So I have thought about going vegetarian for a long time, and today I finally made the decision to do it. I am going vegetarian for two reasons, the first and biggest is my health. I'm 16 years old, 310 pounds, and heart disease and diabetes run in my family, I'm amazed the only problem I have is high cholesterol. The second reason is that I hate the ways that animals are treated in slaughterhouses and factory farms, I think it's cruel. Plus cows and pigs are adorable. I told my mom earlier today and she was not very supportive. She said stuff like " You better find some fruits and vegetables that you like, cause you don't really like those." (Which is ironic considering I cleared out all our houses bananas and pears, and she made me a salad for lunch today). So I'm not going to be able to get help from her, so I'm turning to here. Does anyone have any good advice or ideas for going vegetarian, to be honest it's kind of confusing the f**k out of me. This is my first attempt and I have no idea how to do this, I'm kind of overwhelmed.
Learn to cook Indian food. Actually, there is a wide variety of tasty vegetarian dishes from many cuisines. Really, salad is not that economical for getting the required calories of a healthy diet. The simplest way to ease into vegetarian food is to start with a staple grain and then make side dishes. Spaghetti and a rich sauce of tomatoes, garlic, and sautéd onions, is pretty easy. Pesto is another great vegetarian sauce. You could also try quinoa, which is very nutritious, or couscous.
Learn some easy and cheap recipes first before becoming vegetarian, it'll be easier. If you can't cook or don't know easy recipes first, you will likely end up with meals designed with meat, without the meat, which isn't tasty or easy to keep up. -Using pre-sliced vegetable mixes can be a real time safer. -You can add nuts/cheese/fresh tomatoes/basil on pasta for some extra taste. -All within () is optional, but will make it taste better. -Always taste when cooking before and adding ingredients. Some easy recipes I often eat: Easy Lasagna Heat vegetables in oil. Add tomato paste and cream. (Spread (goat) cream cheese on lasagna pasta.) Place layer of sauce in oven dish. Place layer of pasta with cheese on top. Repeat. (Add cheese on top). Put in oven. Pasta with spinach/cream sauce. Defrost spinach. (Add herbs, like lots of oregano (maybe 1-2 tablespoons or just a little bit depending on taste)(Add vegetable stock cube)(Add a bit of pesto). Add lots of sour cream or just cream. Simmer a little bit. (Season with pepper/salt). Cook pasta. Stir sauce through pasta. (Add cashew nuts) Pasta with pesto Cook pasta. Stir pesto through pasta. (or make your own pesto) Pasta with tomato & cheese Cook pasta. Slice tomatoes. Stir in grated cheese and tomatoes while still hot. Eat soon before the cheese becomes solid again. (Extra basil is nice) Pasta with oil and garlic Fry garlic in olive oil until golden (not too long or it'll become bitter). Cook pasta. Add oil+garlic mixture. Season with salt and pepper. (Alternatively first start frying bell peppers, then add garlic) Nasi goreng Cook rice. Fry sliced vegetables in oil. (Add ginger/garlic). (Add spices like five-spice powder). Add soy sauce. Add cooked rice and warm/stir mixture in pan for a few minutes on low heat. (Serve with egg/gherkins/chili sauce) Bami Cook noodles. Follow nasi goreng recipe, with rice substituted for noodles. Gado Gado Cook rice. (Cook potatoes.) Cook green beans. (Shortly heat soy bean sprouts for less than a minute.) Cook other vegetables you want. Let vegetables/rice/potatoes cool. Make/heat peanut sauce. (Put peanut butter in pan, add soy sauce, sugar, chilli paste and water and heat). Put cooked vegetables and other stuff on plate. Add warm peanut sauce. (Add fried onions). Bell pepper stuffed with cream cheese Clean bell pepper. Cook/Heat bell pepper. Stuff with cheese spread with herbs. (Serve with potatoes). Mashed potatoes Cook potatoes (&kale/onions/carrots) in same pan (with stock cube). Remove water from pan. (Add uncooked endive). Mash potatoes. Add milk until smooth mixture. (Add garlic/cheese spread with garlic/cheese/nutmeg). Season with salt and pepper. Baked potatoes with cream cheese Wash potatoes. Stab potatoes with fork multiple times. Take piece of aluminium foil. Put teaspoon/tablespoon of oil in foil (depending on potato size). Wrap potato in foil with knot pointed up. Put potatoes on baking tray. Put tray in oven. Unwrap potato and stab potatoes with fork to see if raw or ready. Serve with cheese/cream/dill/chives/other herbs. Chickpea curry with rice (Soak chickpeas, needed with dried chickpeas, precooked chickpeas don't need this). Cook chickpeas. (Bake onions, garlic, ginger in oil). (Add spices like cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cumin, chillies, garam masala/spice mix). Add fresh tomatoes. (Add half a lemon). (Add spinach). (Add cream or coconut cream/grated coconut). (Serve with sliced almonds/chopped coriander/cilantro). (Serve with yogurt/yogurt mixture with spices and thinly sliced cucumber). Serve with rice. Omelette (Bake vegetables in oil). Mix egg with pepper, salt (and cream). Add egg. Bake egg. Serve with cheese/fresh tomatoes/ketchup. Burritos/taco's Heat tortilla's/taco's. Fill tortillas with fresh tomatoes/cheese/cream/coriander/onion/tomato sauce/baked beans/beans/lettuce/cucumber/rucola. Bean stew with bread Fry onions in oil. Add garlic. Add tomatoes or ketchup. Add beans. (Add cooked green beans/corn/sugar/stock cube/jalapeño peppers/spices (cayun spices are awesome)). Season with pepper and salt. Add fresh herbs. Serve with (corn) bread (with butter).
