Vegetarians do not live on salads alone!

[Nancy]

DH & youngest DD are vegetarian and i find it easy to feed them...quorn in casseroles, veggie mince for spaghetti bolognais, chilli, lasagne,...Quorn burgers, sausages, veg stir frys,the list is endless...lots of veg to accompany their meals too, in fact me & eldest DD are begining to favour the veggie option more too...May i add we have both felt healthier also due to my lack of time(laziness ),,, preparing a vegetarian option & meat option...

My Dd loves the Quorn products! She eats the hot dogs, cheicken tenders and nuggets. I use their crumblers when I make tacos for her. Oldest is almost 17...when she was 6 or 7 she decided she couldn't eat red meay anymore, but she still ate turkey and chicken. About 1 1/2 years ago now she decided she couldn't eat those anymore so I looked into a lot of food options for her. She likes to try many different foods (she's way braver then me!). When I cook she eats the same of us except for the meat. I just make sure that if it's a sauce based dish that I keep the sauce on the side and use it with her "fake" meat. When I make something like a tuna salad in the summer I make her a salad with raw veggies in it instead. Funny thing is the only thing she misses is real bacon!

When we were in WDW last May she pretty much lived on salads and breakfast foods. french fries too.

 

[Sandy22]

About losing weight on a vegetarian diet...it didn't happen for me. But I know why, I eat way too many carbs: pasta, bread, rice. And I eat cheese. Too much cheese. It doesn't matter if you consume meat calories or vegetarian calories, if you consume more than you burn, you'll gain weight. It doesn't bother me, I don't eat this way for health reasons, I just find it disgusting to eat something that was once alive. I mean what's the difference between chewing a cow rib or chewing on my dog's rib? I actually have a real hard time watching someone eat meat with the bone still attached. It's repulsive.

I eat dairy products but no eggs. I would much prefer to buy my dairy products from a farmer that treats the animals well but that's not an option here. I also eat a lot of ethnic food...especially Indian. Their spices are so flavorful. I eat fish but it bothers me. If I had more time to prepare foods, I would cut fish out as well.

My DS12 chooses to eat meat - mostly chicken. Though I won't touch raw meat or prepare it...I open the box, slap it on baking sheet, 35 minutes later, voila..chicken breast. But most days he'll eat a vegetarian meal.

 

[sha_lyn]

First of all, I live in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, so please send your pie there. Tanks.

LOL... we will be in St Claire Shores May 23-28 visiting FIL for his 80 Bday.


I love the quorn products.

As for weight/health it really depends on what the person is eating. I know a couple of Veg that eat a lot of processed junk foods. One is having bypass surgery this week. He eats a lot of the canned soy meat substitutes and imitation luncheon meats. They are full of sodium.

We try to eat preservative free artificial ingredient free and organic so we tend to eat a lot of Veg prepared foods (most organic prepared foods are vegetarian).
Amy's organics makes really good vegetarian pizza, enchiladas and lasagna.
I recently saw a recipe for a nut loaf (in place of a meat loaf basically) that I dying to make for the next pot luck with my vegetarian friends.

 

[LadyBears]

First, I want to say thanks to SweetAngel for asking a lot of questions that I would have asked. I too am curious because I recently discovered that our grocery store has a whole aisle dedicated to organic & vegetarian products! I couldn't tell you a brand name if my life depended on it, but that is besides the point. Honestly - I have never really thought about where food came from (except for hot dogs, LOL!) - if it tastes good, I'll eat it. I love to try new things so I tried some of the items & I have to say that I have liked every thing I tried......

Anyway - can I ask some questions, too? If I phrased something wrong, please take it as I phrased it wrong & not that I am trying to offend anyone.

What is this Quorn that has been mentioned several times???

Some of you mentioned that your kids chose this for themselves. My DD is 5 & I can't imagine her telling me she wants to be a vegetarian. How does a young child know enough about this lifestyle to know that is what they want for themselves? I would think (ok, I know) if my DD said something about not eating something, my first thought would be she is being fussy. . How did you/they know just how serious they were about it?? I can see a teenager making this decision, but a 5 or 6 y/o? Was there any prior influence on the child from the parent? If your child is one & you are not, did it take a long time for you to adjust to the new ingredients & cooking??

