Thinking of converting

Ag marbh

Hi

I've been considering coming vegetarian for the last while for :

(a) moral reasons
(b) health
(c) test of will power

My problem is that i'm a really "picky" eater. I've tried vegetarian sausages, burgers and tofu(?) chicken and really enjoyed them. Does anyone have any idea's for recipes that would break me in and gradually change my ways.

lor_25

What kind of food do u normally go for ????

If u check out the Veggie recipe's thread hopefully u should get some good idea's....

Good luck with it.... Hopefully u won't find it to much of a challenge, there's so much more choice out there now than there used to be :-)

Lor

Ag marbh

My diet consists of alot of fried foods and not alot of vegetables. It will be quite testing for me but I would really like to take the step.

Thank's for the reply. I'll check out that thread.

leftofcentre

To be honest its very easy being a veggie in ireland. The supermarkets do a good range of veggie foods, and restaurants always have a few veggie dishs on their menu's. You will find it easy going.

Tar.Aldarion

Tesco and dunnes are great for vegetarian stuff,quorn is a great tasting alternative.It is much better than it used to be.As was said,look a the link thread and then you can just buy ingrediants and make one of the thousands of recipes.

Peanut

Ag marbh wrote:

My diet consists of alot of fried foods and not alot of vegetables. It will be quite testing for me but I would really like to take the step.

Thank's for the reply. I'll check out that thread.

There's a lot of fried veggie stuff that should be at least a bit better than a batter-burger if you want to make a change. Especially Indian, like samosa, pakoras, bhaji's etc.
Balancing fried food like that with some green salad, tomato, radish, sprouted pulses for example makes a nice combination.

Saruman

I am for health reasons but im not a veggie per say.. im a pescatarian which means i eat fish too..
IF there is nothing else to eat at lunchtime i will have chicken or turkey etc. Thats rare. Though i will make an exception at christmas and thanksgiving (going to US to spend with wifes family).
I will NOT eat red meat though.. does not go down well especially beef. Though im probably perfectly fine to eat it now.. i dont want to be in the hospital for 2 weeks again.

Dave!

What health reasons? I'm just curious, I know people become veggies for moral reasons all the time, but what health reasons do they do it for? Is it cos there's too much iron in red meat or somethin like that?

Ag marbh

DaveMcG wrote:

What health reasons? I'm just curious, I know people become veggies for moral reasons all the time, but what health reasons do they do it for? Is it cos there's too much iron in red meat or somethin like that?

I eat very little vegetables and my diet consists of alot of fried food. I'd just like to change my habits and for moral reasons also.

Tar.Aldarion

DaveMcG wrote:

What health reasons? I'm just curious, I know people become veggies for moral reasons all the time, but what health reasons do they do it for? Is it cos there's too much iron in red meat or somethin like that?

In its 2003 position paper on vegetarian diets, the American Dietetic Association reported that vegan and vegetarian diets "are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence." According to the ADA, "vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer." Vegans benefit as well -- cow's milk contains significant amounts of saturated fat, while eggs contain large amounts of cholesterol, making regular use of them contributors to cardiovascular disease.
Vegan foods, such as whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and beans, are low in fat, contain no cholesterol, and are rich in fiber and nutrients. Vegans can get all the nutrients they need: protein from legumes (e.g., beans, tofu, peanuts) and grains (e.g., rice, corn, whole wheat breads and pastas); calcium from broccoli, kale, collard greens, tofu, fortified juices and soy milks; iron from chickpeas, spinach, pinto beans, and soy products; and B12 from fortified foods or supplements."
As with any diet, a fully nutritious vegan or vegetarian diet will require some small amount of planning. However, as evidenced by the ADA's position and the thousands of people becoming vegetarian every day, a veg diet is widely understood to be a healthy one, and for many people it proves to be the healthiest diet of all.

If you are going to do it for health alone vegan would seem to be the choice.If you mintain a proper vegan diet you are ridiculously healthy whereas with proper meat and vegetarian diets you are just healthy :)With a proper vegan diet you could lose weigt like nobodies business(so some celebs do it for that) and your heart would be quite strong.You may say a healthy meat based diet will do you but on average taking protein alone;
the average person has more than 400% the RDA reccommended of it in meat alone!
That fact is taken from years ago and guess what meat consumption has been exponentially rising since!wonder what the figure is now tbh.

Also,
No deficiencies. There is no nutrient necessary for optimal human functioning which cannot be obtained from plant food.

High fat plus cholesterol. Animal foods are higher in fat than most plant foods, particularly saturated fats. Plants do not contain cholesterol.

