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I Need Your Vegetarian Menu & Your Reasons for Becoming Vegetarian
yamada
Veteran
Let's share your DAILY menu and the reasons that make you become vegetarian!
I find it difficult to be vegetarian. My body feel weak if i only eat vegetables
I find it difficult to be vegetarian. My body feel weak if i only eat vegetables
0
Comments
You may want to consider incorporating a protein supplement, too.
I'm not a vegetarian personally, a life without bacon is no life at all in my view
Most well-balanced meals have a starch, vegetable(s), a protein, and hopefully fruit(s). Vegetarians simply use a non-meat protein.
Common non-meat sources of protein are:
*wheat gluten (seitan, veggieburger, etc.)
*tofu
*beans
*nuts
*seeds
*eggs
*cheese
*milk
*lentils
*yogurt
*whey
*spinach (and other protein-rich veggies)
That's just a start--you can use the above ingredients to prepare delicious, satisfying proteins for your meal. Wheat gluten, especially, can satisfy the "I need something meaty" craving; if you have a wheat allergy, many tofus can do the same.
Here's a fun article and slideshow from HuffPo showing some proteins in order of protein-ness:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/24/vegetarian-protein-sources_n_1539928.html
1. I don't want to kill animals, and feel no need to (since I was raised veggie)
2. I like the taste and texture of non-meat protein better
I respect that most new vegetarians will be dealing with 1) fear of malnutrition and 2) cravings for meat. I have an unfair advantage in both departments, since my upbringing proved to me meat is not necessary for good (great) health, and left me with no meat cravings.
@Sile :
whether a vegetarian might consume eggs and milk? anyone tell me that I should not eat eggs because it just the same as killing embryo and drink milk same as torturing cows.
I really don't like tofu
As for torturing cows, this is not so. They actually need milking!
Also, avoid foods with gelatin - like candy. Gelatin is an animal product, so read your labels.
Serves 8
2 cups red lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons red curry paste
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ginger root, minced
1 (14.25 ounce) can tomato puree
Directions
1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get "scummy"), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary). Takes about 10 minutes.
2. While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in vegetable oil.
3. While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomato puree and reduce heat, allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.
5. When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don't want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.
Nutritional Information (without rice)
Amount Per Serving Calories: 192 | Total Fat: 2.6g | Cholesterol: 0mg
If the eggs aren't fertilized, there's no embryo to kill. It's important to eat healthy eggs, though, from chickens which are fed a proper diet (i.e. flaxseed, instead of corn/soy). And if you can find "kind eggs" (eggs from chickens you know have a good life), so much the better! Several friends I know now have "urban chickens," and the coops are pretty darn luxurious. The chickens seem quite happy. You can tell happy chickens if you watch them for a while - their feathers are dry and fluffy, and they don't behave frantically (most of the time), and they settle into their little nests sort of lazily, instead of running in and out making a lot of noise.
Organic milk, again from cows fed a proper diet (corn is not a proper diet for cows), is a decent way to go.
If you have a co-op nearby, that's usually a great place to start--ask about their sources for eggs and milk.
I'm a telemark skier, expedition kayaker and balance my sedentary sitting times with gym time and have never felt weaker for my vegetarian diet.
I just try to keep variety in my meal choices as others here have mentioned.
Thanks for reminding me about gelatin! I almost forgot.
@Lamaramadindong : ouch,you make me hungry at night! hahaha. It looks really yummyyyy! I can't wait to try it on weekends. :clap: i am waiting for the other yummy menu and if possible, you can share with picture.hehe :crazy:
@Sile : you are so lucky! I took great effort to become vegetarian :rockon:
Most egg farms these days do not house hens and roosters together, so the eggs are not at risk of being fertilized. We buy our eggs at farmer's markets from local people, and find them to be so much better in quality (taste and how they look) than store bought that I can't even buy them from the store anymore. Thank goodness my husband works with one of the people who sells eggs, so we can still get them in winter when there are no markets. On the days I don't eat meat, eggs and a protein shake provide all my protein for a day.
To answer the OP's post, I am not actually 100% vegetarian by any means. One day, I would like to be but for now I'm just trying to learn vegetarian dishes and cooking, and I have 2-3 days a week where I don't eat meat, and figure that in time I'll be able to expand them. I cannot eat too much dairy and very little wheat, so I have to be a little creative. Quinoa is an excellent source of protein, and very versatile. I love to have it as a hot breakfast with some fruit in it. Wild rice is also a decent source of protein and better for your insulin production than white or even brown rice.
