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Un-pretentious Vegetarianism
Teh Ericka
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Sooo I've decided to slowly nix meat/poultry/fish/animal from my diet. I don't eat much of it as it is, (mostly chicken and fish, maybe once or twice a week), but for various health and moral reasons I'd like to remove it from my consumption completely, eventually. Even though I don't think it'll be too difficult, since I'm not much of a meat eater anyway (and I actually WAS a vegetarian from about 7-12), I'm trying to be as realistic about it as possible, slowly weening myself off of it and trying lots of different kinds of foods/substitutes. I'm also leaning toward organic/unprocessed foods. I don't want to force anything, and I my goal is to help my body, not make it go all out-of-whack. So here's what I'm looking for --
Books on vegetarian diets that are NOT holier-than-thou guilt fests?
general tips on being a vegetarian? what to watch out for, good places to shop, meat substitutes, etc?
I realize i'm starting this right before Thanksgiving, so any tips on how to avoid awkward "you don't eat meat?!1" conversations? Also, a non-offensive way to excuse myself from turkey/meat at my boyfriend's parent's house?
Do I need to take any supplements? should I consider a daily vitamin or extra protien?
any yummy vegetarian recipes? I'd like to focus on fruits/vegetables/non-meat protien, with some whole grains and dairy. my boyfriend is pretty WTF BUT I LIKE MEAT over the whole thing, so it'd be cool if i had some really good recipes that i could still make for both of us.
thanks guys!
Books on vegetarian diets that are NOT holier-than-thou guilt fests?
general tips on being a vegetarian? what to watch out for, good places to shop, meat substitutes, etc?
I realize i'm starting this right before Thanksgiving, so any tips on how to avoid awkward "you don't eat meat?!1" conversations? Also, a non-offensive way to excuse myself from turkey/meat at my boyfriend's parent's house?
Do I need to take any supplements? should I consider a daily vitamin or extra protien?
any yummy vegetarian recipes? I'd like to focus on fruits/vegetables/non-meat protien, with some whole grains and dairy. my boyfriend is pretty WTF BUT I LIKE MEAT over the whole thing, so it'd be cool if i had some really good recipes that i could still make for both of us.
thanks guys!
Teh Ericka on
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Those sorts of people are rare though.
Honestly, if you're not a big meat-eater anyhow, the hardest thing about being a vegetarian is the social aspect. I remember it used to piss me off that we had to plan our entire night around going to the two or three restaurants the two vegans I knew thought were good, and we never went anywhere else. Be willing to just hang out with your friends, and eat later occasionally (there's nothing wrong with dragging them to vegetarian places occasionally, though).
Also, the foodnetwork. com has a lot of vegetarian dishes archived... I love it! Also, try some fake meat... there are some great substitutes such as Morningstar and Boca. I reccommend you stear clear of Quorn however. They use fungi protein to make fake meat, and there is the possibility of allergic reaction.
Vitamins? Sure! But really everyone needs vitamins, not just vegetarians. They make special vitamins for a vegetarian diet, pick up those... they tend to contain omega-3 acids that are found in fish, flax and (i think) red meat- you need em to have shiny hair and nice skin.
Oh, if you revert and eat meat for thanksgiving, don't look at it as failing, the effort you are putting into following your morals is not thrown away just because you gave in to temptation once.Good luck!
Anyone who makes a post consisting primarily of "you should/shouldn't have moral objections to eating meat because..." is going to be banned. Anyone who responds to a post like that is also going to be banned.
There are a lot of restaurants that can cater easily to both vegetarians and carnivores. I dated/lived with a vegetarian for four years and we ended up eating a lot of Mexican, Indian, and Thai food.
Tofu is your friend. It cooks up a lot like meat and absorbs the flavor of whatever you cook it in. It also allows for a lot of very flexible meals. For instance, buy two woks and then for dinner some night do stir-fry - throw the same vegetables and sauce in both, but in one put in chicken and in the other slices of firm tofu. Bam, you've just made dinner for both you and your boyfriend. Find some recipes for marinated seared salmon, only substitute a tofu steak for you instead.
Mexican works well, too. For instance, if you do fajitas you can cook up some black beans (protein for you) and beef/chicken (for your boyfriend or guests), you'll have enough food for a dinner party and because everybody just throws whatever they want onto the tortilla nobody has to eat anything they don't like.
