Want to Become a Vegetarian... Seeking Doper Wisdom

Cafe Society
41

My boyfriend is a total omnivore. I made him Gardenburger “BBQ Riblets” and Morningstar Farms “Chik’n Pattie” sandwiches fairly often when he’d eat at my place, and when he moved to Cleveland*, you know what? He bought those as often if not more often than real meat. Just because he liked them. So just because you don’t like them doesn’t mean nobody does. I also wonder A) how many different ones you’ve tried (as I said, for example, I like the sausage patties but not the sausage links. There is a wide range.) and B) when you tried them (they’ve gotten much better over the years)

*aka “when he moved 900 miles away from me and my diet had no bearing on his shopping”

42

Those things are awesome. Nice, fibrous texture (not too soft, like most meat substitutes), and plenty of that yummilicious sauce.

43

with the morning star fake meats (and the spicy buffalo wings are awesome) dont eat them like you would a normal chunk of meat,

take some potatoes, chop and fry them up in some olive oil and crushed red peppers (pan fry as in skillet)
after potatoes are mostly done ad some veggies also chopped
onion
bell pepper
broccoli
mushrooms if you dont plan on freezing
and also add your chopped morning star stuff, a few sausage links CHOPPED, a couple patties and bacon and or buffalo wings
then fry up some eggs (egg beaters work great for this)

mix it all up, and eat.

44

Maybe it was something in the fish… like mercury.

45

As far as the alternameats, yes, some are ok, some are not - the morningstar sausage patties have the right smell and mouth feel for sausage, while a number of other things don’t have that going for them, IMO.

My problem with the alternameats is that so many of them seem to be high in sodium, and that, along with fat and carbs, is just one more thing I have to watch with what I eat. So I’m more likely to make a meatless meal, with other protein sources than one with fake meat.

46

You lost weight because you ate too many cookies? TELL ME MORE!!!

47

Yeah, those Morningstar sausage patties are surprisingly decent, if not a little heavy handed on the spicing. I wouldn’t mistake them for meat, but they’re quite edible. I’ve also had some kind of Chinese mock duck dish made from seiten (wheat gluten) which was surprisingly meat-like. It didn’t taste anything like duck, but it certainly had a meaty texture.

48

Wow, thank you all for the fabulous advice.

I like the ‘‘flexitarian’’ idea very much, for this reason:

The idea of going totally veggie is intimidating, and I think I agree I should start by reducing the meat I eat. I have already replaced the meat I used to eat with lots of fruits and veggies so I am in a good position to transition out of it, slowly, over time. Currently I eat a high fiber diet (mandatory for controlling my IBS), and though I do love pasta and potatoes, I tend to eat very small amounts of whatever I’m eating. I also buy very specific, high-fiber pasta that’s infused with nutrients. I’ve learned to make those things a part of my meal, not the whole meal altogether, since a little bit goes a long way.

The flexitarian idea is not too far out of line with my moral goals, after all, Buddhist monks accept meat if it’s offered to them by their hosts. It’s important for me to be kind to all sentient beings which also means not being a pain in the ass at dinner parties.

Thanks again for all the great responses.

49

Olives, good for you for making some healthy changes! Since so many others here have given great advice on how to make a change to vegetarian, I’ll skip to offer some advice from a Buddhist perspective.

I’ve been vegetarian for 20 years, and attempted it for a decade before, at age 11. (I’ve posted this on the SD before, so hope the old timers aren’t sick of it) For me, it was seeing the fish that my marine biologist Dad hauled up when we were out on his teaching boats, and it hit me that the fish were dying, watching them gulp for air, flopping around. After that simple realization, I refused to eat them, and really stuck to it. Yet, I contnued to eat other meat, because the death connection hadn’t been made, and, at 11, yer kinda at the mercy of what your parents choose.

It took another 10 years to really “get” vegetarianism for me, and I educated myself on what would be a nutritious diet w/o meat. This was a time when veg food was just becoming available. The book “Laurel’s Kitchen” really helped me to understand the basics of nutrition, especially with whole grains as a staple. I’ll cut that short here.

Vegetarianism for ethical reasons has a long history in the East, and, quite varied in the parameters. I thought the Wiki entry on Buddhism/vegetarianiism a decent rundown. Basically, there’s no set rule for vegetarianism among the myriad of Buddhist sects. Some do, some don’t. In taking Buddhist precepts to heart, not being an expert, but working with what I understand, I chose not eating meat as trying to avoid hurt to sentient creatures. It’s a personal choice, and certainly aided by the luxury of living in the West, where it’s fairly easy to do so. A nomadic Tibetan doesn’t have that same largess of food, so has to do with what’s possible to survive.

Buddhism also deals with non-attachment, and that includes being too fanatical about your diet. I’ve dealt with that when being a guest at someone’s house, and they serve meat. There are different levels of that, but I then treat it as “Alms”, and, generally, accept the host’s generousity gratefully.

I found this article to be interesting, a bit of history of Buddhist/veg practice in the West.

Just do what you can do in making changes, and understand it as you can. For me, it was realizing aspects of not doing harm on different levels, making connections, and making decisions. As well as learning cooking techniques and dealing with what was available to have a healthy diet. I can say that it is way easier to do now than it usta be.

50

Olives, missed your post before posting;

That’s always been a key thought for me.

51

Thanks for the idea; I’ve got a big plate of this in front of me right now. Only I didn’t bother with the fake meat or eggs, and added red onion, garlic, salt, oregano, thyme, and marjoram. Yum.

52

I think the key is to eat nothing of actual nutritional value. :slight_smile:

53

I admire your ideals and wish to subscribe to your newsletter.

All flippancy aside, I really do admire you for doing this. I’m leaning in that direction myself, but right now I’ve got a master’s degree to finish up and a new job to find and a new town to move to…in short, if I start a Major Dietary Change right now I’m setting myself up for failure. I am trying to cut out a lot of the red meat in my diet and eat mo’ veggies, though.

54

It’s cool that your boyfriend liked them. I never said nobody did–just that I find meat substitutes gross. My husband was a vegetarian until very recently, so in the ten years I’ve known him, I’ve tried a lot of different kinds of meat substitutes. I will say the Quorn nuggets I had were better than chicken nuggets, but I think it’s a stretch to call the stuff in most chicken nuggets “meat” anyway.

55

My problem with meat substitutes is that they’re extremely high in sodium and overly processed. I don’t much see the difference between ingesting soysage and a handful of cheetos.

That said, the Buffalo Chik’n wings are fracking AWESOME. But at the end of the day they’re still junk food. Veggie junk food, but junk food.

56

One of the Bridges Brother was on the Tonight Show once and said being a vegetarian was easy: You *can * eat all the desserts you want! :smiley:

57

i’ll second the gradual cutdown on meat as already suggested.

do you like vegetables? there are alot of delicious non-meat dishes out there to feast on. fake meat… stuff as a substitute is the wrong way to start if you want to become a vegetarian. imho.

58

I agree with that. When I became a vegetarian in the '80s there wasn’t much “fake meat” stuff available. As it became available it creeped me out because it reminded me of meat. It wasn’t until about 10 years after I became a vegetarian that I started to eat any “fake meat” products, and I still don’t eat them very often. I do like a lot of them, though!