Scrambled happy eggs (2)
Veggie sausages (2)
Veggie bacon (2 slices)
Toast
hash brown
Beans
all better for you than eating the "real" thing. I was raised veggie by my parents but chpse to stick to it, and its now a major moral issue for me (but youll be glad to know i dont go preaching...!)
good luck, keep it up :-) x
I don't like eating meat because of the factory farm conditions most animals live in and the environmental effects from raising and feeding so many animals.
Here are a few of my favorite veggie recipies atm.
http://www.everyday-vegetarian-recipes.com/vegetable-tagine.html This one takes a while to prepare and cook but very tasty.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/skillet_gnocchi_with_chard_white_beans.html This is a big comfort food style dish. I add a bit of salt to the dish or else its too bland for me.
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/chilaquiles_casserole.html And this, so easy to make and so delicious, I will also brown some fake chicken and add it for some added texture.
If you can take the time to cook from home there are so many really tasty vegetarian options out there.
The easiest Curry's are where your choice of cooking oil carries the curry flavours.
Currys can be an all day affair but this is a fast, simple, tasty one, that our friends ask for by name and with rice is enough for four with leftovers.
To the largest frying pan you have, add a cup of oil. Yup, I only promise good taste, not personal longevity!
3 cloves of garlic minced so fine it's paste (try crushing it with the sliding flat edge of a large cooking knife on a cutting board and put in the pan.
Sprinkle a 3/4 teaspoon of salt over the garlic and use a spatula to grind together in the pan with oil.
Heat up the oil and then add a teaspoon of dried chilly pepper flakes, coriander, cumin,
Before any of the minced garlic heat discolours to brown (bitters), add 1/2 of a large diced onion and cook.
Separately 3/4 cook (nuke them ) 2 skinned and diced potatoes,
2 handfuls of bite sized cauliflower,
and similar volumes of carrots & broccoli and add to the cooking frying pan.
a large can of washed, precooked and drained chick peas.
The grated skin of 1/2 of a lemon
a large can of diced tomatoes (drained of excess water)
a small can of tomato paste.
3 tablespoons of sour cream
Cook for as long as your 3/4 nuked veg's need to be done.
Total prep and cooking time is 45 minutes when you know what you are doing.
The flavour can be made hotter at this point with a teaspoon of chilly sauce additive or cooler with more sour cream. If the sour base is too dominant add a bit of syrup.
Its a curry that embraces sweet & sour, creamy & tart and tolerates many substitutions once the base is mastered.
Enjoy.
As for my meals, they haven't changed all that much - I just substitute things. There's vegan butter, cream cheese, soy milk - so many options.
Here's a useful forum: http://www.reddit.com/r/veganrecipes/
In order to not feel "weak". Your diet needs to be balanced. It needs fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes. If you eat only vegetables, you are missing 3/4 of a proper diet! Of course, "normal" vegetarian typically also includes dairy and perhaps eggs. "Pure" vegetarian does not.
As for why. It's just the ethical way to live. To live without causing unnecessary suffering or death to other sentient beings. It's a matter of respect for the lives of these other living beings.
On any given day, there are more than 8 million cows on U.S. dairy farms—about 14 million fewer than there were in 1950. Yet milk production has continued to increase, from 116 billion pounds of milk per year in 1950 to 170 billion pounds in 2004. Normally, these animals would produce only enough milk to meet the needs of their calves (around 16 pounds per day), but genetic manipulation, antibiotics, and hormones are used to force each cow to produce more than 18,000 pounds of milk each year (an average of 50 pounds per day).
This could easily be considered torture for a cow.
The same goes with many "free range" eggs, at least in the USA. Europe is quite different than the USA. Many "free range" chickens in the US, actually lead miserable and pathetic lives despite the deliberately disingenuous "free range" label.
Freshly made kale & lime with grapefruit quarters. (1.5 litres) x 2 a day.
A spinach, cucumber, celery, coriander, parsley, lemon juice, ginger, chili pepper, hemp seed, flax seed, spirulina, wheatgrass, and banana smoothie. (3 litres) x 2 a day.
Various seasonal fresh fruits through the day. At the moment I am eating a lot of cherries.
Almonds, dried dates, dried figs to snack on.
... but this is just a sample day, and it can change a lot, with different smoothies and fruits, and sometimes I can't be bothered with the kale juice because it is not so palatable. I experiment a lot with my diet. In January I ate only bananas for the whole month - 30 a day. That was interesting. I also like to fast.