Edit: as for excusing yourself from meat, get accustomed to just being forthright about it. You can't get much clearer than "I don't eat meat." If anybody pressures you, the health aspects tend to be more socially acceptible and easily justified than the moral aspects. My ex just told people that meat made her stomach hurt (which, after years of being vegetarian, was actually true).
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
yeah, I really don't want to make my meat-eating friends uncomfortable or put-out, and seeing as how I'm not planning to go full on vegan (at least, not right now) i'm hoping it won't be too awkward.
mostly what i'm worried about is people taking me for the scary neo-liberal MEAT IS MURDER kind of person. i really, REALLY don't want to give off that vibe, since that bothers me just as much as it does any carniverous person... so i feel a little weird about the social part of it. i'm trying to come up with non-rude ways to respond to "why don't you eat meat?" questions. i'd hate to make my friends feel weird about eating a steak in front of me.
thanks for the suggestions, kids! keep 'em coming.
You should probably just go to a book store like Borders and simply look through the vegetarian cookbooks. Vegetarian doesn't mean something like "Italian food," as most any cuisine can and will have vegetarian dishes. Most people completely forget about Indian food, which is largely vegetarian. It's more important to find a food type that you enjoy eating, and making those things vegetarian, rather than combining vegetarianism with massive food experimentation. You end up simply wanting your old food back.
We have a really good veggie encyclopedia that includes basically every vegetable, each variety of those vegetables, and some cooking tips. Fantastic for substitutions as well as figuring out just what exactly you can use a rutabaga for.
You should develop a stance on meat substitutes. To some veggies, they love the stuff and feel that it's a major part of their diet. To others, the entire point of giving up meat includes giving up the taste of meat. In other words, if you eat lots of meat substitute, you still find the flavor and taste of meat appealing and it's a fine line between eating not-meat meats and saying "fuck it, I'll just eat the actual meat since I want that taste."
It's important for functions like grilling, where you can either bust out the veggie burger, or bust out the giant portabellas. It's also important so you know where you stand. As I've said in other veggie threads, there's a difference between being an actual vegetarian and simply having a non-meat diet. Explaining yourself and using the proper terminology to justify your dietary restrictions may sound like being overly nitpicky, but it helps a great amount when talking to people about it (both other veggies as well as meat eaters). If you say "I don't eat meat, but it's because of the texture/flavor," then you have an easy out for, say, Thanksgiving. If you say "I don't eat meat because eating animals is wrong, but please pass the turkey substitute because turkey is delicious," you can see how you could send mixed messages. In other words, it can lead to awkward moments at boyfriend's Thanksgiving. Actually knowing to yourself WHY you're eating or not eating certain things is key to dealing with those types of situations, so you're not fumbling to justify an essentially philosophical position.
Anyway, that will also dictate the types of food you can make. With meat substitutes, you can pretty much make anything. Without, you're selecting a different set of meals you can prepare. As you're planning to phase it out, it's not something you need to decide in 10 minutes. But it's something you should consider. Me, I love veggie indian dishes. I'm not a vegetarian but I cook my fair share of veggie dishes. Stir fries are notoriously easy, as you simply "omit the meat." Indian dishes as well -- jaipur curry is surprisingly easy to make and very delicious, and meat free and filling. So's chole.
A fair amount of mexican dishes are also very easy to convert to veggie, by simply substituting in more beans for the meat portions.
Really no one has a problem with vegitarians, and vegitarians have no problem with us omnivores as long as neither tries to come off with the holier than thou atitude.
Satans..... hints.....
This is being presumptious, I have a huge hatred of vegetarianism personally, but that spans from my career choice and my general philosophy. I won't go out of my way to voice my hatred to someone who is a vegan and I'm not rude about it...
Just tell them you don't like the taste/texture, and/or its fucking with your digestion. After that, its none of their business really.
Also, Haloumi cheese is ten kinds of rad.
Not sure I get this "cooks hate vegetarians" thing. Every restaurant I've ever been to here has at least a few vegetarian options, if not full vegan. Its just not a big deal, and anyone who thinks its harder to cook without meat is dreaming. Half the reason I rarely buy it is it slashes the time I spend cooking by miles.
