Re: Vegan/Vegetarian Diet

April 21, 2011

Welcome to the group, -glad to have you join us! My daughter and I are

both vegetarian, and there are several others on the list as well. First, it is

incorrect that you need to supplement ANYTHING to get the proper nutrients on a

veggie diet. Animals do not produce B12 any more than humans do-it is

supplemented in THEIR food. You can get B12 from many sources, including sea

vegetables, nutritional yeast, etc. I became veggie by force, after finding

out that I don't digest animal proteins well at all, and that was contributing

to my chronically poor health. My daughter decided at around age 5 that she

" didn't want to eat animals " , and became a veggie by choice. I have always

allowed her the option to eat meat if she wants to, but she never has had the

desire (she is now almost 17) I suggest not using the term " vegetarian " too

much at first-just make some yummy meals without meat, and don't mention the

lack of it-most are not likely to notice. For instance, you can make a

wonderful lasagna with portabello mushrooms in place of the meat, and it's quite

likely hubby won't even notice. I am NOT a fan of " hiding " food, or fooling

people, but I find that people tend to resist things more if they are given too

much info. When my daughter went veggie, her dad's side of the family tried to

" hide " MEAT in her meals, and it REALLY pissed me off, but I see no problem with

omitting it in favor of a vegetable. My daughter has always had big weekend

sleepovers at our house, and in 12 years, not ONE of her friends have ever

noticed that there is no meat. We don't mention it, and just serve up yummy

things that don't contain meat. Knowing these girls, if we used the term

" vegetarian XXX " , they would turn their nose up without even trying anything. I

hope this makes sense? In other words, just ease your family in to it. Vegan

is MUCH harder to do, so I recommend trying vegetarian first, then see if you

want to go to the next step. We are sort of on the fence-we don't use any

animal products except raw milk from our own cows, and we do use eggs from a

friends well cared for chickens (we had our own chickens for a while, but living

in town created issues with that, so we found a friend with laying hens that are

not slaughtered for food) Good luck on your journey! My best advice would be

to just ease in to it, and don't try to make it an " all or none " proposition at

first. Happy to help further, if I can, and if this made any sense at all, lol.

April 21, 2011

Kids have been successfully raised as vegetarians and vegans for MANY

years so don't worry about that, especially if the foods consumed are

predominantly (don't beat yourself up if you give in to the urge to

have a Snickers now and then) whole. Even protein-combining is highly

overrated and it should also be kept in mind that dietary need for B12

is in micrograms, i.e., millionths of a gram. If you're not doing

vegan, an occasional egg or serving of dairy will more than suffice; I

realize that many on the list disagree with me on this but I'm not

averse to the use of high-quality supplements and this could certainly

ease your mind in this regard.

and I both became vegetarians because we were unable to digest

meat (although I think she enjoys an occasional serving of fish). Once

I decided to try eliminating meat from my diet, my digestive problems

disappeared in literally a few days and while I've never fallen off the

wagon, it was REALLY hard to do because I'd never eaten vegetables

(with the exception of the occasional broccoli floret or serving of

Szechuan string beans with pork) and I truly felt I understood how a

substance abuser feels when trying to kick. I knew I'd hate myself if I

gave in but I don't hold others to that standard and so my suggestion

is to be kind to yourself, especially with regard to the occasional

lapse of resolve. At some point, it won't be work anymore and you'll

enjoy the benefits of a cleaner way of eating.

Vegan/Vegetarian Diet

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Since getting my Vitamix and Excalibur dehydrator I've been trying to

eat much healthier. I've cut out refined flours and sugars almost all

the time and have been making healthy smoothies and ice cream with

greens almost every day as well as making more food from scratch. I've

always tried to eat fairly healthy, but I now realize that there was a

lot of room for improvement and I'm changing my eating habits to be

even healthier.

My question is for any vegans/vegetarians on this list. What are some

of the biggest tips you would give for going vegan or vegetarian? I've

known in my heart for a long time that factory farming is cruel to

animals, but last night I made the " mistake " of watching a video about

it and I'm very determined to go vegetarian then then hopefully vegan.

