Are you a vegetarian?

I have some questions for you veggie's...   (if you feel like answering!)

How long have you been a veggie?
Why are you a veggie?
What do you mostly eat for protein?

Why do I ask?  I have been thinking about this for a while now.  I only eat chicken, ground lowfat turkey, and fish.  But my body isn't overly thrilled about digesting any of it (except fish).  In two weeks I will be doing a detox (The Master Cleanse) for ten days.  I did this last spring and was well impressed with the results.  This time around, as I come off the cleanse, I want to cut out all meat.

I already eat a lot of fruit & veg and buy many Quorn products instead of meat.  But I'm curious how easy or hard is it for you to be a veggie.  Like eating at someone else's house for dinner, or dining out.   

Any input/advice is very welcomed! 

I hope you don't mind my answering, Jenn, since I'm in the US.

I'm a vegetarian and nearly vegan (I already stopped drinking dairy milk, and because I cook so much for myself and have gotten out of the habit of using dairy, eggs, etc.) I've been this way for about a year - though fish was definitely the last meat to go from my diet since my whole reason for vegetarianism is that I just didn't find meat that appealing and fish was the one meat I could stomach. I was vegetarian for about a year and a half when I was  younger but it just wasn't a sustainable thing for me at that time.

Eating dinner with others who are omnivores, they either prepare something suitable for me to eat or I bring something of my own. Now, granted, I'm not talking fancy dinner parties here, just mainly family-style meals where it's not such a big deal if I provide for myself. There's nothing wrong, when invited for dinner, finding a polite way to mention your dietary needs. Vegetarianism isn't so uncommon any more so I feel like it's not such a shock for people to find out that that's how you eat.

I don't know what part of the UK you're in but it's been my understanding that things are pretty good for vegetarians in some areas of the country, as far as dining out and grocery shopping go.

Protein, I don't so much worry about because I know if I'm eating a diverse amount of foods, the protein will be taken care of. I like to make baked tofu dishes, I prepare my own seitan (wheat meat), eat lots of peanut butter and some other "mock meats." From what I've read of your food-related posts, you seem to already be into eating in a healthy manner (not that all vegetarians/vegans DO eat in a healthy manner) so I don't think the transition to veggie would be a big upset for you. You would just learn to plan your meals differently and soon it would just become habit.

If you have trouble with finding foods you like to prepare, I would recommend sites such as Bryanna Clark Grogan's (you should see her Thanksgiving and holiday dinners!) and VegWeb (great because their are user reviews of a lot of the recipes.)

Lots of luck if you decide that vegetarianism really is for you!

How long has you been a veggie?
I've been a vegetarian for over six years.  There was a time, recently, that I ate meat, but stopped as I felt crappy about it.

Why are you a veggie?
Although I love the taste of meat, I hate the thought of killing an animal to eat it.

What do you mostly eat for protein?
Legumes, vegetables, etc..  

Its quite easy to be vegetarian in the UK, as everything is labeled V if its vegetarian.  

I started down the road to veggiedom at Uni since I went to a Seventh Day Adventist school, and they are primarily vegetarian. I was an omnivore prior. I started eating a lot less red meat and cooking 2-3 veggie main meals/week. I lost weight and felt better, and my decisions were health based. I was only eating poultry and seafood for a while.

Eventually I went completely veg, but still eating dairy. At some point the ethical considerations came into play like sustainability, and the US meat industry. I tried going vegan once but lasted only 4 days. I hated spending so much time figuring out if I was *allowed* to eat something. I give vegans a lot of credit for maintaining that!

Now, I am back to eating seafood on the rare occasion, as it makes life a bit easier. I try to choose fish/seafood that is on the Monterey Bay Aquariums "safe" list when I do eat it. Otherwise, all of my protein comes from dairy, legumes, quorn, tofu, etc.

I didn't think it was hard to be a veg at home, though I did live in liberal CA  , and it's certainly not hard here. If I am faced with a situation where someone has cooked something just for me w/o knowing I am veg, I will eat some just to respect their time/effort. Likewise I will eat turkey when my mom does Thanksgiving. I will also splurge on an In-N-Out cheeseburger once every few years. 

