Anyone here a vegetarian?

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I was wondering what would be some good steps to convert a carnivore to a vegetarian. What about If someone has a hardtime eating vegetables. I was thinking of starting off as a lacto-ovo pescatarian.

Thanks

Your best bet would be to replace the meat in your diet with substitutes like Quorn (tastes a bit like chicken) or tofu (tastes like nothing- add lots of sauce). Plenty of protein in nuts and beans too. Most of those can be added to stirfrys or salads and are fairly quick and simple.

As for not liking vegetables... yeah, I can sympathise. But to be honest, unlike veganism, you won't have to eat much more than usual. There's no need to gradually wean yourself off meat, unless you find it difficult.

I'm not a full vegetarian (I eat fish) but that's it... I just love the way when you eat a vegetarian diet you feel so much better. You feel lighter, you have more energy, you feel stronger and more alive. If I ever eat red meat I can't handle it, it just makes my stomach feel so full and I feel sluggish and lethargic and can't think properly, it's a horrible feeling.

If you don't like veges much, just try cooking them differently, and try different veges. There are infinitely more flavours and varieties of vegetarian foods than there are meats... just experiment! Try Italian, Mexican, Middle-Eastern, Mediterranean, Greek, Chinese, Indian, Spanish, Japanese, South American... raw and sweet and crispy, boiled and stodgy, steamed and crisp and filling, cooked and roasted and homely...

Avoid soy as it's incredibly bad for you (contrary to popular belief), but there are other good alternatives like lentils (which are actually really yummy and very filling and very 'meaty'), quinoa (super-super-high protein seed you can eat in a million different ways), nuts, seeds, rice etc...

Ohhhhhhhhhhh food.

I'm a vegan (and I don't really like vegetables either!). I did it gradually. I gave up red meat, then chicken. I was just eating fish and dairy/eggs, but I read a pamphlet by the company "Mercy for Animals," and it turned me into a vegan.

At first, I craved red meat, but it lasted only a few weeks. Giving up chicken wasn't so bad. Being a vegan, believe it or not, has been easy... because I think of the animals. Also, I am so much healthier. I have more energy, and I don't have blood sugar problems as bad as I used to.

I don't eat meat, but why would you want to change another person's diet? Isn't that kind of a personal thing? Sorry, but I just don't believe in trying to change people, unless they have said they want to change and have asked for your help.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding this situation.

Well, I want to make the change. The thing is I'm stepping into uncharted territory and I want to become a vegetarian without jepordizing my health.

I suppose it's up to me to represent the opposing view here. I am not only a carnivore, but also a staunch anti-vegetarian. My personal motto is "Food does not photosynthesize."

I eat meat, and I love it. I'm not gonna lie, cows are delicious.

Humans are traditionally omnivores- that means that, to remain in optimal health, we need a good balance of both plant and animal in our diet. Thus the health argument for vegetarianism is garbage.

Plants are every bit as alive as animals, so I also can't see much of an ethical argument for vegetarianism. I don't see any significant reason to value the life of a chicken or cow over a plant, and humans, as heterotrophs, need to kill something in order to survive- it's just a matter of what exactly. I choose to kill some plants, some animals in order to keep myself alive. Others choose to kill more animals or more plants. Some choose to kill plants exclusively, but I don't really understand why.

Au contraire; you'll be healthier for it if you do it the right way!!

What are you most concerned about?

The one that tends to worry people most is not getting enough protein. This can easily be sorted by eating a lot of nuts, seeds, legumes, eggs if you aren't allergic, and things like lentils and quinoa. Just enjoy the vegetarian journey and experiment with different tastes and flavours, you'll be surprised at how much variation there is!! A lot of people are surprised to realise that actually, they already eat plenty of vegetarian foods anyway...

Aren't there some amino acids that you need to take supplements for or certain food combinations that cause necessary chemical balance that we need (when eaten together?).

I also though that human brains actually started getting larger when we increased the meat in our diets...is that because we couldn't "gather" the same proteins that we can now buy in stores? Just curious.I have debated about the vegan die mysef but how does it work with someone who has AS and is also on a wheat/grain and milk free diet...sounds like I would be get kind of hungry?

