How did you become vegetarian? Born and raised or made the decision later on? I have been vegetarian all my life. Even when I was a baby and starting on solid foods my parents couldn't get me to eat meat. They tried hiding it in everything. They did the same with eggs with no sucess either. They don't know where I came from as everyone in my family tree loves and eats meat. I always joke that I must of been switched at birth. I have never had a vegetarian friend or family member so I always feel like I am weird and an outcast. To this day when I go eat at someone elses house I bring my own meal as they have no clue what to feed a vegetarian. My husband and children also eat meat. I am learning as an adult how to eat correctly as I had bad habits. My parents didn't know what to feed me so I turned to eating sweets and bad stuff since I was always hungry. Instead of finding alternatives when I was young they just kept trying to force me to eat eggs and meat hoping they would win at some point.
Can anyone else relate to feeling as the outcast as the only vegetarian? Any tips or tricks etc are welcome as I have a lot to learn.

My husband and I are both vegetarian, he for about 6 years and myself for about 3 years.
We eat pretty well but don't tend to get invited to peoples houses for dinner too often :) Some people are understanding, others not. I do get annoyed with so many people always asking why I choose not to eat meat, some people are rather confrontational about it and can be rude.

Me!!! :) I have been for over 20 years now (I'm 29 so I stopped pretty young) I realized what exactly meat was and couldn't eat it anymore, I don't do eggs or fish either. I tend to read way too much and don't eat a lot of things anymore... I don't do jello either or anything with gelatin. I get a lot of grief from people, I always hear what do you eat, can you eat anything? Um no I don't eat, what a stupid question. Luckily, my bf doesn't care, he eats it but not a lot (I won't cook anything I have to touch or mess with) and has to deal with the weird looks from restaurants when I order things like chicken fajitas without the chicken ;) my mother was very good about it also, she cooked a lot of separate meals :)

I gave up meats March 1, 2005. I turned 30 in July of 2003. The following year was horrible for me, medically speaking. I had always been in perfect health, athletic, could not have asked for anything more. Withing a couple of months of my b'day my gallbladder had to come out. Then three months later I was hospitalized with pancreatits - something you normally get before the gallbadder comes out - not after. My blood sugar was screwed, my triglycerides (in a normal person they are suppose to be under 200) were over 5000 (yes five THOUSAND) and I was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease. The docs were telling my parents and DH I should not be alive, chances were I could die, not to expect em to leave the hospital alive, etc... I was allowed to have pain meds (mainly morphine) as often as I requested. At that point it was just a matter of keeping me as comfortable as possible.

Well, fast forward. I made it through and finally got out of the hospital. I was not allowed to do anything for eight weeks. I sat around - could not go to work, drive, NOTHING!!! I was put on meds to bring down my trigl., but they only came down to the 2000 range. I went to my nutritionist and talked to her about everything. She went over the ins and outs of which foods do what to your body. Since I already had bad genes in the trigl. department and meds were doing all they could the only thing left was for me to make serious changes in what I ate and meats went bye-bye. I was never a "bad" eater, my body just cannot handle what most other people's bodies can.

I am proud to say I have been "meat free" for almost 3 years. My trigl. are now staying under 500 (which is awesome for me) and steadily getting lower while my good cholesterol is getting higher ever so slowly.

I also quit smoking 4 years ago on January 4th. I must admit, giving up meat was so much harder. There are days I want a piece of chicken and I crave a pork chop here and there. But for me it really does come down to being healthier and being around for my family.

No one else in our family is a vegetarian and everyone is very good with it. They all seem to understand and work with me when we have family gatherings. I also get the funny looks at Taco Bell when I order a taco supreme with no meat.

WOW - sorry that was so long. I tend to be a chatterbox at times.

Wow Neely what an experience, happy to hear you are doing well now.

Tina 150 on top of being vegetarian I am fussy also. I don't eat seafood, eggs,brocolli, cauliflower, corn, cabbage, avocado or anything spicy not even pepper. I get the what do you eat all the time. People think I am so weird! It's nice to know I am not alone:hug2:

Tina 150 on top of being vegetarian I am fussy also. I don't eat seafood, eggs,brocolli, cauliflower, corn, cabbage, avocado or anything spicy not even pepper. I get the what do you eat all the time. People think I am so weird! It's nice to know I am not alone:hug2:


:) I'm glad I'm not the only one either, I've also heard all of the jokes over the years too like do you eat animal crackers... ha ha Oh well it doesn't bother me, I feel good that I'm not eating animals :)

I used to be a vegetarian and no longer am. My 12 year old daughter, however has been a vegetarian since she was 8. Just like the person who posted above - she realized where it was coming from and couldn't eat it any more. She does eat eggs and dairy but "nothing with eyes."