"Carb" deficient. Meat is deficient in carbohydrates, particularly the starches which are so essential to proper health.

Vitamin deficient. Except for the b-complex, meat is largely deficient in vitamins.

Agricultural Chemicals. Being higher on the food chain, animal foods contain far higher concentrations of agricultural chemicals than plant foods, including pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Exposure to livestock drugs. There are over 20,000 different drugs, including sterols, antibiotics, growth hormones and other veterinary drugs that are given to livestock animals. These drugs are consumed when animal foods are consumed. The dangers herein, in secondary consumption of antibiotics, are well documented.

Pathogenic Microorganisms. There are a host of bacteria and viruses, some quite dangerous, that are common to animals. When I eat meat, I eat the organisms in the meat. Micro-organisms are present in plant foods too, but their number and danger to human health is by no means comparable to that of those in meat.

Worms and other Parasites. Ditto on that last point.

Shelf life differential. Plant foods last longer than animal foods. Try this experiment: Leave out a head of lettuce and a pound of hamburger for 1 day, which will make you sick?

Organoleptic Indications of Pathenogens. Plant foods give tell-tale signs of "going bad". Ever hear of someone getting sick from "bad broccoli"?

Heart Disease. Meat eating increases the risk of heart disease, this country's #1 killer. The correlation is an epidemiological fact.

Cancer prevention. Of all the natural cancer prevention substances found: vitamin C, B-17, hydroquionenes, beta carotene, NDGA, - none has been found to be animal derived. Yet most meats, when cooked, produce an array of benzenes and other carcinogenic compounds. Cancer is infinitely easier to prevent than cure. Soybeans contain protease inhibitor, a powerful anticancer compound. You won't find it in useful quantities in animal based food.

Disease Inducing. The correlation between meat consumption and a wide range of degenerative diseases is well founded and includes.....

Osteoporosis

Kidney Stones and Gallstones

Diabetes

Multiple Sclerosis

Arthritis

Gum disease

Acne. Aggravated by animal food.

Obesity. Studies confirm that vegetarians tend to be thinner than meat eaters. Obesity is considered by doctors to be a disease within itself.

Intestinal Toxemia. The condition of the intestinal flora is critical to overall health. Animal products putrefy the colon.

Transit time. Wholesome food travels quickly through the "G.I" tract, leaving little time to spoil and incite disease within the body.

Fiber deficient. Fiber absorbs unwanted, excess fats; cleans the intestines; provides bulk and aids in peristalsis. Plant food is high in fiber content; meat, poultry and dairy products have none.

Body wastes. Food from animals contain their waste, including adrenaline, uric and lactic acid, etc., Before adding ketchup, the biggest contributors to the "flavor profile" of a hamburger are the leftover blood and urine.

Excess protein. The average American eats 400% of the RDA for protein. This causes excess nitrogen in the blood that creates a host of long-term health problems.

Longevity. To increase ones risk of getting degenerative disease means decreasing ones chance to live a naturally long healthy life. Huzas and other peoples with large centenarian populations maintain lifestyles that are relatively meat free.



There are a lot of environmental reasons I will list too should somebody want them or want to be vegetarian/vegan because of that aspect.

JC 2K3

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

Acne. Aggravated by animal food.

I know for a fact that they haven't proved that diet has any effect on acne whatsoever, which means that is bs, and if that's bs I'm sure a lot of the rest of that is bs too.

Tar.Aldarion

JC 2K3 wrote:

I know for a fact that they haven't proved that diet has any effect on acne whatsoever, which means that is bs, and if that's bs I'm sure a lot of the rest of that is bs too.

First off your little 'know for a fact is wrong'
It is not proven that diet is the base case for acne, it is proven it can aggravate it and make it stay.
What you quoted is taken from the ADA which is an the official organisation in america and therefore not just pulled out of nowhere.
You are quite foolish if you don't think diet has an affect on acne.What happens if somebody drinks a load of water when they have acne?what happens if they eat a load of chips?
Not all acne is got to do with diet,it can be heriditary but things can aggravate a disease and do the opposite.
Also if you thought a point was wrong, it also makes the rest of a report from the biggest health agency in the world wrong?
Oh ya sorry, you have put millions into research,of course you are correct,foolish them.
When they added that in,i'm sure they were just hoping that nobody would notice that they had made something up....sounds about right?

How about you do a quick google for official health sites(not meat'r'us or vegetables are your lover sites) before you jump to conclusion hmm?

There is a lot of controversy about acne diet. Although many healthcare professionals still believe food may not directly cause acne it aggravates the condition and a lot of people seem to improve their skin after adjusting to healthier eating habits.
If I were to eat too much salty,high fat sugary foods,seaweed,eggs I would break out with newer acne lesions in a day or two. So acne control is easier if you eliminate junk food and those foods which cause allergy.

