Struggling to get started

jenELLE868 · Nov 25, 2006

I've decided to become a vegetarian because I really need to get myself healthy because I have awful eating habits. 
I was watching Rocky a few weeks ago and I just about threw up watching the meat packing plant scenes. 
But my turning into a vegetarian is more about eating healthy. I love animals but I'm not going to turn into a PETA person overnight ready to protest in front of the nearest KFC. 
I'm still not sure what exactly I'm suppose to eat. There are vegetables that I really don't like the taste of and I don't want to eat salads all day long 
And I LOVE Subway, I get vegetables on it but the only meat I get is turkey. 
I love turkey and chicken and I don't know how I am going to give them up because there the only meat I eat anyway and bacon sometimes at breakfast. I'm tired of burgers and I've never liked steak, rib, etc 
I'm willing to try but I'm struggling

pheniox · Nov 25, 2006

There's more then vegetables, if there weren't most people, myself included, couldn't be vegetarian. There's pasta, beans, rice, quinoa, and fruit for the majority of the time, and when you can buy them there are mock meats on the market that taste great. 
For vegetables you don't like, you can try chopping them up really fine and then putting them in stews, curries, soups, casseroles, stir-fry’s, fried rice, savory breads, in sandwiches, and on top of a cheese pizza, and try and get used to them that way. If you are worried about it taking a while to make a good vegetarian meal, then you can take a weekend and make meals up for the week and freeze them, so when you get home you can pop them in the microwave. There are a thousand and one things’ you can eat being a vegetarian doesn’t mean you have to eat only “rabbit food”.

jenELLE868 · Nov 25, 2006

Oh gosh I'll have to give up shrimp, which is the only fish I eat

pheniox · Nov 25, 2006

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by jenELLE868 <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> 
Oh gosh I'll have to give up shrimp, which is the only fish I eat</div>
</div>
 
Well if it's the only fish you eat, it shouldn't be hard to give up right? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/huh.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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There are a few shrimp alternatives on the market, but I've never really heard anything good about them. You coud always try using tofu/TVP/seiten to replace shrimp in your seafood dishes, if you want.

isowish · Nov 25, 2006

what do you usually eat for breakfast? Most breakfast foods are vegetarian already - pancakes, cereal, etc. If you eat a cooked breakfast you can replace the meat products with things like veggie sausages. 
For snacks, it's great to include raw fruit or veggies, especially if you don't eat a lot of fruit or veggies anyway. Carrot sticks, cucumber, apples, etc. Nuts and seeds are good too. Of course, most chocolate and a lot of sweets (watch out for gelatine in gummy sweets, it is made from unnattractive bits of animal like hooves) are vegetarian too, but not as good for you! 
For lunches and dinners you don't have to overload on vegetables if you don't want to, although adding more veg into your diet is always a healthy idea. You can have sanwhiches with fillings like fake lunchmeats, hummus, salad, cheese (if you will be eating dairy), etc. Pasta with a tomato based sauce is an easy dinner option, as well as vegetable (or mock meat) curries, vegetable based soups (look out for meat stock and broth) - a whole world of options. You should look at the 'recipes' section on this site for some ideas. 
There are plenty of 'veggie bacon' options. My favourite when I was still eating eggs was the 'Quorn' brand, which has been a hit even with a few quite veg*n-hostile omnis. Chicken and Turkey are a little more difficult to replace, but I've heard you can get replacements for them in the USA so hopefully people who've tried them will be able to offer some suggestions. 
Take it at your own pace and let us know how it goes! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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soyXmilk · Nov 25, 2006

I reccomend the veggie sausages <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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There's a lot of things you can do with pasta (my favourite). Pick any kind of noodle, sautee vegetables, add tofu or any kind of beans that you like, and pick a sauce, like pesto <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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Good luck going veggie!! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/blush.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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bekajoi · Nov 25, 2006

The first thing to get into is the mindset. If you are thinking of meals in the typical "meat and 2 veggies" mindset, you'll feel lost. Typically, meat eaters choose the MEAT and pick the veggies to go with them, right? <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/wink3.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

