Former omnis.... I want to get away from eating meat but I'm not looking to go totally vegan

[belladonna]

What's a good way to start the transition? I really, really do NOT enjoy eating meat anymore but I also cannot see myself doing a strict vegetarian or vegan diet either. :shrug:

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. I'm not a vegetarian, but I have cooked with roommates who were

or who were intermittently vegetarian or vegan for religious reasons.

Rule 1: Get a good vegetarian cookbook. In my day, it was The Vegetarian Epicure and The Moosewood Cookbook.

Rule 2: Be adventurous, and explore ethnic cuisines. Asian cuisines (Indian, Chinese, and Vietnamese in particular) have lots of vegetarian dishes.

[belladonna]

4. Yes, I was thinking about going cookbook shopping

I'll check those out :hi:

[tjwmason]

16. Strongly support number 2 especially.

In the U.S. and U.K. vegetables tend to be the accompaniment to the "real food", whereas several other cultures have strong traditions of vegetarianism which leads into a far greater variety of non-meat recipes.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

2. Check out the "vegetarian, vegan, animal rights" group here on DU.

Also www.vegweb.com has thousands of recipes.

It's really easy to do once you're used to it.

[belladonna]

5. Ahhh, nice link there

Thanks! :hi:

[LeftyMom]

6. Wait, you didn't know we have a group?

That's it, flvegan's fired. We need a new recruiting officer. Wonder if ThomCat's busy?

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

8. He just left for Montreal. He might not be online until Tuesday.

I guess you'll have to take over in the interim.

[LeftyMom]

10. Crap. So much for delegating.

:(

[flvegan]

12. Hey, hey, hey

She didn't say that she didn't know about it. She just said, "nice link" without implying either way.

I need to renegotiate my contract.

[LeftyMom]

15. Okay, contract renegotiation is now on the agenda for your visit

Right after we post bail for naughtiness in the Airport parking lot and before we go bother Peggy.

[LeftyMom]

3. Start with the things you like that are already veg or could be easily made so

One thing I did was check out a bunch of veg cookbooks from the library and copy recipes that I liked until I had a big binder full (buying a ton of cookbooks was just not in the budget, and anyhow it's pretty wasteful.) www.vegweb.com is also a good source of recipes as well.

One thing new vegetarians do tend to do is to go overboard with dairy- if you're replacing meat with cheese frequently you probably won't feel very good so try to resist the temptation to live on cheese. Instead increase the amount of grains, veggies and plant-based protein sources to fill in the gap with healthful things.

[belladonna]

7. That's exactly the kind of advice I was looking for

Thanks! I've been eating a lot of salads lately but I can't exactly live off of those... kind of getting sick of them already :D: I've just gotten to the point lately that the mere thought of meat makes me kinda queasy... the meatloaf the SO wants is really making me wanna :puke:

I'm not a huge fan of dairy either, so I doubt I'll make that mistake. Thanks for the advice!

[LeftyMom]

9. There's a pretty good discussion of cookbooks down in the veg group

I don't know how far back it is, but if you search for it it will turn up.

If you need help with adapting any recipes or with a nutrition question or anything just ask down there, usually there's a response pretty quickly.

[Jamastiene]

29. I'd recommend cooking certain veggies with seasonings

you'd normally use on meats. I would do small portions first to see what ends up tasting good. My aunt and I have a veggie dinner some nights when we just don't feel like meat, but we need a meal. I'll fix potatoes with broccoli and cheese, string beans with a little dab of cooking oil and a pinch of sugar in them, or some other concoction that ends up tasting good but doesn't really include meat.

[astral]

11. Eat Beans

Eventually if you buy dried beans you'll realize a huge savings in money, but canned beans are fun, quick, tasty, and if you get organic they taste even better. I like to keep a little variety around for those hurry-up-I'm-hungry dinners after work.

I like to steam a few veggies (maybe onion, shallots, garlic, green pepper, cauliflower like the other day), add a can of beans (say, organic navy beans like the other day, including the liquid) and a can of tomato sauce and some spices, like worchestershire sauce, a touch of balsamic vinegar, a little sweetener like stevia or maybe even brown sugar --just a touch-- and put it on or next to rice with teeny chunks of cheese melted in. It can also be a soup, maybe add a little more liquid to taste, or a can of wax beans (including liquid) and maybe even some noodles (cooked separately first so they don't starch up your pot of good stuff).

Just a little example of throwing together vegetarian stuff not for any gourmet cooking contest or anything, but if you eat alone, the same pot of stuff can be soup with toast one day, over rice another day, and maybe mixed with goulash noodles the third day, or add another item to make it a little more different.

You will learn to experiment by experimenting. For me, the same basic vegetables (preferably, but not always, all of them) make a good start for soup, chili, spaghetti, or just whatever:

onion
garlic
shallots
green pepper
celery

I still like dairy products too much, though, particularly butter and cheese. I now buy MOSTLY organic veggies, try to buy organic butter but have not been going organic on the cheese yet.

[JitterbugPerfume]

24. YES ! beans!

full of fiber and nutrients ! I eat beans 2-3 times a week. You would be surprised what you can add a can of organic black beans to ,instead of meat.

[flvegan]

13. In addition to the above advice, it becomes easier if you have a good

natural marketplace (Whole Foods, Wild Oats, etc) nearby. Often, they'll have classes as well as a wider selection of veg* goods, cookbooks and in-store advice.

[LeftyMom]

14. To add to this: don't overlook the local places

Our local food co-op and the local grocery chain (Raleys) have better prices on most of the stuff one can get at Whole Foods. That might not be true where you're at, but it can't hurt to check. Oh, and if you have a Trader Joes they have quite a bit of great veg stuff.