Now a lot of people might think thinks like chocolate and fizzy drinks etc aggravate acne,they are wrong.It is all about when the sebaceous glands at the base of the hair follicles of the skin secrete too much sebum.Certain foods cause more to be produced hence it being proven.

sweet-rasmus

omg. i was about to eat a breakfast cereal at my friend's house (he is vegetarian) when i realised the cereal wasnt vegetarian!!! it was a frosted shreddies or mini wheatabix type or something. i guess it was the frosting - it contained beef gelatin! yuck!! couldnt believe it. anyhow, i couldnt figure where to post this, so i threw it here

Catsmokinpot

ive been thinking about it too mainly for moral reasons, i see all to often meat wagons transporting cows to the slaughter in stinking trucks that are dark and cramped, i think its fúcking horrible, i think its completely wrong how we've managed to make an industry out of slaughtering animals for food

but to be honest i don't think i could go a day without meat of some sort. i tried that soy mince but it just doesn't have any taste to it is there any sort of meat flavouring that you can add to soy mince/tofu that makes it taste half decent?

oxo cubes + most gravy's have animal products in them, so i guess my question is, is there anything meat tasting that doesn't have meat in it?

i was also looking for health benifits of a vegetarian diet and i spotted this http://www.celestialhealing.net/physicalveg3.htm
so were we not meant to eat meat in the first place?
and if so why did we start?

Peanut

Catsmokinpot wrote:

... i tried that soy mince but it just doesn't have any taste to it is there any sort of meat flavouring that you can add to soy mince/tofu that makes it taste half decent?

uhh not sure about meat flavour, but if you find some of the tofu that's smoked then it gives it a more savoury taste. Also a lot of it depends on what it's cooked with, it needs some kind of flavouring to give it a bit of a kick, like soy sauce or spices.

This http://www.taifun-tofu.de/engl/default.asp
tofu range is a pretty good replacement.

Bisto is vegetarian, and it's easy to get vegetarian stock cubes.
A lot of people seem to like Quorn (even non-veggies :-p)
You can get 'imitation meat' veggie burgers in supermarkets... own brand or something like 'Linda McCartney'. The quality varies.

Catsmokinpot wrote:

i was also looking for health benifits of a vegetarian diet and i spotted this http://www.celestialhealing.net/physicalveg3.htm
so were we not meant to eat meat in the first place?
and if so why did we start?

I don't like that word 'meant'. I don't think we were 'meant' to eat meat or not eat meat, it's just whatever way it turned out due to local environments and other factors.

We're capable enough as animals to adapt to a variety of diets, so let's decide ourselves & not be restricted by whatever may have been in the past.

Good luck with your culinary explorations..!

Doctor Benway

Peanut wrote:

You can get 'imitation meat' veggie burgers in supermarkets... own brand or something like 'Linda McCartney'. The quality varies.

I had my first taste of the Quorn quarter pounders earlier in the week. I must say, I found them surprisingly like the real thing, both in flavour and in texture. They might be a good transition food if you're moving towards vegetarianism.

Also, good luck and all that.

Tar.Aldarion

Quorn burgers,chicken nuggets etc are excellent Cat.Try them.They taste practically the same and the two examples I gave..I think they are nicer!

Catsmokinpot

nice one lads cheers for that

sportswear

yeah you should at least give it a go. i swear it is not difficult at all. when you become one after a while you realise how much better it is, and you'll realise how absolutly disgusting it is to eat meat.

I do human dissections in college and i can verify that human flesh looks identical to ham and chicken. mmmmm......

For me the best is interaction with animals now (been veg for 1.5 years). you can really look a cow or a sheep or whatever in the eye and think

"its ok, i don't want to eat you"

and if you ever see animals in captivity, theres no need to feel guilt-

Tar.Aldarion

I know you aren't being malicious but you should edit out the insult in your post as that won't be accepted.
You can't insult people for their beliefs on here
It's been a while since I looked a cow in the eye(look betwen their eyes because i'm shy) but yes I fell sooo good these days about not feeling guilty.
Nothing like seeing fear in an animals eye or seeing our dogs being so happy to see us even if I just lok at them to make me know I made the right choice.

sportswear

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

I know you aren't being malicious but you should edit out the insult in your post as that won't be accepted.
You can't insult people for their beliefs on here

done.

Tar.Aldarion

Ah great stuff.


Ag marbh, how is it going?
Like you I am very picky,what new recipes did you like?