Reply #18: Make it fun. [View All]

[jobycom]

Experiment with new foods, new methods of cooking, new textures and flavors. Approach it the way you'd approach a class on art--as a chance to rediscover what you like, and also to broaden your desires. Tofu is much maligned, because it is often tried wrong, for instance. Learn how to cook it--it's more of a cheese than a meat, but there are lots of ways to change the texture, flavor and look of it. If you live by a Whole Foods or something similar, try the tofu deli options--everything from scrambled breakfasts to kung pao or baked.

Pick up vegetarian cookbooks (used book stores will have dozens, ranging from comprehensive to specialized, like one I have on Spicy vegetarian Sante Fe cuisine). Pick up a few mags, like Vegetarian Times (which was better before it became too commercial) to Veggie Life. There are others, I'm just drawing a blank.

Learn recipes for bean and rice dishes, stir frys, quick stews and soups, pasta dishes--there are a lot veggie or vegan lasagna recipes. Try new vegetables and fruits you've never tried. And try to develop a couple of staples, like red beans and rice, or a favorite type of stir fry, or whatever, that you can use as a regular meal, so you don't have to be creative all the time. Pick up fake meats for when you feel a craving--Gardenburger Riblets are wonderful, and get Boca Burgers (or Gardenburgers if you prefer them--careful, some Boca uses cheese, so if you want to be vegan, read the labels).

The two traps that get new veggies or prevent people from becoming veggie are boredom and difficulty. You either get bored with the same foods, textures, styles (or just bored with not eating your favorite meat dish), or you get in a pinch where you can't think of what to make (or just get so hungry you don't feel like being creative). So, build up your repoirtoire of easy and varied recipes, so that it becomes an instinct to whip together something you like that doesn't have meat.

Also, maybe most importantly, learn about protein and iron needs. You don't need as much protein as carnivores assume, and every vegetable contains partial proteins, anyway. But you can mess yourself up if you just live off potato chips, bread, and salads. One reason it's important to eat a wide variety of veggies is to complete the proteins you are eating. Tofu is a complete protein (so is seitan, tempe, and other soy products, and I think whole grain wheat, is, too), beans and grains combined are almost a full protein (add a veggie, that usually does it--you don't have to combine them in the same meal, your body stores the components). Any good cookbook will give you the basics, and you don't have to learn them all at once--you won't shut down after a week of no meat, in other words. It is just important (no more, no less than for carnivores) to learn the basics of nutrition. They are a little different than for meat eaters, but no more complicated.

Oh yeah, nuts are good, but be careful you don't rely on them too much. Very fattening.

That's my two cents. One more bit of encouragement--if you go completely veggie for a while, go out into the country and find a cow. Look at the cow for a few moments. You'll be surprised at how you feel. It's hard to explain, but you'll know it when it happens.