For me the overall choice is about how to live as in harmony with my world as I can without going too far to any one extreme.

I'm a quasi-vegetarian. Is it OK if I answer? I only eat fish and poultry -- no red meat (i.e., anything four-legged).

I stopped eating red meat 30 years ago. I went on a silly diet at age 13 for three months which involved eliminating red meat. I was going to reward myself at the end of the three months with a big steak dinner. But when it was put in front of me, I couldn't face it. The smell ... everything about it was so repulsive to me, and that has never changed.

I'm a quasi-veggie because I can't stand the taste, smell, texture, etc. of red meat.

I still eat fish and chicken and love legumes, so get plenty of protein.

For me, products like Quorn aren't an option because they're too much like meat in texture. They're perfect for people who choose not to eat meat, but kind of miss it. But for someone like me, who can't stand meat, they don't really work.

I'm sure there are some real vegetarians here who can answer your questions better than I can!

I'm a part-time vegetarian.  I sometimes eat meat, but often dont.  We use beans, tofu, Quorn, Boca products and Morningstar Farms products for protein.  My daughter is strictly vegetarian, but I eat meat, poutry and seafood on occasion.  I sometimes buy or prepare marinades for the Quorn cutlets to give my daughter a bit of variety with them. 

All Recipes (wwwlallrecipes.com) has a vegetarian section for recipes and I found a few on Lidia's Italy (www.lidiasitaly.com) recently.

My daughter is a vegetarian because she doesn't want animals killed for her meals.  I started eating more veggie foods because it's easier to prepare 1 meal instead of 2 different ones.  If I eat meat, it's usually away from home.     

I'm an ovo-lacto vegetarian - I eat dairy and eggs on occasion, but no fish, poultry, pork, beef, etc.  Anything with a face - I won't eat it. 

I've been veg for the past 4 years or so, basically since DH and I got together.  He's been veg all his life.  It was a relatively easy decision, although coming from the stockyards of Chicago, I do miss my steak quite a bit.

I use a ton of beans for protein, as well as eggs and tofu.  I haven't found it hard to be a vegetarian here, although you will find the odd place that only has one veg dish.  I often get shafted at Christmas lunch/dinner, or at pubs.  But hey, I really can't complain!

I became vegetarian in 1988 mainly for ethical reasons.  I started eating fish again after about a year because I was travelling in New Zealand which is not a very vege friendly place.  Because I eat fish I've never had much of a problem dining out at restaurants or friends houses etc, but I guess that is kind of "cheating."  I don't always tell people I eat fish because if they know I do that is invariably what I get offered, as if it is the ONLY thing I eat.  I don't eat any other animal products, ie avoid gelatine, cochineal etc but I do eat dairy produce & eggs.

At the time I became vegetarian a lot of my friends were doing it too but now I think I am the only one that still is.  My one remaining veggie friend just started eating meat again a few months ago because of a health problem (that and because she just fancied some Peking duck!).

I eat some meat substitute products eg quorn pieces/mince, vege sausages, vege burgers etc but also get protein from beans, lentils and tofu.  The main thing when you become veggie is you have to learn a whole new way of cooking, other than the meat & veg idea.  I eat a lot of pasta and rice dishes, various kinds of veggie bakes and potato top pies.

My daughter has been a vegetarian for nearly 2 years now. She wont eat anything that has caused an animal to be killed. She does have milk, eggs and vegetarian cheese.

She gets her protein from egg and cheese. Going out to eat isn't a problem, especially in the UK. It hasn't been too difficult to adjust our meals at home to fit her. We usually have our sides with quorn product for her...or she has pasta or something. If we are eating out at someone's home I usually offer to bring along a vegetarian dish.

I've been a pseudo-vegetarian since 1983.  That's when I gave up red meat.  It's more a consistency and taste than it is an ethical issue.  I've always hated the taste of it.  Red meat was never a big part of our diets growing up.  My mother was a bit of a hippie and we ate mostly all natural foods and lots of fish.  When I went to Univ, that's when I made the official decision to never eat meat again.  I had to take a lot of food courses and study the processing of meat and they have scarred me for life.

