Ah Maybe You could help!

[internetjunkey]

I've got a chronic health condition in which I can't eat many meat products. Since meat has always been the Main dish in all of my meals. I am going to have to start cutting meat out of my Diet. Since I am new to this and I've got 21 years of eating meat, I really don't know how the whole transition from large portions of meaty meals to Pure veggies. Will my Body go into some kind of shock from the transition, will i feel lethargic? Should I start taking Vitamins? And I wouldn't mind having your opinion on tofu, is it good? And I've already started looking at recipes! In fact I am rather excited about the whole change in my lifestyle. The only thing is.. I am engaged and we will be getting married here shortly..Since I do all the cooking, I want to know if anyone on here is living with a meat eater, how does that all work out for you? I don't want to make him do something that well..he doesn't want to. Just looking for opinions on that!

And last but not least.. any books, Recipe Books that are out there that are very informational on the whole Veg. Thing?

Thank you so much for the time!

[guineapigluver1]

You can google "Vegetarian cookbooks" and it will come up with a lot. As well as there are some websites for it to. If you have been eating a lot of meat, wean yourself off of it. It isn't a bad idea to start taking vitamins. Tofu...it depends on what you use it in, some recipes it's good, some it's awful in. I'm not sure about the whole shock thing, before I went veg. I rarely ate it, so I just stopped altogether and I felt fine. I would talk to your doctor some about it though, to.

[5guinea5pig5]

I followed these steps.




P.S. this doesn't have anything to do with the thread but whenever I post first it always seems that someone posts at the same time.

[Tserisa]

I don't think you will feel lethargic. More likely, you'll have more energy.

It's been too long since I went vegetarian to remember any specific changes. However, when I went vegan (giving up dairy, eggs, honey and other animal products) the main change I experienced was gastric. My body took a couple weeks to adjust -- too much information for here -- but after that, it's been way better than ever, and I experience so many fewer stomach aches and, ahem, other issues.

I love tofu -- but it has to be prepared properly. And different kinds have different textures. Tofu absorbs flavors really well. It's great fried, either alone or with a tasty crunchy coating. One way I love it is to get the soft tofu, cut it into cubes, then freeze it. Then I throw the frozen cubes into soup, and the texture is spongy, and soaks up the broth wonderfully. Some people hate the texture of tofu, others only hate it if prepared a certain way. I've had horrible tofu and absolutely delicious tofu.

There are many many fake meat products that help the transition to a meatless diet. Tofurky is one of my favorites. There are textured vegetable protein products that can be used in place of ground hamburger in many recipes (such as spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, tacos and so on). Some are rather plain and can be flavored to taste, others come flavored for various purposes, such as sausage, Mexican food, and so on. There are meatless hot dogs, and of course many many veggie burger choices. Most are not actually made of tofu but may contain soy protein.

Some people eat a lot of meat substitutes, others don't eat many at all. But for someone new to the meatless diet they can be very helpful.

There are many basic products that take the place of meat in recipes. Tofu, of course, as well as textured vegetable protein (TVP), seitan, and tempeh.

I cook for people of varying diets, but they all get vegan food if I'm doing the cooking. I do not cook meat or animal products. However, there are many many vegan foods that almost anyone loves, and don't even realize are vegan -- I mean, how about french fries? Hehe. (Lots of vegan junk food, too.) Even in terms of the obviously meat-free alternatives, most meat-eaters I know do enjoy a few vegan meals now and then. I do not believe forcing a diet on anyone is fair or effective. There's hardly a better way of convincing someone that a vegetarian diet is not only possible but pleasant than by feeding them delicious, delicious foods. I do have a few friends who are almost exclusively "carnivorous" -- i.e. they will not eat a meal without meat. They tend to just like the desserts. But I've convinced quite a few meatless meals are not all that bad!

But if your mate is open to new foods, or willing to try it, he may find that he loves many vegetarian dishes. Whether you want to cook seperate meat dishes for him or not is up to you, even if you don't have ethical issues with it, it could certainly be a pain!

Does he like ethnic food? Many dishes from many world cuisines are easily made vegetarian or are inherently vegetarian. Mexican bean and rice dishes, Indian curries and dal and vegetable korma, Thai can easily be made veggie (though traditionally often contains fish sauce and the like), Asian stir fries, Ethiopian stews on injera, vegetable sushi, Moroccan, Lebanese, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, etc!

Soups and many side dishes can be modified or expanded to make hearty meals.

Some recipe books I love are:

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
The Student's Go Vegetarian Book (great for cooking for one or two!)
The Student's Go Vegan Book
How it All Vegan
The Garden of Vegan
Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (heh)

Some information on vegetarianism, health and lifestyle:

Plant Based Nutrition and Health by Stephen Walsh
Thrive: A Guide to Optimal Health & Performance Through Plant-Based Whole Foods by Brendan Brazier
Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman
Healthy at 100, Diet for a New America and The Diet Revolution by John Robbins

There are soooo many more, many excellent cookbooks and so on. And of course, countless recipes online.

Many recipes are super simple to alter to make vegetarian (or vegan) as well.

[internetjunkey]

I just wanted to share with you all!! I've been 100 % meat free for 3 days now, and I feel amazing, I feel more focused...More comfortable...Maybe a little bloated from time to time, but all over I feel better, Inside...my muscles no longer ache my daily headache has gone away. I just want to say that this is amazing. And Thank you so much. And I will keep my eyes open for the books, and such!!!

Thank you again!!

[Tserisa]

The bloating will probably go away after your body gets used to it. I'm so glad! It really is the best choice for your health, the environment and the welfare of animals. Congratulations!