# Going vegetarian



## Flea (May 13, 2009)

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Yesterday I went to see a local variation of this:

http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/bodies.html

It was marvelous, but had the unfortunate side effect of making me lose my lunch. I came home and pulled out a pork chop for lunch ... _no._  All my meat has gone into the freezer until further notice.

I was vegetarian for 4 years, but that was a long time ago.  Now I'm racking my brains.  What the heck did I eat back then?  My body is craving the protein and texture of meat, but I just can't face it right now.  It's bad enough that I don't even want to open the freezer and see it in there.  I think that before I relied on beans and rice pretty heavily, and cheese.  But it's been a long time.

A little help here?  I suspect this may be a while.
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## girlbug2 (May 13, 2009)

You're going vegetarian because you feel nauseated, right?

Well I suppose there's no point in trying to force yourself to eat something that won't stay down .

I've flirted with vegetarianism briefly back in my college years...it didn't take...but looking back, that may have been at least partially due to the fact that not only did I have very little protein in that diet, but I was also trying to do it low fat. I was (literally) starving _all the time_!! Do yourself a favor and dont' do the low fat thing, use plenty of the good extra virgin olive oil and extra virgin coconut oil, eat lots of avocados.

As for me, well, I'm glad I have a cast iron stomach.


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## JadecloudAlchemist (May 13, 2009)

I was vegetarian for about 10yrs and recently started to eat fish at the recommendation of  2 Acupuncturist,A Gastrologist,and a family doctor. I may go back to being Vegetarian but I like the benefits fish gives.

Getting Protein is not difficult it comes in Dairy,Nuts,Beans,dietary supplements and so on.

Look at Cottege cheese,Milk,Yogurt great sources of protein.
Nuts have good fats and good source of protein.
Beans are excellent B vitamins,Fiber and protein.

The market now has Soy burgers,Soy dogs and all sorts of meats made out of Soy.


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## Flea (May 13, 2009)

Thanks hon.

I had tried and failed to go veggie several times over the years.  The problem was that I made it a question of willpower when I didn't actually want to do it.  Once I finally made the jump it was simply a matter of personal preference.  I don't know why, but meat simply stopped tasting good to me.  It lasted for 4 years until I went through an extremely stressful time when _something_ had to give.

I guess yesterday it gave back.  I feel no pressure about eating meat either way, but I suspect that this may last a while (call it a gut feeling?)  Last time I was pretty laissez faire about my diet - as long as I combined X, Y, and Z into a complete protein with a 24-hour period I was happy.  No organics, very little in the way of designer foods.  (Yves fake pepperoni was _divine_ though.)  

I just need to remember my former "outside the box" palate.  Thankfully I still have most of my old vegetarian cookbooks.  I've felt this coming on for a while anyway.  So be it.


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## jarrod (May 14, 2009)

i was vegetarian for six years & vegan for two or three.  let me tell you nobody, i mean nobody enjoys barbecue ribs like an ex-vegan.  

anyway, i ate a lot of protein enriched pasta with vegetables & a sauce made from nutritional yeast & imitation butter. 

i also ate rice & vegetables, & quite a few fake meats.  

jf


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## Flea (May 14, 2009)

This reminds me of a funny moment from my former veggie days ... At the time I had a roommate who was a total Good Ole Boy.  His parents came by for a visit while I was cooking dinner, and asked me what I was making.  A stir-fry.  Oh, what kind of stir-fry?  Tofu.

I was met with this shocked silence, which I ignored because I didn't know what to make of their reaction.

The conversation shifted to other things, and finally they left.  On the way out the door, his mother waved - "Have fun with your toe food!"


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## JadecloudAlchemist (May 14, 2009)

I gave up meat in steps pork-beef-chicken-fish. That way I had something to fall back on. I think being vegetarian should be nautral and not a fight. I was vegan for 3 months(evil girlfriend gave me cheese) I found being vegan to be easy however so many products have dairy in them.

Now a days I let me food by my medicine and my medicine be my food.

I had a friend who became vegetarian but he does not like veggies.


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## Xue Sheng (May 14, 2009)

Flea said:


> This reminds me of a funny moment from my former veggie days ... At the time I had a roommate who was a total Good Ole Boy. His parents came by for a visit while I was cooking dinner, and asked me what I was making. A stir-fry. Oh, what kind of stir-fry? Tofu.
> 
> I was met with this shocked silence, which I ignored because I didn't know what to make of their reaction.
> 
> The conversation shifted to other things, and finally they left. On the way out the door, his mother waved - "Have fun with your toe food!"


 
My mother-in-law is Chinese and a long time Vegetarian (also Buddhist). She does all sorts of stuff with Tofu and she also eats eggs. And then there are various types of Chinese noodles and soup and she makes rather delicious vegetarian dumplings (with Tofu and a bit of egg and a lot of vegetables). She also seems to like peanut butter, but it is only a substitute for sesame butter that she can't get in the US.


