Vegetarian Diet - Advice greatly appreciated?

Hello,
This is going to make me sound rather wierd but...

I stopped eating animals about a year ago. It all happened suddenly- one day I felt sick at the thought of eating animal, yet I still eat birds, mainly turkey and chicken. However recently I have started feeling a bit sick about eating any meat at all, and would like to try a completely vegetarian diet.

The trouble is I don't eat nuts or eggs, and would just like a bit of general advice on diet!

Thanks very much :-)

Wow didn't expect such a great response. Thank you!

Ok, well firstly I have no intention of becoming vegan, its just eating meat that I am having problems with.

I'm not allergic to nuts - I simply detest the taste.

My current diet is healthy - I eat alot of fresh fruit and vegetables, and a generally healthy mix of carbs and proteins. I'm just concious of completely getting rid of meat from my diet and not replacing it. I'll definately take on board the quorn and tofu ideas.
Thanks,
Jen

Quorn is a lifesaver for us veggies! It comes in everything! You can get quorn burgers, sausages, chunks, mince, and loads of other stuff! Try to eat plenty of protein, for example beans and cheese, and you'll be fine. I eat fish, so I get protein from that, but if you choose not to, eat cheese! x

You must eat protein. Try getting it from cheese and tofu. I hope you still eat seafood.

Try sushi - its great for veggie - especially the veggie sushi!

allrecipes.com or try buying a vegitarian cookbook. follow the food pyramid and just think of meat as protein.

Well before completely going vegan, make sure that you have proper supplements to compinsate for the loss of nutrients. I would just do a yahoo search under vegan recipes and see what you come up with. I am sure there are several people in your same position. Keep in mind as well, vegans do not eat cheese and milk as well?

you don't have to eat eggs, but nuts are a good source of protein, which you need. there are other sources though so it's not that big a deal if you don't want to eat nuts. these articles can help you find other sources of protein to stay healthy.

loads of pulses and seeds is good (i'd recommend nuts but obviously that doesn't apply here). i make lots of different types of vegetable soup is good. i am an awkward veggie cos i don't really like pasta, but there are loads of alternatives in salads, bakes, soups, curries..etc.
alot of people like tofu but i just can't stomach it. like compressed scrambled egg.
a dietitian friend told me that a veggie diet is the healthiest diet you can have, providing you do it properly. and that is apparently eating little and often, snacking on fruit, veg and seeds throughout the day and then small meals including pulses always.

Good for you! Okay main thing to do is make sure you keep up with your protien and iron. There are complete and incomplete protiens. Such as if you take red beads and rice, pinto beans and cornbread or hummus and whole wheat pita bread. You can also try some soy products to help. Now moving on to iron you can use spinach, or other dark leafy greens or be like me take iron supplements around that time of the month. If you have any questions feel free to email me chameleon.halo@gmail.com

my wife and eldest daughter have been veg for donkeys years.. and neither of them look ill!

and becasue of it i rarely eat meat. and im 11 stone...

theres pasta potatos, all manner of fresh veg... buy it from a farm shop, much tastier and FAR cheaper...

send me your addy and i'll get the wife to give you a mail...

I wouldnt launch it to this without a great deal of thought.
By your use of language you sound young. If your body is not fully developed yet then a vegetarian diet is not a good idea.
The veg brigade will be up in arms but unless you have a special chef and shopper and nutritionist on hand then you are putting your health at risk.

There are some minerals and vitsamins that we can only get from meat. You will find it difficult to get enough protien.
It looks as if you are already a faddy eater. whats wrong with eggs?
Allergic to nuts or just dont like the taste?

Try to be a bit more objective. If feeling sick at the thought of eating meat, just get over it and campagn for humane rearing/slaughter.

Do yourself a favour. Eat properly. We were designed to eat meat.

My hubby is vege and i only eat chicken really. Have you tried anything from the linda mcCartney or quorn ranges. I use the quorn mince to make bolognase and lasagne and chilli. Its pretty tasteless so use lots of herbs spices and garlic. I find most of the above ok and its all alot healthier than meat as less fat. Otherwise we eat alot of fish and veg and salad really. Must admit i did find it hard to start with but once you try things out you'll find out what you like and it does get easier. Get a few good vege cookbooks too they give you lots of ideas. Good luck!! xxx

i`ve been vege 24 years an aint dead yet, an i still got 28 inch waist, oh sh!t i just gave the game away, i`m a bloke

xxx

if you are worried about eating animals what is your stance on animal by products ie eggs, milk, cheese, any food that comes from an animal. Becoming a vegan is very healthy if you aren't picky but it costs more money to be earth friendly. Clothes, furniture, shampoo, deodorant, toothpast all these things come in a natural state now with no animals involved plus it is good for the enviornment.

You dont have to eat nuts or eggs. You may want to pick up the book "The Idiots Guide to being Vegetarians". It gives you recipes and tells you different types of vegetatarians that there are.

You will have to pay more attention to your diet to make sure you are getting the proper amount of nutrition. But you should be okay because according to the book females should only consume 20g of protein a day. You can get this from legumes and if you pair it with rice you have a complete protein. But vegetables have protein as well. Although, I understand that the protein from animals and plants are not the same, the book stresses that you should be okay.

As for all your other nutrition you can get them from the plant kingdom.

In the meantime these sites shoudl help you out a bit.

Good luck!

That dosen't sound wierd at all, in fact it sounds pretty simillar to how I became a vegetarian.

Here's an idea for you... go to www.vegpledge.com The vegplege is an agreement to stick to a vegetarian or vegan diet for 60 days, it only takes a minute to sign up.

Once you take the pledge you get a free printable copy of Healthy Beginings. It gives you guidelines for meeting nutritional needs, and tells you all the ways a vegetarian diet benifits you, the enviroment and animals.

There's suggestions on shopping for and preparing your meals, eating out, and ways to find support when you need it. Plus there's a bunch of great recipies.

And another bonus, once you've compleated the 60 day Veg Pledge you get Vegetarian Times Magazine free for 6 months.

I know this sounded like one big commercial, but that Healthy Beginings packet was really helpful for me when making the transistion.

Hope this helps!

Chicken's not the best meet for protein anyway so I doubt dropping it will make that much difference. Quorn and tofu are good. Do you eat beans? Try stuff like bean burgers and nut cutlets - they honestly don't taste like nuts, also drink milk and eat cheese - they contain a lot of what you need. Hope that helps xx

My daughter turned veggie nearly 10 years ago for the same reasons - she has just turned 17 and is fit and healthy. She basically won't eat anything that comes from a dead animal, so that includes animal fats and gelatine.
She eats pretty much the same as we do but I just find a veggie protein alternative.
Tonight we had a home made lasagne. A large one for the rest of us and a small one for her, made in exactly the same way but with Quorn mince.
Last night we had a chicken stir-fry; a separate litte frying pan on the go with Quorn chicken-style pieces in.
Veggie sausages, burgers, nuggets, they're all available in the Quorn range. The mince and Quorn pieces for stir fries/curries etc are great too.
Asda and Tescos (and probably the other supermarkets) also do great own-brand ranges including ready meals if you don't want to cook.
I would eat cheese in moderation as it's high in fat. A lot of vegetarians tend to eat loads of it.