I have been very supportive of her, and it has not been that hard since I used to be a vegetarian - I know what to make for her and how to make it healthy. I know that people think she is weird sometimes but I am very proud of her for making an ethical decision at such a young age and sticking with it, whether or not people giver her funny looks.

Neeley, I just got the mother of all Christmas presents that you would just love. It is a crockpot with two sections in it. So on one side today I am making a marinara with spinach and on the other marinara with meatballs!

Neeley, I just got the mother of all Christmas presents that you would just love. It is a crockpot with two sections in it. So on one side today I am making a marinara with spinach and on the other marinara with meatballs!

That sounds so cool. I have never seen one before but I am going to look for one. That would be such a nice item to have. My mom is always getting me little extra "prizes" so I am going to have to put her on the look out so she can maybe give me one as my next "prize" - LOL.

I didn't know they existed with two compartments either. I have to check it out. It would be so cool to be able to prepare two different meals at once using less energy and dishes. Thanks for the tip!

I was raised vegetarian by a mother who always hated meat. She got a lot of grief about my not getting enough nutrition, but I'm pretty damn healthy.

I eat a lot of fish now, but still don't eat any meat except for the very occasional chicken, but that comes and goes.

I was a vegetarian (ovo-lacto-) from ages 12-17, then vegan until age 19. I became one after finding out about animal cruelty/. Long story short and somewhat undetailed, I stopped being vegan and recently (about 4 months ago) became vegan again. This time it was originally for health reasons, but then I started reading about animal cruelty and going to the sites I used to and decided to again be vegan also for animal rights and to become an active-activist in that area.

i am too!
veggie - bordering on vegan.
chose to become at young age.

nice to meet others on here who are! :)

I'm vegetarian again as of Jan 1 of this year. I eased into it over the month of December. My daughter has been for a few months and reminded me why it was a good idea. I was vegetarian for several years and got away from it more than a decade ago.

What do you guys eat? Just looking for more ideas :) BF eats meat so I try to make stuff that I can make with and without...I make:

Cheese Enchiladas/ Turkey Enchiladas
Cheese Bean/ Cheese Chicken Quesadillas
Rice Stuffed Peppers / Rice Turkey Peppers
Veggie/ Veggie Chicken Stir Fry

That's just a few, I need some lower fat ideas... too much cheese :) and would like to loose a little weight :)

I started reading about animal cruelty and going to the sites

Yeah me too, now I can't use Suave products anymore, I miss my Suave stuff but found they test on bunnies :(

What do you guys eat? Just looking for more ideas :) BF eats meat so I try to make stuff that I can make with and without...I make:

Cheese Enchiladas/ Turkey Enchiladas
Cheese Bean/ Cheese Chicken Quesadillas
Rice Stuffed Peppers / Rice Turkey Peppers
Veggie/ Veggie Chicken Stir Fry

That's just a few, I need some lower fat ideas... too much cheese :) and would like to loose a little weight :)
What I usually do is one of two things:
1) Cook a base. Meaning, cook something that I can add beans to or he can add meat to.
2) Cook something that I could eat by itself, and then add meat if he wants it.

Some of the things we eat fairly regularly (these are vegan before meat is added, so you could adjust to add ingredients if you're vegetarian):
- Tacos/Burritos
- Casseroles (we keep the meat on the side. and he adds it afterwards)
- "Buffet meals" which are basically meals where you have all the different options for the meal in separate bowls and then you can pick and choose what you want. So I could choose to have black beans in my meal and no cheese, or he could eat it with hamburger and cheese.
- SOUPS! Even without meat this can be a great thing. Most non-vegs will still eat a vegetarian soup if it has beans in it. :)

Hmmm I know there are more, but I'm getting tired and can't remember lol

I have been a veggie head for many years, vegan for some time.....I am glad that there are so many of you......I have a family of 5 and I am the only one, well 3 are occasional ones......:rollsmile

We don't eat cheese much at all here!
Pizza is about it... and sometimes when I make lasagna (i use cottage cheese or a fatfree ricotta).

