[TheSpillmonkey]

Ok..

The whole moral maturity/self actualization thing has been long in the waiting, but I think i now need to go veg. I am going to try the whole vegetarian diet plus tuna. I am promising myself that the tuna will not be heavily relied upon, and hopefully removed once i get the hang of it. I do have some issues i need help with however.

First and foremost is the issue on what to eat. This was a moral decision, not something planned. I havent eaten meat in three days now, but the problem is, i havent eaten much of anything in three days now. For instance, it is now lunch time. I cant think of a single thing that is fairly close or quick that doesnt contain meat (except salad) and so im just not eating. There must be something i can eat other then lettuce for lunch for the rest of my life. I know there is. Please help

Second, the media have successfully brain-washed me into believing that i am going to waste away and die of some sort of vitamin deficiency. Is there any chart showing me what i am not lacking in my diet and what/how much to eat of other foods to replace it per day?

Lastly, is there any sort of IRC channel for vegetarians ? I did some looking around on google, but the only reference i found was for #veggies on Efnet which seems to now be gone. It would be good to talk to other vegetarians to find out how they do it.

thanks for all the help

 

[codemonkey]

First off, you need to eat! You kind of have to re-train your brain to think of meals in terms of beans, grains and vegetables as opposed to meat taking center stage all the time. Don't stress about the fish for now. A lot of us hung on to fish while transitioning.

Lunch is definitely one of the more difficult meals while transitioning. Most of us are so used to a typical sandwich-and-chips kinda lunch so you need to think a little outside the box. One thing that I really like is just a sandwich with no meat. I know it sounds wierd but when you load it up with lettuce, tomato, onions and avocado slices, you really don't miss the meat at all. My husband isn't even vegetarian and he eats this for lunch pretty frequently nowadays. Marinated baked tofu and tempeh "bacon" slices are good on a sandwich too. You can also try some of the vegetarian convenience foods for lunch. There's lots to choose from and most of them are surprisingly good.

Check out the recipe section for a lot more ideas for meals. And feel free to ask all the questions you need to. Everyone here is really helpful and friendly.

 

[derwenna]

Hi there and congratulations on your decision!

What to eat: kind of a hard one to answer, saying 'what is there to eat apart from meat' to someone who doesn't eat it feels like being asked 'list every possible type of food that exists out there'

For meals at home, you could start off with easy stuff at first like baked potatoes, stir fry, tortillia wraps, pasta (preferably wholemeal) with sauce, and then look up some more exciting recipes once you've recovered from your initial hunger. You say there is no food nearby that doesn't contain meat - where exactly are you? Knowing a bit about your circumstances and lifestyle might help us answer your questions a bit better, like whereabouts in the world are you, a bit about your lifestyle, are you competent at cooking already? I'd recommend cooking at least some of your meals rather than relying on convenience food, although it shouldn't be too hard to get hold of veggie burgers, pizza, sandwiches and so on if you need to. http://vegweb.com/ is a good one for recipes, or get some books out of your library.

Nutrition: you won't be missing out on anything by switching to being vegetarian unless you live on junk food - but then a lot of omnivores do that too! The Vegetarian Society has some good nutrition information: http://www.vegsoc.org/info/basic-nutrition.html and you can find a vegan food pyramid here: http://www.vegsource.com/nutrition/pyramid_vegan.htm

It may seem a bit daunting at first, but once you get the hang of things you'll be fine. There are lots of helpful people on here too, so stick around and someone will be able to help you with anything you need to know. Good luck!

 

[TheSpillmonkey]

Thank you!

I currently live in Connecticut. I sit at one computer or another most of the day for work.

Trying to get more exercise on a daily basis too.

Im sure there is food around. Im going to go check out the grocery store after work and see what they offer. Ive always just sort of skipped over the veg' areas.

Im glad the boards are so active. Two responses in an hour!

