Comments on: How do you become a Vegetarian with out any support?

By: Lou

Lou — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

That's a good challenge, Icarus! It could have been better if your family had brought you some support, but look, it's good that you will be cooking for yourself, at least you will be able to cook good, healthy food!

Try to find some tasty veggie receipes to show your family that a veggie diet is not "dull" or "poor", and then maybe they'll get interested; meat is not the center of the food universe, for god's sake! =)

Plus being a veggie is very easy (as long as you dont dream of eating meat and that you dont "suffer" from it), there's plenty of stuff you can eat, lots of grains that u will find in "green" shops. It's really not complicated. And tofu is great, and there are so many ways to prepare it!

Personnally, i eat a lot of rice, with vegatbles and tofu. Best receipe (a simple one, but there can be many variants to it), is brown (?) rice cooked with leek, mushrooms, onions, sunflower seeds, courgettes and grilled tofu, or vegetarian steaks. It's even better with a peanutbutter sauce with it! =) Just for an idea!

You will find many ideas on the internet, so you shouldnt give up.

And, very important thing, you have to stand for your beliefs, like you DON'T HAVE TO EAT MEAT at someone's place when you're invited. Don't feel compelled to "respect" the cook, people HAVE TO RESPECT your choices, and that's the way things should be. Tolerance is a two-way thing.

I had a hard time for the first year of my being a veggie, it took people some time to accept and understand that it was important to me, and that it was not just a fad (my grandparents, mostly, kept lecturing me, how annoying), but then, things get settled and people will know and ackowledge you as a vegetarian person. Dont worry if you get some dumbass remarks, this world is full of people who are not able to think and who have no sensitivity! Dont pay attention to them, do your own stuff!

In such an amoral society, it's important to resist the narrow path that meat eaters have laid. But you can do it!

Good luck, it wont be that difficult, believe me!

By: amanda a

amanda a — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

well last year i becam e vegitarian and i had no support. i pretty much went vegitarian cold turkey. my parents were not thrilled with me mainly because they didnt want to make more than one meal every night and they were worried that i would not get enough protien. any supermarket will have tofu and other meat substitutes. tofu and other meat substitutes are easy to cook and you can flavor them anyway u want and most come in flavors as well. and amys frozen meals and morning star come in handy when you dont feel like cooking

By: EmM

EmM — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

As long as you are not fetish about the rest of your family eating meat it its very simple.

A few years ago I suddenly went off meat, so what I used to do was simply reove the meat from the dish and eat the vegetables.

I don't know what kind of meals you normally have. If you have casseroles which have meat and veggies in it then it should not be a problem.

Another thing i did was I started eating more salads. Adding bean sprouts to them as often as possible.

If your family eats a lot of lentils you could request them to remove a bit of the boiled lentils for you before adding the meat.

Talk to them. Segregation of meat from the food is easy in certain types of cuisines .

By: Nia24

Nia24 — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

you'll have to start finding alternatives, for instance an excellent source of protein is tofu, it's not very expensive and you season it with soy sauce or plain fried with salt it's nice too. also, you'll most probably have to take cooking into your own hands but don't worry you'll have to make simple things like boil a potatoe and accompany with a nice creamy sauce for example made of avocado, etc. try pasta, rice, vegetable fried rice, tomatoe sauces, etc. all you have to do is to take responsibility for it and have strong determination. you can also have veggie "hot dogs", which taste almost like the real one, etc…. do more fruits, and juices besides being simple it's also really healthy, etc, etc.

By: Di

Di — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

It was the easiest transition I have ever made in my life. When I quit I thought I'd have to live on vegetables and fruit only and then some of my vegetarian friends turned me on to soy meats and bocca burgers. Along with the soy meats I drink organic milk and eat free range eggs….I haven't given up my dairy, I just cleaned up what dairy products I put into my body. I just don't eat meat. Ask your mom instead of buying you hamburger patties to buy you bocca burgers and vegetarian chicken patties. They have smart hotdogs and sausage and soy bolognia and turkey lunch meat and on and on and on….you won't believe how much better soy meats are than flesh…I didn't need a support group, not at all.

By: Katherine

Katherine — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

You should offer to cook once a week. There are plenty of non meat meals that everyone will eat.

Stock up on frozen foods, especially Amy's brand. Its really good. There are lots of things you can quickly make and still eat with your family like scrambled eggs or grilled cheese and tomato soup.

By: CHIK

CHIK — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

First you'll need a lot of will power and a strong belief in what you are doing since you'll be your only support system. Ask your mom to buy more fruits and veggies since you'll be going this route and provide your own cheap sources of protein till you are sure you want to stick with it. There's always peanut butter, nuts, apples, eggs, cheese in the house to provide you with that. Another thing is don't be too quick to feel obligated to eat meat when a guest in someone's home. You can partake in a meal and NOT choose the meat for your own reasons without it being rude. If you don't eat meat, then you don't eat meat. I don't smoke, I live on the 3rd floor. NO ONE smokes in my house. It's simple.
You are right, it is costly to provide a different menu for different people in a family, so you may have to go a lot of it on your own in crafty ways.
I wish you luck and I wish you strength. Weather you succeed or not, or adapt to enjoy that way of life or not, good for you for reaching out of your daily boundaries and giving something new a try.

By: Ayhra

Ayhra — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

Yeah Ive done it for years I cook my own meal everynight or just use the sides or what I can of my familys meal such as plain rice pasta will my tofu eggs or meat alternative

By: Emily

Emily — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

Well we tend to have that problem in my home. My brother and I are both vegetarian, but not my parents or sister. I was lucky, because my brother had already been one for almost a year when I started, so I did have some support. But what we usually do is compromise. Like when my parents cook spaghetti or pasta they set aside some of the sauce without meat and have the pasta separate. Or if they have burgers then we have vegi-burgers. Another thing we do is fix our own protein, then have whatever side dishes they have with it. Also, try introducing some vegetarian dishes to your family, they may like them. I hope this helps. Good luck!

By: T

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 03:57:45 +0000

Willpower is essential! Everyone else in my family are meat eaters. My father even spent my first entire year as a veggie offering me piles of meat because he thought I wasn't serious.

You are going to have to encourage them to buy products that can be used with or without meat like pasta, then ask them to put the meat on the side. Also, do a little research and suggest really delicious dishes that are veggie based like vegetable salads. You can create different dressings to go on top and make a fun deal out of it.