Otherwise, i make pasta bakes (boil pasta, simmer/cook veggies in skillet, combine, toss in oven for a bit), beans & rice dishes (that one just be creative... regular beans, refried beans (add lettuce & tortilla chips for fun), steak fries & a couple veggies when they have burgers, chicken or whatever - so you dont feel deprived.

i've got lots of ideas... but it's mostly about being creative... and I dont cook two meals... I just have something extra... their meat (the once a week i make it for 'em!). :)

pasta bakes (boil pasta, simmer/cook veggies in skillet, combine, toss in oven for a bit),

Ok, this sounds good, what kind of sauces, etc. do you use? I'm tired of eating the same stuff :)

What do you guys eat? Just looking for more ideas :) BF eats meat so I try to make stuff that I can make with and without...I make:

Cheese Enchiladas/ Turkey Enchiladas
Cheese Bean/ Cheese Chicken Quesadillas
Rice Stuffed Peppers / Rice Turkey Peppers
Veggie/ Veggie Chicken Stir Fry

That's just a few, I need some lower fat ideas... too much cheese :) and would like to loose a little weight :)

I have a hard time to figure out what to eat also. The other 3 members in my family eat meat. I found this cool tool this morning. Just incase you didn't see the other post I will put it here also. You can mix and match your ingredients to what you like, have on hand and it gives you the recipe. I think it's great. You can have it for supper, leftovers can be made into a sandwich with soup etc. Here is the link
http://www.veganlunchbox.com/loaf_studio.html

mom an i were pretty poor so i didnt eat much red meat......would eat fish when visiting dad (he lived near the ocean and went fishing once week) so from ages 2 -9, i ate very little red meat
when i was 12, i stopped eating red meat entirely (seeing a deer hanging on the back portch with dogs jumping at it, was a HUGE turnoff)
when i was 13, i stopped eating eggs
when i was 15 i stopped eating chicken, turkey and fish
i still drank milk this whole time, and i would eat stuff that had eggs in it, but i wouldnt eat the eggs if i could see them
at 18 and prego, i started eating chicken or turkey or eggs or fish (any combination, about 3 times total a week)
at 20 and prego, i CRAVED CRAVED CRAVED 3 (yes three) double bacon cheeseburgers a week
now at 26, i have spurts where i wont eat any meats of any kind (red meat, fish, or poultry) but frankenstein and chunky monkey and toda bear, all like meats........i buy whatevers on sale, at a decent price, and "prep" the meat into meal sized portions, but for me? many days, i just dont eat the meat, and the kids are given that option as well,and they typically eat everything (an they only dont eat meats when they dont feel well)
latte

I eat an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet about 95% of the time. I haven't had meat or poultry in years, but I do occasionally eat fish along, with lots of vegetables and whole grains. I eat this way because of my family's history of obesity, diabetes, & cardiovascular disease.

I was a strict lacto-ovo forever, until after our wedding when it got tricky to make my carnivore of a husband happy and have veggie fare at the same time. After 3 years of that craziness, I'm back on the wagon. No meat for me, and now that the tables have turned over the years and I do all the meal prep it isn't that big of a deal at all. :yippee:

I've been vegan for almost a year. I first stopped drinking milk because I was trying to see if it was dairy that was causing the acne on my chin I had been strugging w/ my entire adult life ( I'm 35 ). It was. So...I had to find all kinds of new recipes that didn't call for dairy, not just "lactose free" dairy...no dairy. That led me to vegan cookbooks and websites and I just read too much. I always wanted to cut out meat but felt horrible after 3-4 days every time I tried. I think now it was because I always added more dairy to replace the protein. I had already been cutting back on meat so it wasn't a big deal to just cut it out completely.
My family thinks I'm commiting some horrible sin by not eating meat. My dad likes to sometimes quote from the bible where it supposedly supports their theory. I just smile and say "well then YOU eat it".
My husband went vegetarian about 4 months ago and my kids both eat vegetarian at home. :hungry:

Not quite a full vegetarian, but slowly working my way there. When I do eat meat, my preferred meat is fish, though I do eat chicken and turkey occasionally.

ove-vegetarian for about 1 1/2 years now.
I only eat eggs occasionally though and only the ones I purchase from a local egg farmer where I can go to her farm and get them right from the farmer. As soon as the weather clears up here, I plan on taking the kids to go visit all her chickens, they're pretty excited about that.
I meant to just cut down on meat initially and then I realized that if I could feel just fine eating meat only once every week or so, I didn't need it at all. My husband was okay for a while eating vegetarian at home ( no dairy ) and just sometimes getting/eating meat while away/at work but he finally went vegetarian along w/ me.

I eat a nearly-vegan diet. I am still working on getting the animal products out of the non-food parts of my life, but I do have leather shoes and wool sweaters. My boyfriend is vegan and that's the main reason I began eating this way, but I have to admit that it makes sense to me for many other reasons, too. I love animals and don't want them to be harmed or exploited. I like to live lightly on the earth. Whole vegan foods are more nutritious. And best of all, vegan food (except for convenience foods, which I barely ever buy) is cheap.