I'm not going to give you specific advice for a vegetarian diet but... Bad reason to go vegetarian. Immediately striking out a very large number of options from your diet is never a good way to get healthier. Meat in moderation (provided it is lean meat) is actually very good for those trying to lose weight, as it isn't particularly energy dense but has a high satiety value. What's more, the worst things you can have are vegetarian anyway - e.g. soft drinks, candy, energy-dense coffees, cakes, pastry, and basically anything else that is made of sugar and fat that has zero nutritional benefit to you other than energy. We like to eat those things, so if you remove meat you are naturally going to want to replace it with something from that bad group, and because they are vegetarian you may be mistaken into thinking this swap is okay. Being vegetarian doesn't equal eating healthily, and in a lot of cases people will actually eat worse because instead of increasing the amount of vegetables they eat (as the name 'vegetarian' would suggest), they instead turn to things like pasta and bread. If you do go vegetarian, don't fall into this trap. (n.b. pasta is fine occasionally... as long as you aren't eating it for every meal) This on the other hand is a good reason to be a vegetarian.
In your place, I would learn to eat healthy before learning to eat vegetarian healthy, which is considerably more complicated. You need to make this as easy as possible on yourself if you want it to work. Also, remember that eating vegetarian isn't about just cutting out meat, but rather, replacing it with other sources of protein. A bowl of pasta and sauce is not healthy on its own; you need a source of protein to go along. Also, iron deficiency is likely to eventually catch up with you, so make sure you prevent it by taking supplements before you end up having to take Palafer for three months or more (ugh, I talk from experience here) to cure your anemia. But yeah, baby steps, IMO, would be your best bet.
The main problem for vegetarians is getting enough protein, and more specifically all 20 of the amino acids that compose proteins. I presume you will not give up eggs and milk? If you can, you should continue with those or find substitutes like tofu and almond milk. The native americans made this dish called "succotash" (google it, there are tons of recipes). The neat thing about this meal however is that the main ingredients are corn and beans. It turns out that corn has only 19 of the essential amino acids (aa's), and beans also have the same number, but not the same set of aa's. So, amazingly the natives discovered that the combination of both into one meal provided all 20 aa's! As was said above, watch out for the white starches and sugars, it is very easy to get caught up in a poor diet. Stick with high-fibre breads and pastas, eat plenty of leafy green vegetables, etc.
im not veggie but i love veggie food and eat it more than meat, i have meat probably once every few months other than that i eat veggie. spinach and lentil burgers are good. also some supermarkets do value veggie sausages so they are cheap and taste nice. never tried tofu but i hear its quite bland. if you want to be super healthy you could always have wholegrain pasta and rice, which i do. its not to everyones taste though. veggie stir fry is always easy. find fruits and veggies you like. frozen peas are cheap and healthy, as are all frozen veggies most i eat are frozen, i cant buy fresh it would cost me a fortune. you can buy quorn mince and add some peppers/veggies you like into it, and tomato puree to make your own spag bol. soup is always easy. tomato/vegetable/potato and leek e.t.c e.t.c eggs are always good for a wee snack, like egg on toast if you like eggs. i dont though. mixed bean salad is good also! its not that hard and is doable, its just finding things you like. spinach pizza is amaaazing. i eat a lot of spinach (cooked), raw is gross to me. i dont eat much salad contrary to what most people think veggies eat a lot of lol.
Almond milk is not actually nutritious, despite what health nuts (no pun intended) will tell you. It contains only about 80 calories per cup, including tons of added sugar, and virtually no protein. That's because it actually has very, very little almond content in a cup. In fact, it's so poor in protein that you'll find a warning in capital letters on the front of the carton reading, "NOT A SOURCE OF PROTEIN." Yeahh. Stick with milk, you'll need your source of vitamin B12, vitamin D, vitamin A, and bioavailable calcium (the added calcium in milk substitutes is not as bioavailable, tends to separate in the product, and may affect cardiovascular health). 2% milk is best because some fat is necessary for the assimilation of some of the aforementioned vitamins, and also because it makes it a more filling drink, making it less tempting to eat 5 cookies on the side. xD
I was vegetarian for the majority of my life (I just eat meat occasionally to keep my iron levels up and for social reasons). Rice, vegetables, curry, beans, eggs, etc. are all amazing. I would also recommend light exercise if you are looking to lose weight also. Also, try not to eat out (like at fast food places) because that just makes the temptation so easy... Good luck!