I can't emphisize this enough. I'm assuming you're a girl, and with that you're at high risk for anemia. So make sure that you try to get as much iron as possible.
If you're a chick, as ericka is, you should be taking an iron supplement anyway. We pretty much never get enough.
Also, despite hating it as a child, I've found that Hamburger Helper is surprisingly good when made with Boca feaux meat.
Chinese food is also easy to make vegetarian. Mixed vegetables over white rice is both tasty and easy.
Also, the recipes are very simple, but I've enjoyed everything I've tried out of The Starving Student's Vegetarian Cookbook.
Tangent: Comahawk, if you don't mind my asking, what is your job, and why has it made you hate vegetarianism? PM is fine so as to avoid the wrath of Thanatos.
I'm a Cook, I just find the divisions among vegetarian types (lacto, Vegan, Ovo) annoying and frustrating in my line of work, just makes things that extra bit complex and annoying when it doesn't need to be or you don't ahve the time for it to be.
-Roasted sunflower seeds
-Mandarins
-Pears
-Fresh coriander (pretty much the best herb ever. Seriously)
-Cashews
-Avacado
-Asparagus
-Strawberries
-Cottage cheese
And you should check out the indian vegeterian stuff. I like it because it's so rich and heavy that you think "Holy crap there must be some meat in there somewhere!" but... there's not! Score!
- cream cheese (or pesto could be used)
- baby spinach leaves
- roast red sweet potato (flat strips of it, like 2-3mm thick. might have been grilled)
- sliced mushrooms
- alfalfa
- some kind of moderately heavy wholegrain bread. might have been a rye blend.
seriously good stuff.
but also note they have virtually no nutritional value, AFAIK.
And since you "hate" vegetarians for making your life "difficult" (because its so hard to whack a couple of vego options onto the menu), perhaps this isn't the thread for you to be posting in?
thanks! that looks really helpful.
on iron -- i know next to nothing about vitamins beyond Flinstones chewables. Should I be taking a daily multivitamin that includes iron, or an iron specific supplement by itself? should I take both?
Like someone said, pick a stance on meat substitutes. I don't know why people get so hung up on the need for meat that they'll go so far as to consume a replica turkey (IMHO there are far more delicious things one could be eating on thanksgiving). I do love me some morning star farm "sausage" patties though, but more on their own merits than anything. For all this kind of thing it's really simple to just throw some on the grill at a barbecue and voila! One vegetarian included in meat-eating festivities. Amusingly, I have been to several barbecues with school functions and the like where everyone was eating the veggie burgers because the hamburgers were terrible.
Side note: I have found Boca to be extremely disagreeable after having a few of their burgers. Way way way too trying-to-be-like-meat-and-just-ending-up-kinda-gross.
Just go get some one-a-day vitamins from the local drug store.
I use these.
http://www.amazon.com/Enhancing-Multivitamin-Tablets-One-Day/dp/B000GG1TLM/
Don't become too obsessed with checking every little ingredient on packaged food, or you'll never be able to buy packaged food again.
Make sure you get enough:
-iron
-vitamin B12
-omega3 fats
Seriously consider keeping fish a part of your diet, since fish are by far the best source of essential omega-3 fats.
Seafood isn't as necessary as it used to be, thanks to iodized salt... However, I would recommend eating more fish... Have you tried having Tuna steaks, halibut steaks? Mahi-Mahi is suppose to be amazing too, I have yet to get to try it though.
First off, this is a good question for a doctor. However, just FYI, too much iron can be as problematic as too little. Personally I would not take a seperate iron supplement unless advised by a doctor . A regular ol' multivitamin combined with a diet rich in beans and tofu (which you should be eating anyway for the protein) should be fine assuming you have no medical conditions such as anemia.
Also, a multivitamin will give you B12, which is lacking in purely vegetarian diets.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
I'll respond since some veggies eat fish and others don't (which is another thing Teh Erika will have to decide -- is a fish a meat?)