I became an ovo-lacto vegetarian at about age 20. I kept that up for about 10 years, and then had a stint as a vegan for about a year, going back to being ovo-lacto for another couple years. About a year ago, though, I decided to just eat what I felt was right for my body and for my values. It had a lot to do with deepening my Buddhist practice, which teaches non-attachment, not grasping too tightly even to something like vegetarianism. I knew a lot of strict veggies and vegans who were becoming really militant and intolerant, and the whole thing started to seem mentally unhealthy to me. So now I will eat a little meat in certain circumstances, but only a couple or three times a month. Otherwise I eat like I did when I was ovo-lacto, trying to choose organic and free-range options whenever affordable. The reasons I favor a meatless or nearly meatless diet are numerous: the health benefits are obvious, it's cruel to the animals, and factory farming is a terrible polluter of the environment and a major obstacle to everyone in the world having enough to eat. DH is and has always been an omni, although he eats less meat now than he used to. Luckily, it's never been an issue between us. Most of the people in my extended family think I'm a freak - you should have been a fly on the wall when I visited some relatives in Alabama that I didn't really know and who didn't know me! They are very traditional, church-going and sheltered in terms of being exposed to those kinds of ideas. I think they thought I was possessed by evil spirits! Do you know they put meat in EVERYTHING down there? I think it's even in the pie!!! :yucky: I have lots of Chinese in-laws since I have 2 SILs from Shanghai. One of them is the daughter of a Tai Chi master and doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, and they're always trying to get me to eat meat, too, but they're also more understanding if I tell them it's because I'm a Buddhist!!!

you should have been a fly on the wall when I visited some relatives in Alabama that I didn't really know and who didn't know me! They are very traditional, church-going and sheltered in terms of being exposed to those kinds of ideas. I think they thought I was possessed by evil spirits! Do you know they put meat in EVERYTHING down there? I think it's even in the pie!!!

I have lived in Alabama my entire life, am a vegetarian and can promise you not everyone here puts meat in everything.

I have lived in Alabama my entire life, am a vegetarian and can promise you not everyone here puts meat in everything.

Well, I was kidding... Guess that wasn't obvious! Sorry if I offended anyone.

I didn't know this kith existed! :)

I'm vegan for animal rights, environmental, and health reasons - in that order. I had a vegetarian friend who had a positive influence on me years ago and then I did my own reading and research and I just couldn't turn back.

My mom recently became vegan and she's been doing great for 6 months. Her reasons are for health, though. I tell her all about my other reasons, but I don't think she quite comprehends the magnitude and I try not to turn her off.

My husband is a meat and potatoes guy, but, he's been making an effort to eat less meat and I appreciate that.

I also try to eat organic, but I find it very hard to do that and keep to a frugal food budget.

I'm a new vegetarian...going on 9 months now. Glad to know there are plenty of veggies around! My reasons are health and environmental.

Hi everyone!

We stopped eating meat a couple of years ago (can't remember when exactly!) And it's fine. DH's family have more of an issue with it then mine a my brother has been a vegetarian for over 25 years. We gave up partly because of the cost of buying free range organic and in the end we were eating so little meat we jut didn't want it anymore. I do feel far more healthy now, I think it's easy to eat more healthily as there are just so many things off the menu it's easier to make the healthy choice.

Now there are more of us not eating meat my parents have cut down a lot too, rarely eating red meat and buying all meat and eggs from a local free range farm. So they're eating in a more ethical way which is nice. So when we visit there we have something different everytime which is great and give me ideas!
FIL doesn't really grasp the concept of not eating meat at all but is fine as long as he doesn't have to go without! lol

We do have milk and the occasional egg, but I don't like cheese so we don't have that at home. I think this does provide the hardest challenge as many places still think covering some veg with melted cheese is a great veggie option.

As far as what we eat goe , I would say we have a wider choice now than when we ate meat tbh. I jut adapt any meat recipe like this - if it has meat or chicken I use mushrooms, if it has ground beef I use lentils. This way we can still have shepherds pie, chilli, bolognaise and all that stuff but veggie and inexpensive!

Our menu plan is basically -

Monday - Roast/Pie/Baked something
Tueday - Pasta (roast veg, bol, tomato sauce, creamy mushroom sauce etc)
Wednesday - Chilli, shepherdess pie, tagine, bbq lentils...
Thursday - leftovers
Friday - curry
Saturday - fajitas, pizza, tacos, falafel, bean burgers etc
Sunday - out, soup, fried rice, bubble and squeak etc

(apologies for any typos, my "s" isn't working properly!