[coffeenap]

17. Excellent transition food, as recommended by my 12 year old

and me: Quorn frozen Gruyere patties--yum!!!! (And, if you like them, please write the company asking for their other varieties--they say Americans won't like them, but I say we will!!!)

http://www.quorn.co.uk//cmpage.aspx?pageid=30&productrangeid=1 (British product list.)

On edit: Also recommended by the same people: Morningstar Farms Corn Dogs--better than the original!

[jobycom]

18. Make it fun.

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.

[On the Road]

19. Make Sure You Cook Vegetables with Body and Flavor

If you're not a strict vegan, sprinkle some powdered chicken broth in everything you cook. Use lots of onions, and add garlic and fresh ginger. Add a little sugar or alcohol to some dishes. Try different spice mixtures -- Paul Prudhomme's Vegetable Magic, Tom Yum (lemon grass) paste, butter chicken mixture or other prepared Indian spices (they can be used in combination in small amounts).

See if there are Asian or Hispanic supermarkets nearby -- you can get a lot of unusual items that way. Fresh bean sprouts, daikon, bitter melon, various eggplant varieties, cilantro, and about twenty kinds of green leaves.

And above all, constantly taste what you are cooking and ask "what else does it need?"

[Hell Hath No Fury]

21. Ummm...

just so you know, a vegetarian shouldn't be sprinking powdered chicken broth on anything! There are vegetarian faux "chicken" broths out there that you can find at healthfood stores that you can use to make soups and such.

[LeftyMom]

22. I use some of those at Thanksgiving, either the chick'n broth or Rapunzel veg bullion

That post does bring up a good point though. There are a lot of different definitions of "vegetarian" so when somebody else is preparing your food be sure to ask what is in it or tell them what you will and won't eat. Many restaurants will happily bring out a "vegetarian" dish with meat broth or even chunks of fish or chicken in them. Also, many chinese and southeast asian places will use fish sauce in otherwise veg dishes unless you tell them not to.

[On the Road]

26. Right -- I am Not a Vegetarian

and it sounds like the original poster isn't either. But I do cook lots of vegetables, and these are some of things I have found helpful to do.

In making either vegetables or pasta sauces, I find some amount of meat broth or animal fat absolutely essential for a full-bodied taste. Doesn't have to be a lot. That's why I think being a vegan is so difficult.

[StellaBlue]

20. Congrats on your decision! I am a veg*n.

Meaning I avoid meat products when possible, but am not by any means totally vegan. I eat eggs and dairy if they're in other things people have cooked, and I still eat cheese. But I don't eat any meat, including fish, and I avoid buying animal-derived products (food or otherwise) for my home.

You can either stop eating meat altogether, but keep eating dairy (this is what most people do and is not so tricky), or you can perhaps just drop beef and pork, then after a few weeks, chicken, then later fish, etc.

I don't really enjoy meat, either. It usually grosses me out. I like chicken broth as a flavoring, though, and ground beef in Mexican food (because it doesn't LOOK like meat, you see!). But now I don't eat either.

I am going to a friend's house for a big, group Thanksgiving, and I am taking a nut roast and some mashed sweet potatoes with brown sugar and butter. So not vegan, but more vegetarian than most other traditional Southern holiday dihes. I won't eat any peas or beans cooked with ham hock, and I won't eat the dressing if it was actually in with the turkey (thinking of taking my own vegan dressing, as I LOVE dressing!), but I will load up on the other veggies, rolls, and cranberry sauce! Mmmmm.

[riderinthestorm]

31. This is what I did. I just weaned myself off gradually.

Don't beat yourself up if you find yourself craving meat, and caving. For some people going vegetarian takes a while and it's a process that can't be done instantly.

One of my friends started by making sure they never bought meat at the grocery store, or brought it home with them. If they had a craving for meat, they had to get it and eat it "out", or eat it at a friends house. It created an easy demarcation that worked really for him.

Also, don't make big statements like "Now I'm a vegan!" WHEN you slip up in the beginning, you won't feel so guilty and quit trying vegetarianism as a lifestyle choice.

Good luck! You are going to feel sooooo much better.

[JitterbugPerfume]

23. I gave up (most) meat

and lost a TON of weight. I used to eat a lot of turkey and chicken , but now I rarely eat that stuff,and only in small portions. I did it by using soy products . They take some getting used to ; I like Morningstar farms.

[fortyfeetunder]

25. Several delightful alternatives

Boca Burger: the product has gotten better, and when garnished, it has a meat-like texture.

Other "meat substitutes" I enjoy:

Tofu (especially stir-fried)
Portabello mushrooms -- I grill and chill, and they make good "burgers"
Falafel -- My fave middle east cuisine. Made from garbanzo and fava beans...yummy....

[hippywife]

27. Morningstar Farms Chik'n Nuggets

are pretty good and very versatile. I use them to make chicken and rice with Thai peanut sauce and even buffalo them.

I haven't gone vegetarian yet but am cutting way back on meat but my husband is ova-lacto. I experimented and learned to make many things I used to make with meat without it. For example, I make my spaghetti sauce with lots of mushrooms instead. Also, I make a pot of red potatoes and green beans using vegetable broth and add various herbs such as rosemary instead of flavoring with bacon. Just gotta tweak things a little here and there.

Good luck! It does take some experimentation and imagination when you're used to eating meat at every meal.

[eppur_se_muova]

28. If you like spicy, try Indian food. Indian restaurants/cookbooks usually have lots of veggie dishes

with lots of taste. Or try Thai, Chinese, etc. Many Asian recipes aren't "advertised" as vegetarian, although meatless.

[Redstone]

30. I wold think that Greek, Lebanese, or other Mediterranean food could easily

fill the bill by leaving out the chicken and lamb.

It's some damn tasty stuff, and has a large non-meat component.

Redstone