As long as you get a good, balanced diet full of nutrients and vitamins then you should be absolutely fine. You don't *need* to eat meat, so long as you don't for example solely eat carrots and potatoes and then call yourself vegetarian.

I'm not vegan - though I'm about to embark on a two week dairy-free stint, which will make me nearly vegan due to egg allergy - but again, so long as you make sure you get enough protein and a varied diet with plenty of minerals and nutrients etc, and supplement what you feel you need, you should be fine.

That said, I am very good at listening to my body and giving it what it's 'asking' for, for example I know what cravings mean and when I'm lacking something and I make sure I give it back. If you're not used to doing this it might be a bit harder at first, but you learn in time.

I have been a vegetarian for the vast majority of my life. I turned veggie at age 6 and never looked back. I am 26 now so this is 20 years of being a vegetarian now. I am close to vegan really, while I never ever eat any fish or meat or poultry, I also eat cheese and eggs only really rarely. I may go entirely vegan soon, it would make very little difference with my current food habits.

Apart from a very wide variety of vegetables, pastas and meat replacers such as quorn and tofu, I am very fond of Asian food in general. Indian cuisine is incredibly diverse for vegetarians and in terms of cuisine nothing pleases me like a malai kofta, dal tarka, dal saag or chana alu Thai cuisine also has some extraordinary vegetarian dishes, and I was very surprised with my visits to the local Lebanese restaurant who have a few brilliant veggie dishes.

I personally found it quite easy to turn vegetarian. I was 6 years old, and then kids can be very stubborn at that age. After a while you generally forget how meat tastes, now after 20 years of being vegetarian I have forgotten the taste entirely so it feels as if I never tasted meat. And one doesn't miss what he doesn't know...

I strongly recommend mushrooms. They're have a meat-like consistency, and when stewed in sauce, go wonderfully with mashed potatoes (pretty much one of the only ways I can handle their texture). You can also fry a Portobello mushroom cap and use it in a burger bun instead of a meat patty. In Slavic cuisines, mushrooms play a strong role, and there are dozens of different types to choose from. Look up Polish or Russian recipes for some ideas on how to cook mushrooms.

I'm vegetarian, but it was really easy for me because I never really liked the taste of meat anyway, and my mum's a pescterien anyway. Personally, I just live off a couple of meals rotated over the week because I'm fussy anyway. It's just a case of finding what you do like.

I presume you mean omnivore...and not carnivore?
Anyway, here's some advice,

-Try and eat meat every other day for 3 weeks...then 2 days for 3 weeks...then not at all. If you take it gradually out of your system, it's likely that you wont crave it (or crave it as much) like you would if you stopped eating meat suddenly.

-If you don't like vegetables, then try to cook them another way. Add flavoured sauces that you like to them, and/or mix them with other foods in stir-frys.

-Look for vegetarian food recipies before you take meat out of your diet. That way, you'll have some ideas of what to cook and what you need to buy from the store.

-Sign up and at vegetarian forum. That way, you can talk to others who are vegetarian and ask questions if necessary. A good one is www.vegpeople.com

-Find a definate reason to why your going to become a vegetarian. If you know why your doing something and it's important to you, you'll be more likely to stick with it.

-Talk with a nutritionist (a vegetarian one) if you have any concerns in regards to vegetarianism.

I've been vegan for almost 1 year and was vegetarian for about 4 months before then.
I hope I've helped and congrats on wanting to make the change!

I can still remember when I ate my last steak. My mother had made it especially for me, eventhough I had turned vegetarian months earlier. I don't do fish, eggs, onions, garlic and mushrooms either and since I gave up eating grains such as rice, pasta and bread, my main diet is vegetables, nuts, fruit (also dried or juice) and well ripened dutch cheese in moderation.

I tried to go vegan for a while, but I like cheese too much.

I'm 99% non-vegetarian. Outside of some starches like corn and potatoes, I have a mental block where I just can't eat veggies. This has been since early childhood. Some have called this "Supertasters' syndrome". I can't handle sticky fruits like apricots or peaches, either. For some reason I start feeling sick in the produce sections of grocery stores, also. Perhaps this is somehow related to my contact allergy with plants and flowers?
I should pointe out, however, that I hate steaks and other meats that are still "on the bone", and that I do avoid most seafood.