Any other veggies out there? (ingredients, restaurants, burgers, substitute)

[nymom]

I am a vegetarian and I am always curious to hear from other veggies. What made you decide to become one? What's your favorite veggie food? Any vegans?

[RedWingsFan]

Hey there! I'm a veggie! I've been a vegetarian for 11.5 years now. My husband is also a vegetarian and we are raising our kids veggie as well. What made me decide to become one? I'm an ethical vegetarian. I think eating animals is disgusting. I'm almost vegan and will in the future end up becoming one. Lately I've been thinking about making the transition. At home we eat vegan, but I know I get some small cheese or egg ingredients in dishes I eat out.

Favorite veggie foods? I'm a Mexican and Italian food lover. I love taco salad (vegetarian style with Boca crumbles and the works).

So what about you? What made you become one?

[OvertaxedOnLI]

Is there a category of vegetarian for someone who only avoids meat (meaning beef/pork/lamb) but does eat chicken and lowfat dairy products? If so, guess that's me. This was a recent choice, since just after the holidays; I'd say, prompted equally by a desire to reduce the amount of saturated fat and cholesterol in my diet even further, and also after reading about the way food animals are raised and "processed". I thought I'd miss eating meat but I don't. In fact, as time has gone on I've really lost any desire for the taste. I'm allergic to garlic and onion, which means a lot of vegetarian dishes (especially in restaurants) aren't an option for me because those two ingredients are so often used to boost the taste level of veggie foods. But surprisingly I haven't been bored with my new dietary change.

[Global Friend]

I don't eat meat but I do eat dairy. I haven't eaten meat in about 13 years and would never go back. I was a manager for Whole Foods when I decided to stop and a member of Peta & Humane Society. I couldn't in good concience continue to eat meat not to mention the health issues related to it.

I use the recipes found on the Boca web site and so far everyone I've tried is excellent. I don't like tofu and most fake meat substitutes but Boca burgers are good and the fake chopped meat is ok.

I also never tell meat eaters and others what to eat or not eat. I'm thankful when they don't express their opinion on me.

If you have any good recipes, I'd like to try them!

[OvertaxedOnLI]

Rapture, the other people in my family do eat meat (beef only) and because of that I "limit the damage" somewhat by buying it only from Whole Foods. Luckily we have one here on LI and a second store is slated to open later this year. At least the beef they sell is from Coleman which exercises control over what the cattle are fed.

I am surprised that Whole Foods doesn't sell 100% organic beef but at least they are offering the next best alternative with Coleman's, for people who do eat beef.

[tigerlily]

I stopped eating beef and pork five years ago. We eat only white meat humanely raised chicken once a week and salmon. I gave up beef after I wrote a report for my Organic Gardening Course using the book "Fast Food Nation" as reference. Also, my Geology teacher commented that he wouldn't eat anything intelligent and used pigs and squids as examples. He claimed a pig had the intelligence of a three year old child and that was it for me. Slowly, we are giving up chicken. Cook Magazine has great Veggie recipes. My two favorite veggie cookbooks: 1000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Geller and Vegetable Soups by Deborah Madison (my newest). Most every soup I've tried from Madison's book has been delicious. One example, she uses smoked paprika to simulate a ham taste. It really works.She also uses unusual vegetables I'd never tried before.

The vegetable we eat most often as a side dish is broccoli. I agree with pp and don't force my beliefs on others.

[macbunny]

I have thought about going veggie, but was worried about proper protein intake. I know corn and beans make a protein, milk has protein and eggs, but what else. Also meat has certain enzyemes that are not found in veggies. Please enlighten me on the basics of staying healthy on the vegetarian diet. I do try to only eat organic and free range meat sources.

[Global Friend]

Originally Posted by macbunny

I have thought about going veggie, but was worried about proper protein intake. I know corn and beans make a protein, milk has protein and eggs, but what else. Also meat has certain enzyemes that are not found in veggies. Please enlighten me on the basics of staying healthy on the vegetarian diet. I do try to only eat organic and free range meat sources.

That's funny you mentioned that because that's the #1 question people ask me when they find out I don't eat meat. How do I get protein? The funny thing is, I bet not one of them eats meat because it has protein. Anyway, I eat beans, peanut butter, nuts, a lot of dairy products....just get in a habit of reading labels. You would be surprised what's in food people eat.

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by OvertaxedOnLI

Is there a category of vegetarian for someone who only avoids meat (meaning beef/pork/lamb) but does eat chicken and lowfat dairy products? .

Yes! It's called a flexitarian. It's someone that mostly eats a vegetarian diet, but occassionally eats something like chicken that isn't part of a vegetarian diet. You can do a search online for the term and see some news stories on it.
It's great that you are doing what you are doing! Not only great for animals, but also great for your body! Congrats! If you were to just drop the chicken you will be a vegetarian (providing you also don't eat fish or other animals).

Really though, a lot of people like to call themselves vegetarians and aren't. They end up still eating fish or chicken. They try to bend the definition of what a vegetarian is. But check with any reputable vegetarian organization in the country or even open the dictionary and it's simple....

A vegetarian does not eat meat, fish or fowl. They may or may not include eggs and/or dairy products.

You will find people that come up with pescitarian and other such terms. But they really aren't vegetarians by true definition.

Protein- most Americans eat WAY too much protein. It is not hard to get protein as a vegetarian and it is not necessary to combine things to get a complete protein. As long as you eat a somewhat varied vegetarian diet you will get all you need to do that on it's own. You don't have to mentally do it.

For protein you can eat lots of different types of beans, whole wheat breads, wheat noodles, peas, soy yogurt, soy milk, LOTS of meat alternatives on the market are loaded with protein (like veggie burgers), peanut butter, nuts, etc.

Being a healthy vegetarian is easy... it takes a couple of months to adjust to thinking about what is good for you as a vegetarian, after that it's a piece of vegan cake!

[RedWingsFan]

Originally Posted by Rapture

I don't eat meat but I do eat dairy. I haven't eaten meat in about 13 years and would never go back. I was a manager for Whole Foods when I decided to stop and a member of Peta & Humane Society. I couldn't in good concience continue to eat meat not to mention the health issues related to it.

I use the recipes found on the Boca web site and so far everyone I've tried is excellent. I don't like tofu and most fake meat substitutes but Boca burgers are good and the fake chopped meat is ok.

I also never tell meat eaters and others what to eat or not eat. I'm thankful when they don't express their opinion on me.

If you have any good recipes, I'd like to try them!

That's so cool you worked at Whole Foods. I love that store!

I agree with you, I never try to make meat eaters feel bad for what they eat. I believe they should eat what they want and I should eat what I eat. While I don't agree with eating animals, I don't push my views on them and don't want them doing it to me. Mutual respect.