Getting Help w/ Going Veg?

[Kilik]

Anyone out there have any recommendations for how to go vegetarian? Any great resources on the web?

I feel like I need something that will guide me through *exactly* what I should eat each day in order for me to be successful (recipes, etc.). I think the structure is key for getting my momentum going.

-Thx

[NotesMaeve]

Veggie Boards has been a great resource for me. Overall, going vegetarian is not very hard, especially if you keep dairy and eggs in your diet. Of course, there are animal based products in random stuff like marshmallows, vegetable soups, some candies, and some of the most random things on the planet, but you get used to label reading.

Luckily, eating is the easy part! You have a wide variety of food available to you! Do you like to cook?

[Erin Pavlina]

Try the book Becoming Vegetarian. Written by nutritionists, it lists what you need nutritionally and also has a food plan in there with recipes (double check me on that though). I know the authors and they are experts on vegetarian and vegan nutrition and eating.

[joylangtry]

Hi Kilik,

I am now at about 1 month since going Vegan, and I used the eating program recommended in the book, "Eat to Live", by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. This is a "diet book", and my motivation was to improve my health after reading "The China Study". While a plant-based diet is recommended and provided, there are also omni variations in the book as well (separated so they can be ignored).

FWIW, I skipped the ovo-lacto-veg stage and went straight to Vegan, and since I have nothing to compare it to in my personal experience, I can't say if it would be easier or harder that way. I do know that it took me about 7 - 10 days to get to the point that I stopped missing that meaty feeling of fullness. Afterward, the only way I could describe it was feeling "light & fluffy". It is wonderful. The energy increase I feel is remarkable. I never want to go back.

I realize that this is more than you asked, but not knowing your motivation or circumstances, I hope this is helpful - if not to you, to someone else. After reading the books mentioned above, I then read "The Food Revolution" by John Robbins. I'm now more convinced than ever that this is critically important information.

For online resources, I like the veganforum. I also like VRG - the Vegetarian Resource Group, which links to much more great info. Now I'm spending a lot more time chopping and shopping than reading!

Best of success to you!
Joy

[bdp]

I don't know how to become a vegetarian, but I know how to become a vegan.

Here are some resources that were helpful to me:

How to Become a Vegetarian, the Easy Way | zen habits
http://www.petaliterature.com/VEG297.pdf (pdf)
PCRM >> Health >> Vegetarian Starter Kit
http://www.veggie123.com/veggie/readourebook/
How can you start?

"Becoming Vegetarian" is a decent place to start if your library has it, but I wouldn't bother buying it.

The first thing that my wife and I did was take our regular meals and just cut out the animal products. One example is spaghetti. Spaghetti sauce with meatballs became plain spaghetti sauce, with no cheese. Later we started putting things in the sauce to make it interesting (and more healthy): broccoli, spinach, beans, zucchini, etc.

Of course, there are also a bazillion vegan recipes on the web.
vegan recipes - Google Search

[Fortune]

Keep in mind that just going vegetarian or vegan doesn't mean that you'll automatically eat healthier (if that's why you're doing this). It's still very easy to become a junk food vegan. Eat as many raw veggies as possible!

[Uplift]

My advice would be to pay attention to B12, and essential fatty acids, and complete essential proteins. All are essential for humans, and need to be derived from outside the body. Hemp seed oil is one of the most complete fats, some say even better than animal sources. Care with proteins can provide them also. B12 that can be assimilated is much trickier. I use dairy, so others would know more about vegetarian sources of B12 than me.