peacefulveglady
Forum Legend
Welcome i think i remember your name also...I thought your user name seemed familiar. I was on VB also. Welcome to VV!
The introductions thread
- Thread starter Second Summer
- Start date
I remember your name also, but... I'm sorry to say I don't remember your posts... VB is sometimes too big for people to get to know each other individually. My user name is the same both there and here.
AlexBee
Newcomer
Hi! I'm Alex. I've been living an animal-product free lifestyle for over two years now. I'm here to interact with other people who share the same passion for animal welfare as I do. Thanks!
beancounter
The Fire That Burns Within
OP
OP
Glad to have you on board! Well, I already welcomed you with that automated message
Well done keeping off the animal products!
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2012
- Reaction score
- 19,521
- Age
- 65
- Location
- I'm liek, in Cali, dude.
- Lifestyle
- Vegetarian
Hi everyone, thought I'd check out veggie forums online and came across this one. Been following vegan diet for a year now, years before which I was vegetarian for 6 years. Never thought id 'go vegan', but here I am and loving it!
OP
OP
Apparently I'm very excited you're here because I welcomed you twice, lol.
Hi guys I'm woody, 49 year old male from the west midlands uk.
Just a quick introduction to say hi and thank you for allowing me to join this forum.
I'm very new to vegetarianism, in fact only today decided to commit to changing my diet after my conscience has urged me to for quite a while.
So please will you advise on how to get started? What to buy and cook? How to become more healthy?
Kind regards,
Woody
Just a quick introduction to say hi and thank you for allowing me to join this forum.
I'm very new to vegetarianism, in fact only today decided to commit to changing my diet after my conscience has urged me to for quite a while.
So please will you advise on how to get started? What to buy and cook? How to become more healthy?
Kind regards,
Woody
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2012
- Reaction score
- 19,521
- Age
- 65
- Location
- I'm liek, in Cali, dude.
- Lifestyle
- Vegetarian
Welcome to VV and congrats on making the switch! 
One thing you can do is make vegetarian versions of meals you already like. Do you like pasta with meatballs? You can make pasta with a meatless sauce and vegetarian "meat" balls. If you like lasagna, you can make a vegetarian lasagna.
There are a lot of ethnic cuisines that have inherently vegetarian dishes or can be made so. Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican (such as burritos with beans and rice instead of meat). You can use tofu as a meat replacer. I recommend consulting cookbooks for those cuisines for ideas. It would be good if you like beans, since they're an excellent meat replacement, with lots of protein and fiber.
I tend to eat a lot of salads, since I prefer light meals to heavy meals. I love salads because they're a blank canvas: I can throw a lot of different things into a bowl, including different kinds of vegetarian proteins, and mix it up with a special dressing and, along with bread and fruit and sometimes soup, make it a meal. I don't know if you like salads (not everyone does), but if you do, that's an idea right there.
Oh, and yeah, soups. There are a lot of great vegetarian cookbooks out there that can tell you how to make substantial vegetarian soups that can be turned into a meal, along with a salad.
If you don't have a slow cooker/crockpot, you should consider getting one. There are great one-pot vegetarian dishes that can be made in a crockpot, which is a busy person's best friend.
I hope that helps, to start. You might want to start a new thread specifically asking for help so that more people will see it and offer suggestions.
One thing you can do is make vegetarian versions of meals you already like. Do you like pasta with meatballs? You can make pasta with a meatless sauce and vegetarian "meat" balls. If you like lasagna, you can make a vegetarian lasagna.
There are a lot of ethnic cuisines that have inherently vegetarian dishes or can be made so. Chinese, Indian, Italian, Mexican (such as burritos with beans and rice instead of meat). You can use tofu as a meat replacer. I recommend consulting cookbooks for those cuisines for ideas. It would be good if you like beans, since they're an excellent meat replacement, with lots of protein and fiber.
I tend to eat a lot of salads, since I prefer light meals to heavy meals. I love salads because they're a blank canvas: I can throw a lot of different things into a bowl, including different kinds of vegetarian proteins, and mix it up with a special dressing and, along with bread and fruit and sometimes soup, make it a meal. I don't know if you like salads (not everyone does), but if you do, that's an idea right there.
Oh, and yeah, soups. There are a lot of great vegetarian cookbooks out there that can tell you how to make substantial vegetarian soups that can be turned into a meal, along with a salad.
If you don't have a slow cooker/crockpot, you should consider getting one. There are great one-pot vegetarian dishes that can be made in a crockpot, which is a busy person's best friend.
I hope that helps, to start. You might want to start a new thread specifically asking for help so that more people will see it and offer suggestions.
OP
OP
I've already welcomed Woody elsewhere, so won't repeat myself here
If cooking is not your thing, well, you should try to change that. But you may also want to find out what vegetarian heat-and-eat meals your local supermarkets have on offer.
Next, you probably want to re-learn what you know about nutrition. There are good vegetarian sources of protein (tofu, all kinds of beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, seitan, quinoa), and you should make sure to include some of that in your meals. Personally, I quite like the blog posts by Ginny Messina and the website veganhealth.org.
A good first step is probably to find a recipe book with recipes that are to your liking. I would think it should have a good selection of everyday foods with not-too-exotic ingredients. We also have a fair selection of recipes here on VV in the recipe forum.
If cooking is not your thing, well, you should try to change that. But you may also want to find out what vegetarian heat-and-eat meals your local supermarkets have on offer.
Next, you probably want to re-learn what you know about nutrition. There are good vegetarian sources of protein (tofu, all kinds of beans, lentils, chickpeas, peanuts, seitan, quinoa), and you should make sure to include some of that in your meals. Personally, I quite like the blog posts by Ginny Messina and the website veganhealth.org.
Hi Woody! Congratulations! I remember when I Went vegetarian more than 10 years ago. I never regretted it. Now I'm vegan, but that's where it all began!
If I could assist with the benefit of hindsight I'd say the following:
1. replace, dont just remove. So you may feel at a loss without meat as a main component of your meals. Replace it with other hearty foods you like. Buy vegetarian mock meats to help you get over this phase. Try lots of different ones, some are better than others.
2. Explore different ways of cooking. If I had had to steam everything I ate as a vegetarian I wouldnt have lasted very long. Learn to make indian vegetable curries, asian stirfrys and fun meat-free burgers.
3. Find a vegetarian friend to show you the ropes. There is so much to learn. It isn't just removal of meat, it is about nutrition, food preparation, dealing with social situations and more. If not join lots of forums and facebook groups and become part of the veggie community.
4. Take food with you as often as you can. Not being able to eat meat can exclude you from many common choices and might tempt you in the early days - we all get hungry, right. But if you have a little supply of food on, or in your car it is helpful from time to time. I find it handy to keep non-perishables like dates and dried fruit mixes or a few nuts for emergencies in my bag. But in general I try to bring food with me daily if I can.
5. Be very open to try new things. Relying on vegetables like never before you will learn that you can eat things you never dreamed of: radish leaves, celery leaves, soy chunks, vegan fish and more. It's so much fun.
I hope you have a blast.
Best wishes you!!!
Similar threads
Nutrition & Diet
Intermittent Fasting & the Vegan Life
