Total Life Style Change

[Amsley246]

Well, Not sure where to start on this so I'll just get right in to it. I recently just found out that I'm allergic to processed food and a few other things. I can no longer eat bread, eggs, dairy, fried foods or anything with preservatives in it. It's nothing deadly or anything, my chest just gets very congested and I sometimes get a stuffy nose when it gets really bad and I cough so hard to the point where I'm gagging when it's get REALLY bad. Not to mention I just felt icky all the time and havent slept well in a very long time (I'm talking years). So I just can't take it anymore. It took my doctor forever to come to this conclusion too. He used to think it was uclers or something wrong with my stomach. Very stressful!

So, I'm thinking about taking the plunge and going veg. Thing is, I'm totally lost and pretty nervous about it. I'm very pricky about foods and never really ate many veggies. There is few of them that I actually do like. That and my boys are very avide meat eaters. I've tried to go vegetarian before, but my cravings when I went through withdraw got pretty bad and no one really supported it so it was kind of not working out for me. Now it's come down to my health. I was wondering if anyone had to do anything like this before? And is there anyway to help ease myself into this? Any support whatsoever is some greatly appreciated! Thank you kindly!

[seredman]

I am not sure about the whole veg diet but if you love meat so much have you looked in organic?
I live on a farm and we raise our own beef. When it's time we take the beef to the butcher and they are able to vacuum pack our meat and a whole beef will last us about a year. This way our meat dosen't have any preservative in it and it takes way better. Check with you local butcher or meat market they may know someone who is selling organic beef, chicken, and even pork.
Whole foods may also be something to look into.
Good luck to you!! I have a friend who at 40 developed an egg allergy and she is having a rough go of it - I hope you have an easier time!

[seredman]

I do not wish to offend anyone who has made the choice to be a veg / vegan. I support anyone who wishes to better their diet. My suggestions about meat are just that suggestions. I didn't see that this was a veg post until after I had posted and too much time had passed so I was unable to edit.

[Amsley246]

Thank you very much for your response Seredman. I'm still not 100% sure I want to give up meat. I already do buy organice everything as much as possible. I've always wanted to do that for my family. That last few days I've been completely dazed with the news I was given on what to do. I didnt want to deprive the boys of anything, and I definetly don't want to go crazy over budget with groceries or anything like that by trying to switch things for me. We're a small family just starting out (we were highschool sweethearts that had a baby while still in highschool). Meat I do sometimes react to, but I find if I cook it on my lovely george foreman grill, it helps a bit by taking away some of the fat/grease. I can't eat beef whatsoever though after I got ecoli poisoning a while back and it's made my tummy sensitve to beef ever since, so that 's why I kind of figure maybe veg was the way to go.

[seredman]

[ I didnt want to deprive the boys of anything, and I definetly don't want to go crazy over budget with groceries or anything like that by trying to switch things for me. We're a small family just starting out (we were highschool sweethearts that had a baby while still in highschool)..[/quote]

I feel your pain about the groceries! My husband and I didn't start as young as you but we have four kids under 6 1/2 and they eat over $100 a week in groceries and that is without buying any meat. I can hardly wait until they are bigger and my two baby boys are teens!!! I have a feeling I'll be shopping twice as often!

[Skeetersmom]

Originally Posted by seredman

[ I didnt want to deprive the boys of anything, and I definetly don't want to go crazy over budget with groceries or anything like that by trying to switch things for me. We're a small family just starting out (we were highschool sweethearts that had a baby while still in highschool)..

[/quote]I feel your pain about the groceries! My husband and I didn't start as young as you but we have four kids under 6 1/2 and they eat over $100 a week in groceries and that is without buying any meat. I can hardly wait until they are bigger and my two baby boys are teens!!! I have a feeling I'll be shopping twice as often![/quote]

Feel the grocery bill pain! I have 4 kids 12 and under and have a hard time keeping the food bill under $200 a week and they still complain we have no food!

I have a lot of food allergies that are starting to get intolerable also. I am having a hard time imagining living without my favorite foods though. Right now I deal with TONS of stomach issues because I won't change my diet. I figure someday I will have to give in though. Good Luck!

[Amsley246]

Feel the grocery bill pain! I have 4 kids 12 and under and have a hard time keeping the food bill under $200 a week and they still complain we have no food!

