or maybe black beans with salsa and no oil!