Thinking about it....

[Newpiggiemom]

Hello all. After reading so much and hearing the reasons for it I have been pondering the possibilty of cutting meat from my diet. There are so many good reasons for it. I will have so many problems with it too. My husband is a big meat and potatoes guy. He would probably have a fit if he even knew I was thinking about this. He called me a tree-hugger one day because I wanted to catch a mouse in our house in live trap instead of a traditional one. He really would not take to it at all. With that, I also have three children ages 7, 9 and 12. How do you feed a family? My extended family would also be a huge problem. I have an aunt who is vegetarian who lives away and when she visits it seems to cause problems with my extended family and meals.

The biggest obstacle for me too would be buying groceries. I live in the middle of nowhere and my local grocery store is extremely limited. I've tried cutting meat by not eating it for breakfast or lunch at all and all I seem to eat is peanut butter. The stores around here are so limited in their selection of non-meat protein sources.

Has anyone dealt with these issues? What are some solutions?

[i-love-nev]

Originally Posted by Newpiggiemom

Hello all. After reading so much and hearing the reasons for it I have been pondering the possibilty of cutting meat from my diet. There are so many good reasons for it. I will have so many problems with it too. My husband is a big meat and potatoes guy. He would probably have a fit if he even knew I was thinking about this. He called me a tree-hugger one day because I wanted to catch a mouse in our house in live trap instead of a traditional one. He really would not take to it at all. With that, I also have three children ages 7, 9 and 12. How do you feed a family? My extended family would also be a huge problem. I have an aunt who is vegetarian who lives away and when she visits it seems to cause problems with my extended family and meals.

The biggest obstacle for me too would be buying groceries. I live in the middle of nowhere and my local grocery store is extremely limited. I've tried cutting meat by not eating it for breakfast or lunch at all and all I seem to eat is peanut butter. The stores around here are so limited in their selection of non-meat protein sources.

Has anyone dealt with these issues? What are some solutions?

Quorn!! Tastes like meat if you ask me. There are a few other brands like quorn I think its called bocca or something. It is expensive-ish but ya dont need a lot in a meal really. There is other things aswell such as pastas etc. You can buy a lot of vegetarian recipes book and I'm not talking all the fancy expensive foods its simple meals really.

Hope this helps a bit. Good luck!!

[i-love-nev]

Also even if you cant take ALL meat out of your diet just cutting down is a big change and will still help.

[newpiggiemommy]

My husband is the same way normally but before I decided to go meat free (two weeks ago) he decided to only eat salads to try to lose weight. He started a little less than 2 months ago and he has already lost more than 20 pounds.

My children (ages 6 and 9) and I have gone meat-free at home. I have not had in 2 weeks but I know the kids have at school!

My hugest obsticle is my mother and mother-in-law. They both don't agree with me going meat-free. I just tell them it is temporary for health reasons, but I don't miss the meat at all and I don't think we will be going back to it any time soon!

Your children can get better protien from beans, legumes, lentils, and many veggies. They can get protien from peanuts, peanut butter, etc. There are many other foods that provide protien. And believe me that is the biggest arguement that will come up against you in giving up meat!

As far as eating a lot of peanut butter, I don't eat peanut butter. I do eat a lot of cheese! I have made tacos, mexican casserole, pizza, roasted potates and veggies, and lots of salad (all meat-free).

Anything you can make with meat in it, you can make with out meat in it. There is a brand (I think it is called Bocca) that makes veggie burgers and other meatless meat. We have not tried it, but it may come down to it.

I am new to the meat free life, but if you have any other questions please feel free to ask!

[thalestral]

With regards to foods, I found this site immensely helpful when I was thinking about cutting meat from my diet: Facts It has all the info you could possibly need!

To begin with my main mistake was to think of what to replace meat with - I was still trying to centre my meals around a meat substitute. What you really need to do is look at food in a whole new way and for me I found trying out new recipes revolving around vegetables, pulses and beans to be the best way of finding out what worked for me.

These sites are great and packed with easy recipes with easy to find ingredients

Vegan / Vegetarian Recipes and More for the Vegan Diet and Lifestyle
Memorable Entries
The Post Punk Kitchen: Vegetarian cooking & vegan baking with no attitude