[cweldinger]

Hello,
I am new to vegetarian eating as a life-style. I have tried off and on to go to this style of eating but my husband never supported me.


Now, my husband is all of a sudden on board and wants to go RAW Vegan "cold turkey" for give the choice of words there. I told him that is wonderful but my husband doesn't even like but a hand full of vegetables. I can't get him to eat much of anything.


Up until now his life has been a slab of meat on a plate with mashed potatoes and gravy with either corn or green beans for a side. The variation that he eats other than that is pizza (meat lovers) and junk food. I think it is wonderful that he is "saying" he wants to do this but I am afraid this abrupt extreme change is setting him up for failure. He also has an addictive personality. He is addicted to his Mountain Dew and sweets as well.


I was thinking, if he is serious, that I would start him out slowly. I would start him on a vegetarian diet of all our regular food that we are used to and just eliminate ALL meats (chicken and fish included). Then if he sticks with that after about a month of his body adjusting to this change (and his mental state/attitude) then I would back him down to vegan meals (no eggs, milk etc.). Then after about a month of this I was thinking of (if he is still supportive and on board) going to the RAW Vegan diet.


The thing is, he is so picky that I am trying to find "normal" foods to start him on. All I keep finding when I Google Vegetarian Meal Plans are meals with foreign ingredients that are expensive and that are not going to be something he is willing to try. Does anyone out there know where I can get a "beginners vegetarian meal plan" for like a week or a month. I don't want to scare him off now that he is being supportive and willing to give this a try.


As we go, I will slowly begin to introduce new tastes and new foods, but I don't want to shock him or scare him. Can anyone help me with a website or a menu of your own for an easy beginner menu?

 

[LedBoots]

Hi and welcome! I think your plan to go gradually vegan is a good one. This article has some great ideas.
http://moneysavingmom.com/2013/10/52-meatless-meals-to-slash-your-grocery-bill.html

 

[silva]

Probably a good idea to talk him down! Some people do well making such a drastic change, others really crash! The learning curve in switching to a plant based diet is big- to a raw diet, it's huge!

There are sooooo many ways to maintain a vegetarian, or plant based diet. Just go to amazon.com and look up vegan cookbooks. You'll find ones that come close to mimicing the SAD, ones for athletes, whole foods, processed foods and everything in between. Quick cooking, cheap cooking, ethnic cooking.
Take advantage and spend some time in their "look inside" features of books. Some provide a lot of recipes.

Many websites for help:

http://www.veganhealth.org/
http://www.pcrm.org/health/diets/vsk/vegetarian-starter-kit

We're so conditioned to the usual foods that changing is hard just due to our mind set. Almost any dish you can think of has a plant based counterpart. Pot pies, stew, casseroles, you name it, can be made with beans, lentils, veggies. Well, admittedly you need some help with the cooking styles! I started with some real losers just because I didn't cook or spice things right. Time. Time and learning.

It sounds like health is the primary focus here. Check this out:

http://7dayvegan.com/guide/

Not just one, but several menus to peruse, and sites to check out.

Of course VB (veggieboards!) is a wonderful resource!
Welcome

 

[logic]

Up until now his life has been a slab of meat on a plate with mashed potatoes and gravy with either corn or green beans for a side. The variation that he eats other than that is pizza (meat lovers) and junk food. I think it is wonderful that he is "saying" he wants to do this but I am afraid this abrupt extreme change is setting him up for failure. He also has an addictive personality. He is addicted to his Mountain Dew and sweets as well.

What is his reason for wanting to do a raw vegan diet? Usually its health, which I always find strange since there are no studies that actually show its a healthful dietary practice let alone healthier than more traditional vegetarian diets. I would definitely talk him down from a raw vegan diet.

If he is interested in the health aspect, there is a lot of information from science-based folks that don't advocate such extreme diets. Though the diets they do advocate for do deviate, obviously, from the standard American diet but you can still eat familiar things like mashed potatoes, pizza, etc.....you just have to prepare them differently.

Slow changes work best for most people, but some people are very black and white and for them its 100% or no percent.

 

[silva]

Oh yeah, here's a nice visual presentaion:
http://www.eonline.com/photos/11505/beyonce-s-22-day-vegan-meal-plan/357001

If Beyonce and Jay-z can't keep up vegan on that _ somethings wrong!

 

[bbeckums]

if you're just going vegetarian, at first, there's a lot of basic foods he can still eat. pizza can still be a meal to enjoy, just nix the meat lovers version. there's mac n cheese, potato dishes, mushroom or cheese ravioli, vegetable lasagnas, eggplant parmesan, etc. the thing that can be difficult about later planning to go vegan, is that when you first become vegetarian (at least for me) it just made me eat a lot more cheese-based meals. (as you can tell from my examples) so then becoming vegan was a real feat, i was like "I CANT EAT AAAAANYTHING" hahaha, but if you make the switch slowly like you're planning to, i think you'll be just fine. there's so many possibilities where you don't need any funky expensive ingredients.

 

[Jennifer C]

There are lots and lots of veggie meals for people who are used to meat. Especially when you consider how many people really just add meat to stuff - like spaghetti, tacos, etc - you can just remove the meat. Also, I'd ease veggies in slowly, in new ways. My son's dad hated veggies when I met him, because his mom used to serve canned, salted, mushy veggies. Sometimes people just haven't been exposed to fresh, raw or properly cooked veggies, so they think they hate them. I usually just steam veggies and my son's dad is a big veggie fan now.

Here are some helpful articles:

80 Plus Popular Vegetarian and Vegan Recipes
Vegan "Chicken" Pot Pie
Vegan Recipes for Summer Barbecues