All of this enhances my spiritual practice massively. I could not recommend a raw vegan diet enough. You will gain a clear, focused, concentrated mind, abundant clean energy, heightened inspiration and creativity, emotional stability, a feeling of happiness... and you will look amazing.
I've been vegetarian all my life (45 years) so don't feel cravings for meat. Eating enough protein without too much fat is the biggest problem (nuts etc are very high in both, curries (which I love) are, at least in restaurants, loaded with fat too)
Because I work out at the gym 5 times a week I find I have to use protein supplements in order to maintain and recover - even without gaining extra muscle.
Typical weekday menu - breakfast cornflakes/branflakes or toast, then a protein shake when I get to work, Lunch is two handfulls of mixed nuts and fruit and possibly a wholemeal roll for carbs, during the afternoon I will have a couple of oatmeal biscuits if hungry. Then if a gym day I have another protein shake before my workout. My main evening meal is usually either a quorn burger (grilled) with cous-cous and salad, or a stir-fry with vegetables, tofu, wholegrain rice and a shop bought sauce. Be careful here - a lot of them contain fish or shrimp. I also eat a lot of fresh fruit at various times during the day. At weekends I tend to eat a little less healthily and retain 'treats' for weekends only.
1 tin chick peas
about a pint of spinach leaves
1 jar curry sauce.
Boil it up and eat - takes about ten minutes!
On the flip side, I make frequent fruit smoothies that usually have: kefir, frozen banana, half an apple, strawberries, mixed berries, protein powder, crushed flax seed powder, antioxidant green powder, water...
I eat a lot of fresh stuff too... cucumbers and the like, I like to graze. Hummus is another thing I eat frequently. Salads. Soups very often in the winter. I think I'm pretty uninspired, lol, but I don't mind.
Oh, also, I freakin love the Boca Spicy Chick'n patties, but I try not to eat too much spicy food, haha. But they are delicious on a bagel bun with ranch... for when I'm craving something crappy like fast food, lol.
So I prefer to cook themselves, of course I can only cook with vegetables instead of veggie meat.
You are so lucky, Sallylou! I become want to stay in the UK!
I hope there're many more recipes that can be shared. Particularly the simple recipe. Chinese recipes are so welcomed. I like Chinese food because I am chinese indonesian.hehe. Raw materials Chinese cuisine is also quite easy to find here. I hope you share your favorite recipe, do not tell me to find on the internet, because I do not know which is good . i prefer ur experience.
1. Wash and chop a head of bok choi
2. Heat 3-4 tablespoons peanut oil VERY hot
3. Smash several garlic cloves, once each, with heavy knife handle and add to oil
4. Fry on high heat until garlic starts to brown (and kids are shouting, "Too hot, Dad!!")
5. Ignore children about 30 more seconds, then add bok choi
6. Stir-fry 2 minutes or less
7. Turn off heat, add handful of salt, and pour 1-2 cups cold water over everything
It makes an absolutely fantastic thin, salty, garlicky-oily broth which coats each piece of 'choi...perfection.
I've still never gotten it right, but to this day I keep striving for Dr. Lian's Magical Bok Choi.
LOL! it's really the hallmark of Chinese cooking
Thank Buddha for brands like Quorn, Boca, and Morningstar for making meat substitutes that taste similar to the foods I barely ever get to eat, but love and miss dearly.
I became a vegetarian after reading a talk given by a monk about why he follows the Buddha's feelings on eating meat. I realized that even though I thought I was done with religion, I still was holding onto a bit of Christianity I once had by continuing to eat meat. In that religion we are taught humans are the center of the earth, and we can do whatever we want with the animals. I was eating meat because I disregarded the emotions of other animals due to blind faith. No sentient beings should have to die in order for you to maintain living in this day and age.
I'm not completely vegetarian, as I follow the Buddha's guideline. I only eat meat when it has not been killed for my sake. I can't buy meat, or order something in a restaurant with meat in it, but I can eat it if the family's house I'm at is serving a meat dish. (The meat was never intended to feed me at purchase, but I am there now so they are feeding me)
I maybe eat a dish with meat in it every few months in this scenario.
I miss meat, but I hope I'll never be able to change my mind about being a vegetarian. I try to make the usual dishes that contain meat, but substitute with the mock up meats from the brand I listed above. It definitely helps boost morale.