I was a vegetarian in high school and college, then gave it up because it was inconvenient. Last year, I read Fast Food Nation and made the switch overnight. It's been 15 months and my husband has converted, too!

Now that I've made the connection between cats and cows, pigs, chickens, etc., and understand the health and environmental implications of a meat-based diet, I can't imagine going back. The fact that vegetarian food is cheaper than omni food is just an added bonus!

Never saw this thread before! I've been a vegetarian for almost 9 years. Growing up I hated meat and never ever ate much. Later I started reading books on health and factory farming. It just came so easy and natural for me.

I am the only veg in my family. I usually cook different foods for me and my kids/dh. I feel like a hypocrite alot, but I don't really push my views on people. I wish this could be a big veggie household, but my family would starve if I didn't cook for them. :P My daughter is coming around though. She loves my veggie cooking so much better. And later I learned how being a vegetarian is great for the enviroment. Fast Food Nation is a great book and I have a few others... The China Study is a must read.

This is my really short summary. :wave:

(waves) one more.
28 years at it.
I had too much cheese moments (until I developed an allergy to dairy), and I combated that not with a full substitution, but looking at amounts.
For those enchiladas, add lentils, spinach/Kale/collards, onion, peppers and just barely enough cheese to melt and hold it together.
I'll try tahini on my next, non dairy batch. softer grades of tofu should work, too.

eating correctly: balance is key: lots of beans in one meal? More greens and veggies in the next. Whole grain everywhere it works.fruit at breakfast, snacks, dessert. keep raw veggies prepped in the fridge.

I've been a vegetarian for over a year. I do have the occasional egg. DH has become a vegetarian by default, because I don't cook anything with meat.
If we go out (usually for breakfast) he'll have bacon, but that;s the only meat I've seen him eat. I wish I could get him completely on board. I think eventually it might set in, but it's too soon yet, for him.

I'm a vegetarian working my way towards being vegan! :thumb:

This is very new to me, just 2 months now. I had been teetering on the edge for years because of animal rights then had a small freak out over a farmer's market egg. I SWEAR it looked like the shell was cracked and there was feathers coming out. DH inspected it while I was in the bathroom trying to throw up and it was just a feather stuck to the outside but still, traumatized. So that pushed me way past the edge and I'm loving it. I'm loosing weight and feel so much healthier. I'm hoping to be completely vegan by the end of the year.

Dh isn't. He's a meat eating hick. His favorite (joking) line to me is "Vegetarian is an old Indian word for "bad hunter". Har har. I want to buy him a shirt that says that. He teases me but he's supportive. :) I only buy natural, no hormone added, etc meats. Working on going local with that. I don't have much problems cooking it for him. With most of what I cook, meat can be added on his plate and he's happy. Washing the pans afterwards is a bit grosser. I save them for last so meat grease isn't touching my other dishes (I wash the dishtowel/sponge after each use so no leftover ickiness.)

Our boys make their choice each meal. My 10 month old is veggie with me but my older boys (4 and 2) are asked at every meal where meat is a option if they want it. 98% of the time they don't. They never really liked meat before I made the switch so it wasn't surprising. I have a hard time feeding them things I wouldn't eat myself but it's my compromise with DH. We won't force them either way, they need to make their own decisions. I just sneak little age appropriate information bits to them. :crackup:

I'm lucky to have one vegetarian friend that I've been getting recipe ideas from. His wife isn't so he has great ideas for "a house divided". The rest of my friends are supportive but don't understand or they think I'm crazy. But oh well. :lol:

Am I rambling? Probably. Just saying I'm here. :)

DD2 tried being a vegetarian at age 12, gave up when she found out chicken nuggets did not count.

DD3 became a vegetarian for ethical reasons at age 11. Went vegan at 13, back to vegetarian now.

I became a vegetarian for health reasons (it was medically suggested as a way to heal my intestines and worked). I felt so good that I decided to stick with it and feel great.

I suppose I now fit into this category now. It's been a couple of months since I've had any meat. I watched Fast Food Nation and I really didn't like what I saw. Palooka posted in another thread with some suggested books to read and the video clip--Meet Your Meat. That what enough for me and I haven't touched meat since then. Thanks Palooka!! :) I figured that I would try life without meat and I really though it would only be a few days. It's been a couple of months and I can't say that I miss meat that much. The transition was very easy for me and I'm planning to keep this vegetarian lifestyle now.

Thanks and congrats, Cheriede. Great job!

I love your avvey so much. It always puts a smile on my face when I see it.:)