Going vegetarian

[Zee.]

Hello, this may be a bit odd but I was wondering if anyone here found difficulties making the transition in to vegetarianism. That's it really :)

Bit odd.

[Mariner]

Depends on your diet and history. Are you used to eating lots of think, steaming red-steaks every night for dinner? The change can be hard for some, but if you stick with it it'll get easier. There's a wealth of tasty alternatives for vegetarians. Just don't forget your supplements!

[Zee.]

I don't really want to take supplements, hmm, I never really have..
I stopped eating meat for about three months last year and lost a lot of weight, but i wasn't tired or anything - i think the change was okay for me.
I don't eat a lot of red meat really, it's just the absence of the ..texture, of meat i guess, that is strange for me

[Mariner]

Sorry, by supplements I meant vitamins.

But yeah, nothing really replaces meat. There are alot of good vegetarian/vegan cookbooks out there that offer wonderful kinda meat-like substitutes. Give Tofurkey a try, it's actually pretty good!

And just because I'm a curious guy, is this for health or lifestyle or moral reasons? Two of my best friends are vegan purely for moral reasons.

[billl]

Hi limajean,

In my case, I was perhaps aided by simple tastes, regarding meat. For me, pretty much any kind of beef was going to be good--what I really loved were the sauces and spices, etc. After going without meat for a while, it soon became difficult for me to do without Barbecue sauce. This finally led me to try a soy-burger. I was exercising a lot at the time, and noticed that these burgers were providing protein at the about same price as work-out powder supplements (which I had briefly used in years past), and so I was kind of excited about that as a side issue.

Well, with a lot of sauce, the first such burger was absolutely 100% adequate as a delivery system for the sauce. I had always enjoyed a McDonald's hamburger, and these soyburgers were equally absent of taste, for the most part. Just as the cheap McDonald's burger seems like cardboard (absent the pickles, ketchup, mustard, and cheese), so does this particular brand of soy-burger (Boca burgers, probably not available in Australia). Within a week, I was completely happy with them. The BIG DIFFERENCE (I think) is that the soy-burgers don't have the fat and grease that the McD-burgers do. That dose of fat and grease provides a sort of "satisfaction" that the soyburgers don't--but after a couple weeks, I didn't notice this anymore, sort of like cutting down on salt or sugar in one's diet takes time to get used to, or something like that maybe.

Anyhow, leaving aside the impact of the fat and grease, this particular brand of soyburger had the same texture as a McD hamburger, pretty much exactly. There is a vegan version that REALLY tastes close to cardboard, and the revealing thing is that the big difference is that it doesn't have any cheese in it (which the regular soy-burger does, I guess as an approximation of 'fat').

I have had similar success with two particular types of breakfast soy-sausages/links (which contain excellent spice combinations already built-in).

IMPORTANT POINT: Although I found a great soy-burger, and two great soy-breakfast-sausage things, pretty much all of the other brands and varieties I have tried are not as good, and are often terrible. The terrible ones continue to exist, however, and I guess different people are looking for/used to different things.

I want to reiterate that, for me, the ability to again enjoy Barbecue sauce was probably key to my satisfaction (love, even) for these soy-burgers. The breakfast things happen to be great on their own, though...

I also want to mention an important thing about soy, which is that soy can be dangerous if you eat/drink more than a couple servings a day (it affects hormones, increasing estrogen and *maybe* increasing the risk of breast cancer in women, for example. Men are sufficiently frightened by the word "estrogen," of course). But these burger/sausage things are HEAVILY processed, and for once, that is a good thing, because the stuff that makes soy potentially dangerous doesn't survive the processing, and so these things are perfectly safe, in that regard.


If you want the texture of a steak, or ribs, I think that you are probably out of luck. The ground meat products are easiest to imitate, I guess.


