Want to transition to vegetarian diet?

I would like to learn how to succeed at being a vegetarian. My main concern is learning things to cook. My husband will probably remain carniverous but he's willing to decrease his intake of animal protein.Want to transition to vegetarian diet?
20 Tips for Becoming a Vegetarian

So, if you’d like to become a vegetarian, without too much trouble, here are my suggestions:



1. Have good reasons. If you just want to become vegetarian for kicks, you probably won’t stick with it for long — not because it’s hard, but because any lifestyle change or habit change requires a little bit of motivation. You need to first think about why you want to become vegetarian, and really believe in it. The rest is easy.

2. Read up. Before starting anything new, I tend to read as much as possible about whatever it is that I’ll be doing. I suggest you do so with vegetarianism. Check out a couple of good books from the library (or better yet, borrow from vegetarian friends). And there are tons and tons of good sites on the Internet. One of my favorites is GoVeg.com.

3. Find good recipes. You don’t need to go out and buy a bunch of new cookbooks, although that’s certainly an option. But again, there are many great recipes online. Try GoVeg.com … another favorite of mine is Post Punk Kitchen (also see their forums). In fact, it can all be a little overwhelming … but don’t worry, you don’t need to decide on anything. Just look through the recipes, take note of a few that look really good, and decide to try a few of them. You have the rest of your life to test out other recipes!

4. Try one recipe a week. My suggestion is just to try one new vegetarian recipe a week. If you like it, add it to your collection of staple recipes that you eat on a regular basis. If the recipe isn’t that great, try another next week. Soon, you’ll have a good list of 5-10 great recipes that you love to cook and eat. And really, whether you’re vegetarian or meat eater, that’s probably all you really eat on a regular basis anyway (for dinner, at least). Most people only have 7-10 recipes that they cook regularly. Once you have that many vegetarian recipes, you are good to go.

5. Substitutions. Also try your regular recipes that you love, but instead of using meat, use a meatless substitute. So if you love to eat spaghetti or chili, for example, substitute a ground-beef alternative from Bocca or Morning Star and just cook it the way you normally would. There are alternatives for just about any kind of meat, and some of them are quite good. You can go on eating what you normally eat, but meatless.

6. Start with red meat. I suggest a gradual transition into vegetarianism … although you can do it all at once, I’ve found that for many people, a gradual transition works better. There’s no need to give up all meat at once. Try a few new recipes, maybe eat one vegetarian meal for the first week, two for the second, and so on. If you do this, start with red meat, as it is typically the least healthy.

7. Then the other meats. After a couple of weeks of going without red meat, try cutting out pork for a couple of weeks. Then cut out chicken, the seafood. With this two-week approach (and you can even make it 3 weeks or a month for each stage if you want to go more slowly), you’ll hardly notice the difference. I’ve found that I don’t crave meats anymore, although I did for about a week.

8. Consider dairy %26amp; eggs. Vegetarians vary widely on this, so there’s no mandate to give up dairy or eggs if you’re giving up meat. Do what feels right for you. But if you go meatless for awhile, and want to try to go a little further (in terms of health, the environment, and helping animal suffering), consider these foods. For one thing, they are often high in saturated fat, especially compared to soy alternatives. It was easy for me to give up eggs, as I’ve never been a huge fan, but transitioning to soy milk took a few days to get used to … although I can’t stand the taste of milk now. :)

9. Think about your staples. A useful exercise is to make a list of foods you regularly eat, for breakfast, lunch, dinner, desserts and snacks. Not meals, but ingredients. And then think about vegetarian alternatives, and make a new list. For example, instead of eating chicken in a stir-fry dish, you might try tofu. With a new list of staples, you should have no trouble stocking your fridge and pantry.

10. All in one go. Some people prefer to give up meat all at once. While this takes a little more determination than the gradual solution I advocate, it’s not that hard, really. Just prepare yourself by taking some of the steps above (finding recipes, substitutes, a new list of staples, and reading as much as possible), and then give it a shot. It should only take a few days to get used to it, and then you’ll have very little trouble after that. The only issues you’ll have to work out, once you’re used to going without meat, are things like eating out, eating at others’ houses, and other similar issues. Read on for more on these.

11. Adequate protein. One myth about vegetarianism is that you don’t get enough protein. Actually, meat eaters usually take in way more protein than they need. Protein requirements for the average adult are lower than people think. If you eat a varied diet (not just junk food, for example) that includes vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, soy protein and the like, you will be fine. It would hard to create an eating plan where you’re getting inadequate protein (the junk food example would be one). Another myth is that you need to eat different types of protein within a single meal (or even a single day) to get complete protein from plants … actually, as long as you eat varied proteins (such as those listed above) over a few days, you’ll be fine. And soy protein is a complete protein, just like meat.

12. Junk food. Again, you can be a vegetarian and be very unhealthy, if you eat junk food. Being a vegetarian is not a license to eat junk food (although you can probably indulge yourself a little more often now that you’re not eating meat). Try to stick with fruits and veggies, whole grains, beans, nuts, soy protein, low-fat dairy and other nutritious foods for the most part.

13. Ethnic food. One of the great things about becoming a vegetarian is that it often spurs people to try new and interesting ethnic foods (or reminds them of foods they love but don’t eat much). Great vegetarian dishes can be found all over the world, from Italian pasta to many Indian dishes to spicy Thai food to Chinese, Ethiopian, Moroccan, Mexican, South American and more. It can be interesting to do a series of theme weeks, trying vegetarian dishes from a certain country for one week, and then moving around the world and sampling other great ethnic foods.

