I've decided to become a vegetarian

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Aida

Aida

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2011
Messages
2,323
Location
Florida
Hey everyone,

I've always looked at people who are vegan/vegetarian with a respect, and a nod for what they do. I'm an animal lover too, and I understand how those who refuse to eat meat, refuse to be part of a system that kills and abuses animals for it, too. It's a horrible way for them to live and die. I was always against this and passionate about it- however, today, another thought hit me like a ton of bricks. I thought to myself that life is beautiful. I'm not trying to be poetic or cheesy, ha ha, but this is what I thought of and what I always tried to believe despite troubles or sad times. And then I thought about how I always saw people equal with animals, and suddently it came to me that we all deserve to live our lives fully in this world. Even animals kept in humane conditions, fed the best grass, kept on the cleanest of fields, with the bestest of friends, are still deprived of a fundamental right when they are killed- however painlessly. They were blessed with life, and they deserve to live and die it in full. In the end, living is what we all as animals strive for. No matter the pain or suffering we endure, in the end every creature fights to live. To me, that means that life is something to pursue, cherish, and realize the beauty of. It's more than we can comprehend- therefore we cannot play divinity and deny anything nor anyone of it.

Wooo, rant over. :giggle:
Sorry if that was cheesy, but it's just a realization I had today that eating meat goes beyond cruelty-free and etc.

Any tips?
I want to ease into my newfound life style, and I don't plan on going vegan just yet. Hardest for me will definetly be giving up the culturally-attached foods of my childhood- saussages, pierogies with meat, goulash, golabki, liver, pork...
 
Thats wonderful! And the animals thank you!! :dance: :joy:

Im not vegan yet either, but I have heard that Daiya "cheese" is good.

If you want to ease into it, here are some veggie versions of "meat", you have to choose the right brands, some veggie "meats" can be verry gross. Here are some brands I love, find them at walmart & superstore:

http://www.tofurky.com/

http://www.yvesveggie.com/

http://gardein.com/
 
Welcome to the club. lol
The animals certainly thank you and so does your body and our beautiful planet.
I first became vegetarian for about a week and then it was clear to me that dairy and eggs producers were if not more so tortured for their productions. It was very easy to kick the habit.
And even though is does sound cheesy, I have to say that when I became vegan, I found a kind of peace within me. Like I didn't need to be upset over trivial things anymore. The world is beautiful and we must do what we can to preserve it and share it with the animals. I like the saying, the animals are here with us, not for us.
 
ALL of Isa Chandra Moskowitz Cookbooks are AMAZING!
I was veg for about 2 and a half years, and loved her stuff. My biggest tip would be stay aware of how many carbs you are eating, and there is gelatine in A LOT of things you didnt think there were.
 
Thanks amanda, I'll look into that!
It's not so much the taste of meat that I think I'll miss, I'm not a big fan anyways. It's just that the food my grandma and mom made me growing up can't really be made without it. I'll ask them to give the veggie-meats a try next time. ;)


Jorats, it isn't cheesy, I understand what you mean.
As for the dairy/egg producers, I agree, they are so hormonally and genetically mutilated now, it's heartbreaking and scary. I will more than likely ease into veganism, too, but for now I just want to take it one step at a time. If I give up everything all at once, then I will just end up torturing myself for a week before purging on beef burritos and chicken burgers...

clmntine, are her books vegan, too, or just vegetarian?
I know a bunch of great vegetarian recipes-- I love cooking, but I don't really like handling meat. I always feel as though I'm undercooking it and will make my family sick, or I dunno. Call me a baby. xP
Thank you for the tip about carbs! I figure that eating more veggies, grains, and fruits than meat will be healthier, but then again I also realize that all the delicious, fat/sugar packed munchies are pretty much veg. too...
 
I've been mostly vegan now since last March I think it was?
I did it in stages too, partly because I can't bear to throw out food (nor waste it) and partly because I wasn't sure what I would as substitutes for some of my favorite things

I had the hardest time giving up butter- real butter. love the stuff- or used to. Now I can't imagine eating it ever again, but then I discovered Smart Balance vegan spread and I LOVE it.


you can use some of the same spices that are in the sausages if you're making a soup or casserole, these are all Polish foods, right? and just leave out the actual meat.
sausage is so bad for you anyway - it's more fat than anything else.

stuffed cabbages would be fine without the meat, in fact they'd be delicious! I haven't had that in years, I just realized. I gotta make some!
I'll let you know how it comes out.

I make a mock turkey soup that has all the same spices that I used in turkey soup, just none of the meat nor bones (used to boil the bones, in fact, I used to only use the bones and no meat, but now I don't even use the bones)
I use a combination of spices like marjoram and sage and a bit of veggie broth and it's pretty darn good if I do say so myself

there are good healthy versions of desserts, too, so you can avoid all the fat and sugar laden junk foods that happen to be vegan but not good for you! :wink2:

you'll be surprised but your tastes will change over time. There are things I used to love and eat all the time that no longer even taste good to me.
 
Cool! Like jorats said, Welcome! lol I've been a vegetarian my entire life. For anyone wondering, no I wasn't raised that way, I've just always been an extremely picky eater & completely refused meat since a baby & throughout my childhood. When I was maybe 10 I decided, since I loved all animals so much already, that I would never even try meat for moral reasons. None of my family are vegetarians or vegans & I can say it can be tough going out or having dinner with family & friends when you're the only one but you'll all get used to it. Don't let anyone try to change your mind or anything! In case that could happen. I'm 26 later this month & I STILL have family jokingly asking me if I'd like a burger. :-/ A lot of meat-eaters (even animal lovers) will just never understand these choices.
Anyway, I know baby cows are killed for milk & cheese... And that is heartbreaking & I'd love to only drink & eat dairy that came from a cow who was still allowed to live normally & raise her calves, but unfortunately that's easier said than done; I simply cannot give up dairy!
Good for you if you are able to go vegan after you get used to being a vegetarian though! I don't really have any tips for you, unfortunately, since I never had to give meat up. lol Just stay strong, you can do it! I just wanted to show my support. :D
 
Thanks guys, you're really helpful and supportive.

And yeah, Petunia, it is Polish. But you're right, I can give it up and just let my cooking-passionate grandma know when I visit her next time. ;)


Also, I just checked out a new book yesterday, and i can't put it down. It's called "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Foer. It is extremely good, and mind blowing.
 
my daughter gave up meat a year ago and she hasnt looked back. She never really liked meats so it was natural to her. She is a lot happier not eating it and I dont have to get on her about not eating dinner. She eats the soy products and fake meats and she loves them. I have made some dishes like "not real chicken and dumplings" for her and she loved it. it is a process to feed her different things though, she dont seem to like a lot of the stuff out there.
 
Congrats to her!
I'm a sucker for chinese, mexican, indian food- the type of stuff it's hard to nail right at home, and I doubt the typical food court sells tofurkey kung pow chicken, tee hee.

But I think I can do it. I've never been really picky at all with food, I can't really even think of something I truly hate. That's good though in this case, I won't miss the delicious chinese take out if I have a billion veggie alternatives that I also like.
 
They have a teriyaki chicken and I think an orange chicken....she loves them...MiX with stir fry veggie and it would be good.
 
Vegan, but I would never stick to that. I would do things like use regular milk instead of soy. I always just loved her recipes!!
 

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