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## Live True (May 14, 2009)

Flea, 
I try to do at least one veggie only meal a week for the family, and my hubby is a old fashioned kinda eater.  If you want the similar meatiness with out the visuals...I'd suggest something like marinated portabello mushroom sandwiches or Eggplant (pastichio being a fav).  I'm also a big lover of avocados and black beans, but that's personal taste.

I had bought a couple of vegetarian cookbooks to find new ways to add veggies to our meals, but all the dishes were relatively high in fat. Then it dawned on me (duh-huh) that if you cut meats out of your diet, then you elminate the highest sourse of fats...ah well!

Good luck!


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## jarrod (May 14, 2009)

tofu is really tasty if it's prepared right.  i still get a plate of tofu stir fry when i go to the mongolian barbecue after training.  

jf


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## arnisador (May 14, 2009)

I like the Mongolian barbecue, but I like it for beef!


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## Xue Sheng (May 14, 2009)

http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/YogaPlus/Article.aspx?id=3348

http://www.himalayaninstitute.org/YogaPlus/Article.aspx?id=3382


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## Flea (May 15, 2009)

Thanks, Xue!  Another friend sent me this too:

http://www.fatfreevegan.com/


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## Kembudo-Kai Kempoka (May 15, 2009)

Flea said:


> [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Yesterday I went to see a local variation of this:[/FONT]
> 
> [FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]http://www.bodiestheexhibition.com/bodies.html[/FONT]
> 
> ...


 
I can't help you. I eat vegetarians, gladly.


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## Lynne (May 26, 2009)

I've seen some videos that showcased the horrors of the farming industry in this country. These truths would probably be enough to make a lot of people at least try a vegan diet for awhile.   At times, I tried veganism for ethical as well as health reasons.  I don't even like meat that much.  I'd prefer a vegan diet.

A high starch diet, even one based on legumes and whole grains, causes me to have reactive hypolgycemia.  I also gain weight on this kind of diet, even if the calories are lower than an omnivorous diet.

I'd like to try it again sometime.  I admit the gas was a drawback though!  I read that some vegans are completely gas-free bean eaters.  Not sure I believe that.  I really don't want to go to martial arts class with a lot of gas.  It could be interesting during leg lifts.


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## Flea (May 26, 2009)

Yeah, in my class we joke about Halitosis Strikes.  

I had a surreal moment last week at Whole Foods; I'd spent a couple days at a conference on advocating for people with psychiatric disabilities.  The speaker began with a long history of mental health care starting with the shackles and nudity at Bedlam, up to the present day where some things have never changed in many parts of the world.  

On my way home at the end of the day I stopped in and asked the clerk about some good fake meat options to get me over the hump and we got to talking about reasons for going veg.  He had watched a documentary - maybe that same one? - and he spoke very earnestly about how chickens deserve a life of dignity and meaning.

Right, I thought.  _Chickens._  I didn't say anything because he had no way of knowing where I'd spent my day, but it definitely gave my day's work a different sense of relevance.


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## Monroe (Sep 28, 2011)

Resurrecting! 

Is Flea still Vegetarian? 

I have Malabsorption Syndrome. My Dr has me off meats and on a low fat diet. I was losing weight, tired, nausea, stomach pains and constant diarhea.  My weight has stabilized, I have energy, and no diarhea. And for bonus points, no more pica! Smaller meals, more often. 

I haven't really had a hard time switching to vegetarian because I was physically ill. I'm just grateful that this was solved without having to permanently use medication. I just have to make sure I get enough iron in my diet. I'm still eating fish sometimes, but I don't seem to have as much trouble digesting it. Usually, when I screw up, it's because I had too much fat in my diet. That's harder to cut back on. 

Any other vegetarians on here?


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## Sukerkin (Sep 28, 2011)

I was vegetarian for quite a few years when I was younger.  You had to work a little harder to build meals so it wasn't dull in an epicurean sense but I've never been fitter or more healthy.  

I would imagine that it is far easier these days to have a varied and tasty vegetarian diet ... given my ever expanding girth (and too much meat as my missus believes dinner isn't dinner without it) maybe it's time to give it another run?


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## Monroe (Sep 28, 2011)

Well Sukerkin, I don't know how hard it used to be going veggie. But it hasn't been a real hardship here. We have fish about once a week. I mostly make casseroles, falafel's in pita's, spagetti bolognaise, curries, red onions and apples, veggie burgers, pasta salads, stews, stuffed peppers and a lot of the same things we ate before. Only, I substitute lentils, beans, tofu and quinoa for meat. 

Besides, with so many free recipes online, there are plenty of ideas.


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