14. Tell friends %26amp; family. If you’re really going to become a vegetarian, you’ll have to talk to the people you know and love about it. You’ll still be dining with them, at restaurants, at their homes, at social gatherings, at work, and so it’ll be better for everyone involved if they know what you’re doing (they might prepare a vegetarian dish for you, or you might bring one for them to try), and if they know the reasons why. Some people might have a hard time with it. Just try to explain it to them, without getting defensive or argumentative, and ask them to be understanding (and maybe to give some of your food a try). Don’t try to force vegetarianism on anyone, or sound preachy, but do give them more information if they’re interested.

15. Have fun. Most of all, don’t make becoming a vegetarian be a restrictive, grueling ordeal. If you feel like you’re depriving yourself, you won’t last long. But if you feel like you’re doing something good, and trying out some great-tasting food, you’ll stick with it for much longer (for life, I hope). Have a great time along the way.

16. Plan ahead. Often what gets in the way of new vegetarians is that they go somewhere, and don’t think of what they might have to eat. Going to a party or a dinner can be much better if you prepare a great dish and bring it along (let the host know about it first). An errands trip doesn’t have to result in you going to McDonalds, starving, if you pack a lunch or bring some snacks.

17. Cook ahead. Another problem is when we don’t have any vegetarian food ready to eat, and so we resort to whatever is easiest (if we don’t feel like eating or are too hungry to wait). Instead, you could cook a big pot of vegetarian chili or soup or something, and have it in the fridge for when you’re hungry and don’t have time to cook.

18. Vegetarian snacks. I love to eat fruits and cut-up veggies, but there are lots of other great snacks you can eat. Roasted (or raw) almonds, hummus and pitas or veggies, blue corn chips and salsa, low-fat granola, berries with soy yogurt, whole-grain cereals, Kashi crackers … dozens and dozens of snacks, actually, if you take a look around. Have plenty on hand, at home, at work, and on the road.

19. Vegetarian restaurants. There’s only one vegetarian restaurant on Guam, and unfortunately it’s closed on nights and weekends (it’s a Seventh-Day Adventist joint, open for lunch on weekdays, and it’s great). But you might live in an area with dozens of great vegetarian restaurants. Give them a try! You might discover some wonderful food, and thank your lucky stars you decided to give vegetarianism a try. Otherwise, most restaurants will have some vegetarian options, or can cook you a vegetarian dish on request.

20. Vegetarian convenience foods. In your supermarket’s frozen section, you’ll probably find a lot of vegetarian foods that can be microwaved. You might give some of these a try (I love the Amy’s brand). Beware that, like most convenience foods, these are more expensive than home-cooked stuff, and most likely not as healthy. But you can find some fairly healthy foods there too. At any rate, it’s always good to have a couple of convenience foods in the freezer, just in case.
My husband is still a carnivore, but only eats meat now about 1 x per week (cuz he has to cook it). I subscribe to Vegetarian Times. I also purchased a Vegetarian cookbook and scour through it at night picking out recipes. Shop for the non-traditional ingredients at a health food store, usually the employees there can help you find certain ingredients and give you tips on cooking it. Use the interenet for recipes, don't be afraid to keep trying new recipes it is trial and error. Don't give up and most of all, don't believe that you will be iron deficient. If you use ingredients that are high in iron and B-12 you will be fine. I do take amino acids and a vitamin B supplement.Want to transition to vegetarian diet?
It's hard, you probably need some planning before hand because I have a friend who was vegetarian for like a year then the doctor made her eat meat again because she was suffering from malnutrition, also for learning things to cook there's lots of recipes online, google is your friend

also! don't forget you can probably check the peta website or whatever maybe they have some tips and recipes and stuff
Find a cookbook that has a lot of nutritious vegetarian food and just learn to cook those things more often. There are vegetarian meats you can use as a substitute for real meat so when you make chicken for your husband, you can have a vegetarian "chicken" dish instead. It does take some time to figure out, so I would suggest you go out right now and search your heart out, or you could just go to amazon.com and find vegetarian cookbooks. Take the ones that seem good to you and take it from there.Want to transition to vegetarian diet?
The cheapest, easiest way to do it is to buy a crockpot and learn how to make dishes like brown rice and lentils, red beans and rice, pretty much any legume dish is great. While going through the transition, it's a good idea to have some fake meat like Boca burgers and Tofurky around, just so you don't get tempted to eat any decomposing flesh. Tofutti better than sour cream and follow your heart soy cheese are also great for when you're switching. Keep whole grain pasta around for super-quick meals. When you go out to eat, just order white rice and veggies, or a baked potato w/ salsa and a garden salad with vinegar and olive oil. Keep Soy ice cream and vegan cookies around. The best place to pick up vegetarian junk food is



www.veganstore.com



They will save your life when you're craving meaty foods!!
Well im a vegetarian and my whole family eat meat but this website helped me alot www.chooseveg.com they have some delicious recipes and if you wonder why you should become vegetarian , they have so very sad videos on there that makes you want to stop eating meat at once!



P.S. Dont quit trying...It is hard starting off but it gets better and Remember you are helping the animals :]
There are many easy to read cookbooks out there that you can get relatively cheap, just check amazon and they will have many more than you could ever need. All you need to succeed at being a vegitarian is to never give up. Ive been a vegitarian for 3 years and a vegan for 1



good luck
Here is a vegetarian recipe site online

http://www.vegcooking.com/



this is a site on being healthy

http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/nutrition/veg.htm
Just get a reliable cookbook, and get in the kitchen. It's as easy as that.