Want to Become a Vegetarian... Seeking Doper Wisdom

Cafe Society
41

[QUOTE=burundi]
In my experience, fake meats taste like shit. If you haven’t had sausage in ten years, maybe you can convince yourself that soysage tastes good, but if you’re used to the real deal, it’s just nasty.
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=OpalCat]
I made him Gardenburger “BBQ Riblets”
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=Key Lime Guy]
I was a pescetarian & it felt terrific for about 9 months. Then I suddenly hit a wall - felt awful, looked pale. I figured there must be something (amino acids?) in chicken/beef/pork that my body needs. I think we’re meant to be omnivores.
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=Dung Beetle]

  • I used to joke that I replaced the meat in my diet with cookies, but it was fairly true. I was eating terrible stuff and I lost a lot of weight and started looking real scary.

[/QUOTE]

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

47

[QUOTE=Lsura]
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.

[/QUOTE]

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:

[QUOTE=Dangerosa]

I think the flexitarian posts (at least mine) are an acknowledgement that a successful diet with occational meat may be better (physically and morally) than being unsucessful at being vegetarian. If she can go completely veggie (cold turkey or over time), more power to her, if she can’t, killing fewer critters to eat is possibly morally superior to killing more (and healthier, and more ecologically sound, etc)
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=Critical1]
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.
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=exclamation!]
You lost weight because you ate too many cookies? TELL ME MORE!!!
[/QUOTE]

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

53

[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th]
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.
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=OpalCat]
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)
[/QUOTE]

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

[QUOTE=olivesmarch4th]
Times are changing in the Olives household, indeed. I dunno what’s gotten into me, but the life I’m living today looks very different than any life I’ve ever lived before. Over the last few months, I’ve completely overhauled my diet by vastly increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables I eat and significantly decreasing the amount of meat I eat. I’m also running 3+ times a week, and will be running my first 5K on the 4th of July. I’ve never had healthier lifestyle habits, and I’ve never had better reasons to stick to them.

To be frank, I don’t want to die young if I can control that at all. The medical and emotional expense of remaining overweight and sedentary and consuming vast quantities of barely edible food just isn’t worth it. You can get away with abusing yourself when you’re young, but I’m 25 and the older I get, the more I’m going to feel it when I mistreat myself.

As my husband and I have planned these drastic long-term lifestyle changes, I’ve come to realize where the consumption of meat fits into our relationship with the environment and my community. Don’t misunderstand me – I’m passionate about beef, I think eating a cow or pig is the most natural thing on the planet, which is evident if you observe, um, nature. I’m not starting this thread to moralize, and I promise never to be one of those self-righteous VeggieNazis. Let’s just say a compelling combination of concern for my own health, worker’s rights, the environment, animal cruelty and my own development as a spiritual being have led me to the decision to attempt, once again, a lifestyle of vegetarianism.

(Caveat: I will NEVER be a vegan. Cheese is a precious gift to my life that I will never squander, though I agree to eat it in moderation.)

I have tried to become a vegetarian 3 times before, for not-very-well-thought-out reasons, and I have tried to go cold turkey, and after the first month or so I gave up every time. This is because I love meat, and also because I didn’t even know how to cook for myself much less prepare a healthy meal, so my ability to create a balanced diet was restricted by my own confusion and ignorance about nutrition.

All of that has changed–I can cook and eat healthy now, and I probably eat 40% of the amount of meat I used to. Furthermore, I am spiritually motivated to do this. As a Buddhist the one moral guideline I like to adhere to is not to harm other sentient beings. ‘‘Someone else is killing the cow FOR me’’ is becoming less and less a viable excuse, especially because it is blatantly obvious that I don’t need meat to survive. I think this could be an excellent opportunity to work with my attachments. I see a possibility for spiritual growth.

Anyways, one thing I know for certain is I cannot do this cold turkey. And also, I hate soy. Does anyone have any resources that focus on reducing the amount of meat consumed and gradually focusing on eliminating it all together? Should I start with eliminating one meat, and working my way from there? Should I eat meat only when it’s offered by a host? And what meat should I eliminate? The meat that is the worst for you (beef) is what I love the most, and therefore will be the hardest to go.

Jeez, I’m just at a loss. I’ve never really attempted to do this responsible or gradually before, and I just want to succeed this time. It seems like a daunting endeavor because it feels like a significant sacrifice. It’s one I’m willing to make but I am just looking for some guidance on how to get started and stick to it.

Thanks,
Christy
[/QUOTE]

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!