Good luck with going vegetarian! I think it is less complicated than people often think. You should eat plenty of legumes (lentils & mung beans are my favorites). Try to cook foods that include plenty of those. Any lentils, beans and peas are fine, choose what you like and try to be versatile Legumes are important protein and mineral source. You should also check out some seeds and nuts. They are very nutritious with plenty of protein and healthy fats. You should keep eating grain products, vegetables, fruits and such in the same way as you (hopefully) have been eating before. Legumes, nuts and seeds are usually the "new" thing about vegetarian diet. You can't get B12 from vegetarian sources, so if you don't use milk or other animal products daily, please take a supplement. That is very important for your nervous system etc and deficiency of it could cause some serious results.
Be sure to get protein. ALSO BE SURE TO GET VITAMIN B12! People seem to forget that one, and they'll get sick. Try to cut out soda, etc. You can look up vegan recipes, since they're veggie-heavy, and just substitute vegan butter for regular butter, etc. (I've found that vegan recipes are more helpful, and usually tastier.) I'd also suggest doing it slowly, you don't want to shock your body. Try cutting out a new meat each weak. First, cut out beef. Then pork, then fish, then chicken, and so on.
do good research because giving up meat you will lack certain minerals and vitamins etc essential for health especially as you are still growing !!!
have you considered going pescatarian? It's the denial of meats with the exception of all seafood. The beauty of this is you can still get plenty of protein and when eating the right fish, all those Omega's can be great for the heart. Plus it tastes amazing. Pescatarian is how my partner and I live now and it's a much easier transition then going straight vegetarian Of course to do so you need to like seafood
But unless OP can subsist exclusively on canned tuna, canned salmon, and whatever frozen white fish Wal-Mart has on sale (raised in someone's bathtub in China, for all I know...), it's gonna get $$$. :S
Yeah, sorry, I jumped to conclusions a bit fast. I figured since he's 16, he's pretty much at his parents' mercy, who may or may not want to pay that much extra for his special food. But hey, maybe his parents are cool lol.
I was a vegetarian for about 6 months until I couldn't take it...got myself a Baconator and never looked back. "Veggie burgers" are super great, cheap too. Takes some Pam and a stove to cook them up, It was my biggest help. That's all I got for you. Phony meats helped me in the beginning and then you can slowly cut back on those.
A lot of this advice was good, but the above is WRONG. So very, very wrong. You get MORE than enough protein from plants. Proteins are made up of these things called amino acids, which are stuck together in chains. There are about 20 of them, but of those, our body needs to absorb 8 of them (called "essential amino acids") from food because the body does not make them itself. These 8 are ALL found in plants, in differing quantities depending on the kind of plant. The important thing with plant-based diets is that you eat a variety of plants, which, if you're not filling up on meat, is easier to do.As long as you eat a variety of plants, your body gets absolutely all of the kinds of amino acids it needs to produce all the protein it needs. If you eat protein this way, the protein your body produces is of a higher quality than what you get from eating animals, because it's easier for your body to digest and put to use. This is why so many people report feeling "more energetic" and having "clearer thoughts" after switching to a vegetarian diet; because the energy that your body would usually use up to digest the meat can be used elsewhere. I have been a vegan for almost four years now, and believe me, it's a lot easier than most people think it is to find food. It's actually cheaper to produce and eat plants than it is to make animal products, both economically (as long as you avoid the specialty frozen foods, although I have to admit I have a weakness for a lot of Amy's products; look up that company!) and ecologically (there are less steps involved in producing grains, for example; animals have to eat several times the number of plant meals to produce just one meat meal for one human. If humans just ate the plants, there would be more food to go around. This is the biggest reason I switched over to my meatless diet.). Because it's cheaper, you would be surprised how many foods people think aren't vegan actually are. Think how much easier it must be if you're only going vegetarian, too! If you need morale support, feel free to message me! =) Oh! And if you want extra motivation to go vegetarian, or need data to back up your position if people ask (and they will), I strongly recommend watching the documentary "Forks Over Knives."
You should be able to find lots of different recipes on websites or blogs that have vegetarian recipes that are quick and no more expensive to make than their meat-laden counterparts. However, it's never a good idea to make a complete 180 in your diet. Vegetarianism is usually much more successful if one's diet changes slowly over time. You'll want to take a few weeks to get used to this change. One of the biggest complaints about vegetarianism though is keeping heavy levels. This is still possible to do without the use of supplements, but you have to make sure to get enough (a lowly spinach leaf isn't going to give you all of the iron you need for the day). If you search "sources of iron" or "sources of vitamin B12" online, you should find plenty of resources. Make sure to keep this in mind as vitamin and mineral deficiencies are never enjoyable. Good luck and don't get discouraged! It's your body and you have the right to fuel it with what you want!