Also, in another vegetarian thread, I learned that there is a serious need to make sure that you are getting Vitamin B-12. It only comes from meat-products--but that includes cheese, and if you eat a lot of cheese, drink milk, etc. there's no need to worry. But vegans should be aware of this issue:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B12#Symptoms_and_damage_from_deficiency

[L.M. The Third]

I've never eaten meat, but I've only had like one or two commercial products that were as good as things made at home. And the ones I've liked probably weren't the healthiest. Have you tried making home-made substitutes?

[JuniperWoolf]

Heeeey, limajean's back. :wave:

As for wanting that's the texture of a steak: try a nice big cheese-stuffed portabello mushroom. It's the meatiest non-meat ever.

[Helga]

it wasn't hard for me at all, but my mom hated it when I decided not to eat meat. after about three months I was getting a bit dizzy but it was just for a short time, I have never needed vitamins.... and I can't say I miss anything, if I want a hot dog there are a few good choices in the soy range and also with hamburgers there are many good choices, don't know about the texture but it hasn't bothered me...

[Lokasenna]

The best advice I can offer is to stay away from bacon - the smell of it cooking is statistically (by quite a long shot) the main factor in making vegetarians slip in their practices!

[Dodo25]

I underwent a gradual transition from extensive meat-eating to veganism, within about five months. The vegetarian part is really easy, there are so many meat alternatives nowadays it's really not that big of a deal. And as long as one keeps eating cheese, milk and eggs now and then, there's also no need to learn about nutrition, these things contain the same things meat is useful for.

The veganism part is a bit more tricky, takes some effort to learn facts about nutrition and plan the diet well so there'll be no deficiencies. Initially, I thought I'd never make it that far, but having done it now it seems much easier than expected. It's definitely feasible, healthy and even surprisingly tasty. Takes some accommodation but it works. I truthfully don't miss meat at all anymore. I thought I couldn't live without mozzarella cheese on pizza, but there are actually great vegan alternatives for it.

[Serena03]

It was easy for me, I transitioned from a rapacious flesh-eater to a gentle dominant leaf-eater overnight. It's difficult to explain how, but I suppose it takes a great deal of strength, determination and understanding what your alternatives are.

As a picky eater already, I did not know how I could manage, but protein consumption can be easily achieved with little to no effort. And you do have to keep up on your vitamins especially if you are going vegan.

Now I'm going on three years without any desire to turn back, the stench of bacon is nauseating to me, but the smell of pork chops and hot wings may be enough to bring you to your knees! Still I have not surrendered, but I will occasionally succumb to Caesar dressing at most.

[LitNetIsGreat]

I sort of tried to last year but it didn't last for long. I don't eat a lot of meat though and only good quality stuff/higher welfare when I do.

I wouldn't step foot in Mcdonalds or similar places or eat rubbish. A lot of what passes for meat shouldn't be sold to dogs; chicken nuggets, hotdogs and the like just should never be eaten or even looked at.

[Dodo25]

I also want to mention an important thing about soy, which is that soy can be dangerous if you eat/drink more than a couple servings a day (it affects hormones, increasing estrogen and *maybe* increasing the risk of breast cancer in women, for example. Men are sufficiently frightened by the word "estrogen," of course). But these burger/sausage things are HEAVILY processed, and for once, that is a good thing, because the stuff that makes soy potentially dangerous doesn't survive the processing, and so these things are perfectly safe, in that regard.


Those claims have been exagerated, probably due to the influence of the milk industry.. Here an analysis: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282(10)00368-7/abstract

But I too wouldn't eat too many servings of soy per day, variety is always useful. Besides, some soy ingredients do have an influence on thyroid function, so one should keep an eye on iodine intake (meaning make sure to get enough of it), especially as a vegan.

And yes, processed or fermented soy products are even safer still, there's also miso or tempeh instead of just tofu or soy milk.

Serena03, hot wings do sound delicious! Must... resist! Haha. I'm gonna make myself some spicy seitan tomorrow, that'll be almost as good as the best hot wings.

[Paulclem]

Quorn is good as a substitute in stir fries or any dish where you might put soya. their burgers are nice, and there is a large range of chunks, burgers etc. It is expensive, but doesn't contain much fat.

[1n50mn14]

Seitan. All the way.