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The veggie version of that is "Starch and 2 veggies" (maybe your starch is a bean dish, so you have protein and iron in there too)~ so, rice with corn and carrots... baked potato with broccoli and cheese on top. 
There are LOTS of options. All breads are open to you. You are not needing to worry about dairy or eggs, so really it's mostly just getting out of the "meat" meal mindset. 
There are some good veggie versions of chicken nuggets and chicken strips, by the way. Morningstar Farms (freezer section, even in most grocery stores) has amazing Chick'n nuggets. Dip in your normal sauce and these are fabulous. My MIL didn't notice the difference. There are some veggie bacons too but they aren't quite like real bacon. Just smoky strips that give some flavor. (there are imitation bacon bits for salads or baked potatoes) 
There are lots of options, Really! <img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/smiley.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

"> You aren't stuck with just salads. (that would never fill you up anyway!) 
Oh, and Subway has a fantastic veggie sub. It's a lot cheaper, too, so you can almost get a foot long for the price of a 6" meaty sub. I get everything on mine but the spicy peppers. And whole grains for your breads are best for you, so try and get those.

truepeacenik · Nov 25, 2006

I second the veggie sub and the veggiemax which is basically a garden burger. 
for other newbies going vegan, Subway has honey in the bread and eggs in the veggie max. 
For those that have them, Spicy Pickle has AWESOME veg options (still combing thru looking for what's vegan friendly). 
Since you are looking at your personal habits, is stepping down an option for you? I did that for my first 6 months ('80-'81, you CAN do it) tossing out beef and lamb, then birds, then swimmers. (Never ate pork) Swimmers were the hardest. 
Somewhere along the line, I got to the point where eggs didn't look like food. I'm sure the occasional prepared food of mine has some, but I don't use them myself. 
What I did have to get thru my stubborn teenage head was that I had to replace the critter with something healthy. 
So white rice became a thing of the past, and brown rice a staple. Luckily, some restaurants are offering it around here. 
really good stepping down book: The Gradual Vegetarian by Lisa Tracy, not because she has great recipies, but the technque is helpful. 
Most libraries can get it Inter Library Loan. 
Another good noob book is Mark Warren Reinhardt's Contented Meat Eaters' Guide to Vegetarianism.

Elijah · Nov 25, 2006

Hey There Jeanelle, 
I see you are doing this mainly for health reasons and secondly for ethics which is great!! Remember to include nuts and seeds in your diet!! 
If you are doing this to become healthier I would stay away from mock meats and only eat them in moderation. They contain high amounts of sodium (and other stuff) and vegans are more vulnerable to strokes because of our thinner blood vessel walls than omnivoures. High sodium intake is something be observant of. 
So if you want to become healthy fast and be one of the healthiest people on the planet I highly recommend the book "Eat To Live". 
Backed by thousands of scientific studies and common sense this book will educate you and you will know more about nutrition than most doctors!! 
This book is a MUST read for all vegetarians especially vegetarians/vegans who want to be healthy (who doesn't, right?). 
Good Luck and remember it is not about willpower it is about knowledge, the more knowledge you have the easier it is. 
And remember to Eat To Live!! 
Sincerely, 
Elijah

meatless · Nov 25, 2006

Depending on where you are, you may be able to buy fake shrimps. I had never actually tried real shrimps but my dad, who loves to eat real shrimps, told me he actually prefers the fake ones we buy!

jenELLE868 · Nov 25, 2006

<div class="quote-container">Quote:
<div class="quote-block">Originally Posted by meatless <a href="/forum/post/0"><img alt="View Post" class="inlineimg" src="/img/forum/go_quote.gif" style=""></a> 
Depending on where you are, you may be able to buy fake shrimps. I had never actually tried real shrimps but my dad, who loves to eat real shrimps, told me he actually prefers the fake ones we buy!</div>
</div>
 
I don't think I've ever tried the fake ones. Shrimp is my favorite food after pasta. 
And I'm in college and the food is already bad. The vegetables are horrible, they taste like baby food vegetables<img alt="" class="inlineimg" src="/images/smilies/shocked.gif" style="border:0px solid;" title="

"> 
I've had veggie burgers which are really good

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