I just can't ever look at a hamburger or chicken breast or even an egg

the same way ever again.

From my research thus far my understanding is that you can get

everything you need from nuts, fruits, veggies, and legumes (which now

will be much easier with the Vitamix), but B12 is something that you

have to supplement with or eat fortified foods with it in them. Am I

correct?

I have two children and my plan is to start cooking more meatless meals

and eventually switch over to 100% vegetarian meals. My main concern

for my kids is to make sure they get the nutrients their growing bodies

need and my main concern with my husband is just that he'll be a whiner

about going meatless. I guess I could always cook some meat if my

hubby puts up a big stink about it. He's a very caring guy so I think

if he saw what I saw about factory farming he'd be more likely to

switch over to vegetarianism at least most of the time, but I don't

think he'll watch anything because sometimes it's easier to shield

yourself from that reality. My other option is to try to find a local

farmer where I can actually talk with them about their practices and

see their farm and how the animals are treated, though the more I think

about it, the more I think of how all animals are thinking beings with

feelings and I don't know if I can meat at all, though humane farming

would make i t easier for me to do so.

If people want to pm me privately not to clog up the group that's fine,

but I figured since this group is full of healthy eaters and people

with experience with cooking healthy that there might be some people

with good insights to share with me

April 22, 2011

Thanks a bunch for the info. . You make a very good point about not

calling attention to the " vegetarian " meals. I've been slowly changing our diet

to include more veggies since I got the Vitamix, so the kids are getting used to

being served different meals than we normally have. The other day I made a raw

meal with zucchini " pasta " and homemade marinara sauce and my son made faces at

first when I put it in front of him, but he ate it all up and both kids actually

asked for seconds! It might take a while for our tastebuds to adjust, but if I

take it slow and don't call attention to it like you said then it might go

smoothly to transition to a vegetarian diet.

Thanks for the tip about the portobello mushrooms, I'll be sure to give them a

try in recipes I want to seem more " meaty " .

I know in a vegetarian diet you don't need to supplement anything, but I thought

for a vegan diet you needed to supplement B12. I might add B12 just to be on

the safe side since it won't hurt anyway and the supplements aren't super

expensive.

My poor hubby, I'm always throwing a curveball at him lol. Oh well, most of

them he thanks me for in the end and realizes the wisdom of my ways in the long

run

>

I suggest not using the term " vegetarian " too much at first-just make some yummy

meals without meat, and don't mention the lack of it-most are not likely to

notice. For instance, you can make a wonderful lasagna with portabello

mushrooms in place of the meat, and it's quite likely hubby won't even notice.

I am NOT a fan of " hiding " food, or fooling people, but I find that people tend

to resist things more if they are given too much info.

Vegan is MUCH harder to do, so I recommend trying vegetarian first, then see if

you want to go to the next step. We are sort of on the fence-we don't use any

animal products except raw milk from our own cows, and we do use eggs from a

friends well cared for chickens (we had our own chickens for a while, but living

in town created issues with that, so we found a friend with laying hens that are

not slaughtered for food) Good luck on your journey! My best advice would be

to just ease in to it, and don't try to make it an " all or none " proposition at

first. Happy to help further, if I can, and if this made any sense at all, lol.

>

April 22, 2011

Thanks for sharing your experience . I'm so glad to read that the

protein-combining is no longer pushed. I've been reading a book that said the

same thing, that if you eat a balance diet with variety then you don't have to

worry about what food you pair with what other food. That makes it so much

easier to switch over. I'm going to see if I can find a local source for eggs

that I can even go onsite and see that the chickens are truly free range and

cared for properly. If we still eat eggs then we won't have to worry at all

about B12 supplements, but if not then that's really the only thing I'm likely

going to supplement with because from what I've read you can get iron, protein,

and omegas on a purely vegetarian diet no problem.

Thanks for the advice to go easy on myself too. I know I will slip up

sometimes, and I know I'm going to have to ease my family into the vegetarian

diet, but after seeing what I saw I just can't not make the switch. I'm sure

the video I saw was mild compared to what is out there, but it was enough to

make me determined to change my diet. I'm sure there are tons of health

benefits to going vegetarian too, but my main reason right now is because of my

concern for the animals on the farms.