I do eat dairy, mostly cheese, and fish.  Although there are certrain fish I avoid, swordfish for one and for some reason I can only eat salmon when I'm in the UK.  It just tastes better.  I also don't eat anything with gelatin.  I avoid most processed foods.  My diet mainly consists of legumes for protein.  I do buy Quorn products for when I am in a pinch for time and need to make something quick, but mostly I eat lots and lots of tofu.  I find it very versatile and can add it to almost anything. Pasta, rice, veggies.  I'm never bored with my meals.

Eating out - Most of my friends know I'm a veggie, since I have been for so long.  If it's a new friend, I usually mention it to them since I wouldn't want to make anyone uncomfortable.  If I'm going to a larger dinner party at a friend's house, I eat some protein before I go, just in case all I can eat there are carbs.  I've never had a problem finding places to eat in the UK.  I've been able to find lots of stuff at the markets and since I do eat fish, eating out is a little easier.

Funny story....Meeting BF parents for the first time.  His mother prepares a very nice luncheon because it was a BIG family get together.  Lovely lamb stew.  I'm seated next to her at the table and she notices that I have only placed salad & bread on my plate.  She says..."Rameka, are you a vegetarian?!"  Me - "Yes, I'm sorry, it does look lovely."  I'm SO embarrassed because I feel like I've offended her.  She then calls down the table to BF and he looks at my plate before answering her and says "Mother, there is something I've forgotten to tell you."  She grabbed my hand and said "Yes, dear.  We've already discussed it but now it looks like I'm starving the girl."   

I like Mekaw am a pseudo-vegetarian, I don't eat red meat. I haven't for 4 years, I went full vegetarian for 9 months then craved fish for like 2 months and finally gave in. Then that led to eating chicken and sometimes pork. I don't care for pork all that much.

When I was vegetarian I mainly got my protein from beans and also took vitamins. I took B12 complex which makes your pee so yellow you think you're peeing mountain dew haha. I also basically lived off Morningstar Farms fake foods. I loved them! My first thankgiving as a vegetarian was so difficult as turkey and cranberry sauce is my 2 favorite things and I ended up eating a Chik Patty inplace of the turkey...Not the same! 

mekaw that story reminds me of the first time I met Adam's family. His mum bought mostly red meat because she figured Americans like burgers and steak her freezer was packed full of it! I felt so bad telling her as Adam also forgot to mention it. Needless to say she went out the next morning and got me lots of veg and chicken 


I think eating at other peoples house was the most difficult part especially if it was a BBQ. People forget with the crazyness of their planning that they have a veg coming to their party and don't plan for it. I found myself eating sides at BBQ's...I still do now as I don't eat red meat and everyone makes burgers and hotdogs. I love turkey burgers and turkey dogs but if I want that I ususally have to bring it myself.

Hey Jenn - what is the master cleanse?

Hey Jenn - what is the master cleanse?

Hey UberYank you're going to Chicago for Christmas??  ARRRRGGGHHH SO JEALOUS OF YOU!

Oh and Jenn - more details about master cleanse - what were the results when you did it last time?

Nope, going for Thanksgiving

I've been a vegetarian for several years now.  The state of US slaughterhouses really really disgusts me.  I ate kosher meat for awhile, because that tends to be the cleanest...but eventually it was just too expensive where I lived and I was a poor college student. So, I gave up meat and became a vegetarian.  Now that cost isn't really an issue...I'm a vegetarian because I genuinely feel healthier not eating meat.

I get most of my protein from things like lentils, nuts, beans, and occasionally soy.  I found it was REALLY easy to eat out in the UK being a vegetarian (well, at least where I was, in the midlands)...especially since vegetarian dishes are usually marked with a (v) on the menu.  Much easier than where I live in the US.

...is it just me who doesn't understand the terms "quasi," "pseudo," and "semi" vegetarian?  I mean, either you eat meat or you don't...