 

[leighsa]

I am relatively new to this too, and I require something that is quick and easy to fix. I am doing the lacto-ovo vegatarianism at the moment. For lunch, I like to pop a potato in the microwave and eat that with a piled high veggie burger. There are also veggie hot dogs, veggie chicken patties, or veggie prepared BBQ, and of course you can eat these with microwave fries or chips (read all labels) or salad/ veggies. I know you don't want to eat salads everyday, but you can be creative with them, such as taco salad or black bean and corn salad with salsa. Other quick things I like are cereal, fruit, soup, homemade veggie tacos, pasta with sauce and bread, etc. Also, frozen vegetarian entrees are convenient to me. So far, I really like "Michael Angelo's" vegetable lasagna and eggplant parmesan entrees. "Amy's" also offers some nice frozen entrees. For snacks, a couple of different things I like are walnuts or peanut butter and crackers. I just suggest that you browse the aisles at the grocery store to find items that work for you. You may enjoy cooking more than I do! Good luck, and I hope this helps.

 

[TheSpillmonkey]

Well i had my first fake meat Boca Burger yesterday. Not all that horrible

There's tons of food out there that doesn't contain meat, its just hard to not make it the center of a meal. Im sure ill figure it all out eventually. Time for my fruit salad lunch!

Also, i think i can now survive after the miraculous revelation that SUPER PRETZELS contain no meat.

 

[rabid_child]

I just had a salt bagel with earth balance and an apple for lunch. I wouldn't personally recommend this for nutritionally void reasons (except the apple) but I had a craving

Yesterday for lunch I had homemade minestrone soup, an apple, some baby carrots, and homemade peanut butter oatmeal cookies (2). Monday I had avocado and tomato with hummus, olive oil and fresh basil on toasted leftover baguette.. and an apple. Tomorrow I may have a similar sandwich, except on wheat bread, and I'm out of hummus (have to pack lunch tomorrow... no toaster at internship!), and probably the same sides as yesterday. (I live in usptate NY.. it's apple season!) I bring leftovers from dinner a lot. Last week I had leftover tofu pot pie with sweet potato crust in my lunch one day. This week I'll probably have leftover TVP shepherd's pie or pasta with broccoli and pesto tofu one day. Pasta anything makes good leftovers for lunch.

If you're into the more traditional sandwich structure... you could try various veggie lunch "meats" and make a sandwich. Try different veggies in your sandwiches though, you may like it. Interesting breads and condoments can make all the difference! Soups are quick and a good choice since it's getting cooler. Fantastic Foods makes a large array of vegetarian "just add boiling water" type soups if you need a quick lunch. There's always Peanut butter (or other nut butters, like almond.. mmm) with jelly or banana. Definitely time to start thinking outside the box!! Check out the food discussion forum for more ideas.

Certainly if all else fails you can go out and get yourself a slice of cheese pizza!

 

[Faerie Green]

Congratulations on your moral decision, TheSpillMonkey! You are among millions, though it may not always seem that way.

If you order out for lunch, go for Chinese or Indian food, there are generally plenty of ready veggie options. If you can get (fried) bean curd with vegetables, you will start to taste some of the hundreds of things that can be done with tofu. But let someone else cook it for you first, if you aren't familiar.

You will need to think about nutrition, but that is true for everyone, and if you are having a hard time adjusting, worry about finding tasty vegetarian food first. Any meat dishes you once ate and liked are easily replicated or subsituted.

I never want for delicious food. And though I like it, I hardly ever eat salad.

Good luck, I hope to hear how you are doing.

 

[veggienurse]

TheSpillMonkey.......do you like pasta? There are a lot of veggie pasta dishes around. Vegetable lasagna, pasta primavera, spaghetti with marinara sauce.

Grilled vegetable sub......hey....how about a vegetable plate. The other day I cooked cabbage, broccoli and mashed potatoes with veggie gravy. Yummy!!

I cooked collard greens yesterday and had that with cornbread and baked sweet potatoes.

When people ask me what do I eat, I just reply that there are more veggies than meat. The average person eats chicken, pork, beek and maybe deer. There are tons of vegetables!!

Keep up the good work and look for hidden meat and meat byproducts in foods. There is pork lard in many ice creams. Bryer's Ice Cream doesn't have it.....but if you are not going to eat dairy then there are many alternatives available and the wonderful people here at VB can help you with that!!!

 

[TheSpillmonkey]

Thank you again! As a quick update, its been about a week now today and no meat, not even fish

I scoured one local grocery store and came up w/ the standard Boca fake meat burgers (which have helped immensly). I also found soy sausage. Soymilk was the easiest conversion as I already drink it for lactos reasons

Im also taking a once a day generic vitamin for b12, iron, and what not.

I have rediscovered the wonders of Peanutbutter toast and Super Pretzles.