Omega 3 isn't important to eat, but rather, it's good for you. It's like eating spinach. There's nothing wrong with skipping spinach, but there's a lot of good stuff in there. Omega 3 fatty acids is essentially a "good fat," and allows you to eat food that contains fat w/o being bad for you. In other words, if you were to replace every animal fat you consumed with fish fats, you would have less cholesterol and other fat-related problems later in life, and possibly health benefits. But if you were to not eat fish, and still eat a healthy diet, then no, there's not much of a need to go add it in.
However, if you're interested in fish, but currently dislike fish, it's most likely in the fish you've eaten. A lot of lake fish and whitefish has a very fishy taste, and tends to only be cooked certain ways. Trout, cod, tilapia, and so on, are tasty, but taste "like fish." Salmon does not "taste like fish," and can be cooked essentially like a steak. In fact, what I love to do is take salmon and plop it on a broiler tray, brush the surface with BBQ sauce, and broil for about 15 minutes. The BBQ sauce gives it a smoky spice which goes along beautifully with the semi-sweet taste of salmon.
Salmon has completely ruined me for fish, as I now prefer it over pretty much all other types of fish to the point where I'll simply not buy them.
How it All Vegan
Soy, Not Oi!
Actually the thing you will figure out about cookbooks is that you can use any cookbook around, once you figure out how to substitute ingredients. My old roomate used to use The Joy of Cooking and make substitutions when appropriate.
Vitamins: Veglife vitamins are great. I take the multi and the B complex (although the multi includes B as well), and sometimes the calcium. These are available at most health food stores. You'd be fine with just the multi if you don't want to spend too much on vitamins, though the other ones are good as well. They make a multi that includes iron if that is a concern.
Frozen foods: Gardenburger Rib-b-ques are very good, as are Boca burgers and Boca chicken-style patties. They are especially good when cooked on a Foreman grill, but if you want them a little softer, a microwave is acceptable. There's a very good pepperoni substitute and a decent bacon substitute from Smartlife I think. Usually those are near the salad in a refrigerated (rather than frozen) section.
Restaurants: Ethnic food of all sorts tends to have lots of vegetarian options. I recommend Ethiopian if you have any restaurants in your area (most underrated food genre). In more rural areas, you can usually find some good Chinese food. Thai food tends to be my favorite Asian food overall though. A good 2/3 of the menu is vegetarian in most Indian restaurants. In general you'll be fine outside of middle American diner-food type establishments like Sizzler. For fast food, Burger King has a veggie burger.
If you're eating Thanksgiving dinner with your boyfriend's family and don't want to eat meat, one thing you could do is bring a Tofurky with you (and maybe something else like a non-threatening fairly ordinary desert). Its not uncommon for people to bring things to a Thanksgiving dinner so it might not be too big a deal.
Mario Kart DS: 3320 6595 7026 5000
Oh fuck yes.
Ethiopian is so good.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
Care to describe it? Cause when someone says 'ethiopian restaurant' I imagine going into a restaurant with the heater way too high, and just sitting around for a few hours waiting for food to show up.
Everything is served family style, on one big plate. The bottom of the plate is lined with spongy sour bread called injera which soaks up all the sauces and flavors. You eat with your fingers by breaking off a piece of bread and using that to pick up whatever food you want.
The main dishes are meats served in thick sauces, or beans and other vegetables mashed or similarly cooked in thick sauce. The overall experience is a little like Indian if you've ever had that. It tends to be very spicy. Usually you get yogurt and/or spinach to cool your mouth off between bites.
Ericka: I don't know the specific dish names but with Ethiopian your vegetarian staple is going to be the spicy creamed lentils. It's very good, cooked with chili powder. It's not entirely unlike chili, but meatless and more of a middle eastern or Indian flavor. For Indian, Chana Masala is stewed spicy chickpeas, very high in protein, and if you like spinach Saag Paneer is spicy spinach with bits of cheese.
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
If you decide to try Indian but are bothered by overly spicy dishes, take a friend that knows Indian food along. They'll be able to point you at not only the veggie options but also those foods that aren't going to be too spicy.
Also, get some naan. It is quite possibly the best bread ever.
If someone starts asking questions at dinner, just try to avoid any serious debate about it, make a joke or something. A common question is "so why don't you eat meat?", to which I usually respond "so that I can outlive my many enemies". It kind of breaks the ice, seeing as how people will probably assume you're judging them for eating meat.