I'm not even going to make a big deal out of it to extended family or friends or

try to convert anybody else, but for me I need to make the change for my own

peace of mind and because I'm the one cooking for my family eventually I want

our whole family to go that route. However, if we are out and hubby or the kids

order a burger or chicken or whatnot then I'm not going to make a stink about it

at all; I just don't want to be cooking up and serving or eating meat myself

anymore. If someone else switches over on their own accord I won't complain

though

>

> Kids have been successfully raised as vegetarians and vegans for MANY

> years so don't worry about that, especially if the foods consumed are

> predominantly (don't beat yourself up if you give in to the urge to

> have a Snickers now and then) whole. Even protein-combining is highly

> overrated and it should also be kept in mind that dietary need for B12

> is in micrograms, i.e., millionths of a gram. If you're not doing

> vegan, an occasional egg or serving of dairy will more than suffice; I

> realize that many on the list disagree with me on this but I'm not

> averse to the use of high-quality supplements and this could certainly

> ease your mind in this regard.

> and I both became vegetarians because we were unable to digest

> meat (although I think she enjoys an occasional serving of fish). Once

> I decided to try eliminating meat from my diet, my digestive problems

> disappeared in literally a few days and while I've never fallen off the

> wagon, it was REALLY hard to do because I'd never eaten vegetables

> (with the exception of the occasional broccoli floret or serving of

> Szechuan string beans with pork) and I truly felt I understood how a

> substance abuser feels when trying to kick. I knew I'd hate myself if I

> gave in but I don't hold others to that standard and so my suggestion

> is to be kind to yourself, especially with regard to the occasional

> lapse of resolve. At some point, it won't be work anymore and you'll

> enjoy the benefits of a cleaner way of eating.

>

April 22, 2011

You are welcome, . Good luck with your transition! Feel free to pick our brains any time.-

April 22, 2011

Not making a big deal of your transition is a wise choice and if you already like fruits and veggies, you'll find it painless. And if it's any comfort to you, free-range eggs really do taste better (at least the ones I buy do). It's best to let them peck and eat bugs and other outdoors-y stuff with their feed. And I almost always buy milk from small dairies that name their cows and keep them on grass as much as possible; they low-temperature pasteurize, too (they're starting to call this "thermalizing"). And I make my own soy milk, too, when I'm inclined--I like it for what it is and don't think of it as a dairy substitute. You'll see--you're going to get SO creative with this new way of eating and the results can be absolutely delicious (otherwise, why bother?). Again, make sure to check out the links on the home page for products and recipes we like.

Re: Vegan/Vegetarian Diet

Thanks for sharing your experience . I'm so glad to read that the protein-combining is no longer pushed. I've been reading a book that said the same thing, that if you eat a balance diet with variety then you don't have to worry about what food you pair with what other food. That makes it so much easier to switch over. I'm going to see if I can find a local source for eggs that I can even go onsite and see that the chickens are truly free range and cared for properly. If we still eat eggs then we won't have to worry at all about B12 supplements, but if not then that's really the only thing I'm likely going to supplement with because from what I've read you can get iron, protein, and omegas on a purely vegetarian diet no problem.

Thanks for the advice to go easy on myself too. I know I will slip up sometimes, and I know I'm going to have to ease my family into the vegetarian diet, but after seeing what I saw I just can't not make the switch. I'm sure the video I saw was mild compared to what is out there, but it was enough to make me determined to change my diet. I'm sure there are tons of health benefits to going vegetarian too, but my main reason right now is because of my concern for the animals on the farms.

I'm not even going to make a big deal out of it to extended family or friends or try to convert anybody else, but for me I need to make the change for my own peace of mind and because I'm the one cooking for my family eventually I want our whole family to go that route. However, if we are out and hubby or the kids order a burger or chicken or whatnot then I'm not going to make a stink about it at all; I just don't want to be cooking up and serving or eating meat myself anymore. If someone else switches over on their own accord I won't complain though