Ill keep you updated. Thanks for all the tips so far.

 

[lillym]

I've just discovered how much I love Morningstar Chik'n patties. They are best when cooked in the oven (so they crisp up) but I also like them reheated after baking them. I make a sandwich with lettuce, sprouts, mustard, mayo, sometimes sauteed onions and peppers, and some cheese. And have that with a salad and/or chips.

I usually take leftovers for lunch but I've also taken bean and veggie burritos, chile, beans and rice, or greens, black eye peas, and cornbread.

If you don't have a microwave you might want to get a wide mouth thermos so you can take stews, chiles, and soups.

 

[Faerie Green]

I suddenly recall when my brother went veggie that the freezer was quite full of Superpretzels.

Cheap, filling, easy to make, who knew what a SUPER (sorry, couldn't resist)transition food they could be?

 

[TheSpillmonkey]

MY CUPS O' SOUP CONTAIN CHICKEN POWDER!! WHYYYY?????

Life is over!

 

[troub]

toast +

avocado +

cucumber +

pinch of celtic sea salt =

BEST SAMMICH EVAR!

 

[DieselAmy]

I found cups o' soup that are veggie. There is a great selection at the health food type stores, but now even my local Meijer (half step up from WalMart) carries them in their "vegetarian" part of the soup aisle. You just have to keep looking!

At work I like cups o' soup, canned soup (read the label--many veggie soups are made w/chicken broth etc), PB&J sandwiches, Tofurky sandwiches, veggie plates from the cafeteria, leftovers, frozen meals, Taco Bell... lots of choices.

 

[jazz121]

Even when I was an omni I very very rarely ate meat at lunchtime. I usually had a sandwich with cheese salad or egg salad or hummus and roast veggies. Or I had something I heated up from the night before eg pasta and sauce, risotto, soup etc. Can you buy a veggie sandwich on the way into work in the morning and have it with fruit, nuts etc until you get into the swing of things.

Apologies if this is more difficult than I think, I'm in Scotland not Conneticut!

 

[cftwo]

You'll find that they put meat in the oddest things - but after a while, you'll find replacements.

Mexican food is another way to go for a vegetarian lunch. Taco Bell's refriend beans are vegetarian. You can replace any meat with the refried beans. Or, look for the soy crumbles from Morningstar Farms of Boca Burger and you can use those in tacos. If you're craving tuna salad or chicken salad, chop up some drained rinsed chickpeas and add the usual things (mayo, celery, onion, etc.). A good starter vegetarian cookbook is the "Student's Vegetarian Cookbook" - easy recipes that don't cost much.

Peanutbutter toast - yum!

 

[TheSpillmonkey]

What other mexican foods are Veg freindly? I have a Senior Panchos near here (very good mexican food). Anyone know any specific menu items (food types) i could try ? I dont know much of real mexican food past the 4 or so main things I normally orderd

 

[nataliex1122]

I just went veg about a week ago, I did it with a friend though (who is now going vegan) so it wasn't that hard, but my problem is that i dont like salad or anything so i end up eating just massive amounts of pasta which probably isn't very healthy.So i was wondering how do i get protien and such?

 

[jackie890]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nataliex1122

my problem is that i dont like salad or anything so i end up eating just massive amounts of pasta which probably isn't very healthy.So i was wondering how do i get protien and such?

Protein is abundant in whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes, and vegetables. As long as you're consuming adequate calories and not eating tons of junk food, protein should not be a problem.

Ethnic foods might be a good way to introduce yourself to non-salad non-pasta veggie meals. For Mexican food you can have a bean burrito with salsa and guacamole. For Chinese you can have vegetable stir fry, with or without tofu, served with rice. For Greek food you can have a falafel sandwich or some hummus and pita bread. For Indian food there are dozens of tasty vegetable or bean curries. For American tastes, there's everything from soy hot dogs to PB&J to baked potatoes topped with salsa or tasty veggies. Soups like split pea, lentil, or vegetarian chili are full of protein too.

Healthy and protein-rich snacks include nuts, seeds like sunflower or pumpkin seeds, whole wheat crackers, fresh veggies with hummus or other dip, and baked tortilla chips.

You can also use veggie fake lunch meats/burgers/etc., but they aren't necessary. They're full of protein too. There's also soy milk and almond milk.