I have a lot of food allergies that are starting to get intolerable also. I am having a hard time imagining living without my favorite foods though. Right now I deal with TONS of stomach issues because I won't change my diet. I figure someday I will have to give in though. Good Luck!

It's so tough giving up foods you love! Like you said about giving it up someday, well that day has come for me and I need all the help I can get!

[TheCraftyFaerie]

Try a GFCF (gluten free casein free) diet if you're not totally sure you want to go veg*n.

www.gfcfdiet.com

Unfortunately it's cheaper in this country to eat poorly vs eating healthy so it's going to cost a bit extra either way you go, but in the end you feel better and so it's totally worth it. With the GFCF diet though you might end up being able to feed the family one dish more often than not though.

[krittercrazy]

The processed foods really get to me as well. Making meals without the canned foods, juices, pre-boxed foods etc. can be daunting. I use recipes from Gone Raw | sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice and Jillian McKeiths book Slim For Life. McKeiths book does have some recipes including chicken and fish if you are really craving meat. I have found that if I eat balanced meals of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, that I do not really miss meat.

[guineapigluver1]

I am an extremely picky eater as well, and, until recently, did not have much variety. I'm starting to try different things, including lots of vegetables. I haven't actually tried many yet, but I'll even be trying things I hated before and haven't tried in a while. I'm scouring the internet for lots of recipes and have found quite a few that I will eat, and contain nothing but fresh food. Check out the recipe thread in this section. There are quite a few links T submitted that have lots of different recipes. There are recipe books on raw eating as well, you may want to take a look at them. Just remember that if a recipe has something you don't like in it you can always leave it out (depending on if it is an essential ingredient or not).
It is really hard to give up food you love. I'm starting to try and cut out all dairy (or at least severely cut back) because it increases my mucus production so much and I feel very congested.

[Amsley246]

Thank you so much guys, you have no idea what your imput means to me!

It is really hard to give up food you love. I'm starting to try and cut out all dairy (or at least severely cut back) because it increases my mucus production so much and I feel very congested.

I know what you mean by that! That's exactly what was happening to me and as time went on, it got worse and started happening with more and more foods and now I'm at this point and finally diagnosed! My doctor put me on many different types of medications thinking I had something wrong with my Esophagus or I had heartburn and stuff like that and I finally had enough and told him that it obivously wasn't the case and to look into something else. My chest used to get so phlemy that I would cough to the point where I would start to gag and I couldn't breathe. It all started when I first became pregnant with my son (who just turned 3 last week) and I only found out yestarday what it really is! Some people though I hear are just sensitive to dairy, which could very likely be your case (lets hope so!)

I have stubbled across some of the receipes on here that T and others have put up. Some of them look amazing, but I'm not sure if the boys will eat them . Why can't life just be easy!

[krittercrazy]

When we were kids, my mom made the best sweet tea. Then she decided we were getting way to much sugar (and we were). So she cut it out entirely at once. Of course we all whined and complained so she added it back in. However, from then on she started putting just a little less each time. We had no clue. Pretty soon we were drinking tea with no sugar and complaining that everyone elses tea was too sweet.

You can do the same with your meals. Add a non processed/meat free dish in every meal. Even meat eaters need their veggies! As they get accustomed to the new dish add more and have a little less meat and/or processed food.

[wonderwhiskers]

I found that the first few weeks were hard. Push through it and it will become natural to you to not eat meat!

Find meals that you can enjoy!
Veggie cook books are a life-saver!
I never knew how many things you can do with veggies!

The Vegetarian Society - Recipe Index
This might help you

Good luck!

[Amsley246]

Thanks everyone! Things are going good so far! I've got it down to just eating not nearly as much meat. I still crave it every so often but it's not so bad anymore. I felt like an addict for a which because I thought I was going to go crazy without any junk or meat and such. It was easier to switch the meat over the junk food. I use mushroom for my meat switch and it's woring quite nicely. They have the same texture as it and you can use so many things to give it flavor! As with junk food and processed foods, every so often I spoil myself and get a little naughty but I end p paying in the end for it. My chest fills up so bad sometimes that I have coughing fits on occasion to the point where I almost get sick, so I try not to do it often! My boyfriend tends to know when I do it and then gets on my case and says "you shouldn't be eating that!". Oh well!