Is there calcium in soy milk? If not, how do you supplement - with vitamin pills? or do you get it in other products? What does soy taste like??

Is it hard to get used to the taste of things like veggieburgers vs a hamburger ( a real one, not a fast food restaurant one).

For those that converted to vegetarian, vegan, etc... Do you ever miss not eating an item?? (ex: I live in New England - seafood is a given staple here. I would think that for me to give up lobster, crabs, shrimp, clam chowder, etc. it would be just like a smoker trying to quit.....) How did you get over it?

It is one thing to eat one meal this way, but to eat a lifetime this way - does your body have to get used to it?? (kind of like when you first start the Atkins diet). Is this lifestyle something that people do "cold turkey" or do you work your way to it?

Do vegetarians only eat organic??

Are things like cooking sprays allowed??

Are there any plants, grains or veggies that are off limits?

I am sure there are more questions, I just can't think right now....

 

[shortbun]

Since he was 7 and realized where "ribs" came from my son had been rejecting meat.
He asked about everything I served, "Is this from an animal?" and mostly rejected it.
A few weeks after his 9th birthday he announced, "I'm not going to eat meat anymore, I don't want animals to die to feed me." As I knew it was a long process for him, I completely honor his decision. Yes, soymilk has calcium-he gets a supplement anyway, always has. He takes a multi with iron and zinc too. Soymilks vary in taste, we LOVE the Trader Joes chocolate in a carton! DS likes Boca burgers, some grocery store meat subs(Gimme Lean sausage flavored) and Burger King's veggie burger. He eats loads of beans and nuts. He's not a vegan; heats animals products like eggs and some cheeses(rennet free). We have always tried to make as many of our foods as possible organic- his baby food was always organic, but it's more expensive and sometimes what you want is not available so we sometimes get the pesticide stuff. I have a veggie wash I use and things like strawberries and peppers that absorb so much of the stuff are a rare treat if not organic. As for the craving...DS craves chicken noodle soup, LOL! He's actually had it twice in a year; his choice. He's only 9 after all!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Shortbun, how great that you are so supportive of your son's decision! He may or may not continue to be vegetarian, but regardless, he knows that you support him and whatever he decides to believe, which says a lot about your relationship with him. Kudos to you!

T&B

 

[Tigger&Belle]

LadyBears, wow, lots of good questions! I'll take a stab at a few of them (pun intended... ).

I remember being young and expressing an interest to not eat certain meat items because of what I knew they were. My mother didn't listen to those desires, however. If she had of I could imagine being a kid who gave up a lot of meat. My youngest is 5yo and is obviously vegie. He asks a lot of questions about meat--what is pepperoni made from? sausage? hot dogs?, etc He probably knows more than most meat eating kids. He also quizes me about what vegie food different restaurants have. He's very curious about everything and is a storehouse of information, so none of this is surprising. Of course if we weren't vegie who knows if he'd be asking about it.

I didn't have a problem getting used to vegie burgers and now can't eat the fake meat products. IE, for burgers I go for the grain type burgers such as Garden Burgers, over the soy meat-like products, such as Boca Burgers. That's just me, though. I know my DH likes Boca and he's been a vegie for longer than me.

When I met him I was just out of high school and he was a college student. He was the first vegetarian I knew and I was shocked at the whole idea. After we were dating I told him that I could never be vegetarian because I couldn't give up steak. Ended up I gave that up without a problem and all these years later (known him for almost 26 years and our 23rd anniv is in August) he still teases me about steak. I loved crab and did continue to eat it for longer, but don't eat it now. Crab was really the only sacrifice, and nobody holds a gun to my head and tells me I can't have it. Maybe in the future I will eat it (I doubt it, but learned to never say never).

I do eat eggs and dairy and I do not just eat organic. I can't think of any plants and grains that are off limit. Cooking sprays are fine.

I haven't had much soy milk. I'll have to try the Trader Joes variety the next time I'm there.

T&B

 

[Nancy]

First, I want to say thanks to SweetAngel for asking a lot of questions that I would have asked. I too am curious because I recently discovered that our grocery store has a whole aisle dedicated to organic & vegetarian products! I couldn't tell you a brand name if my life depended on it, but that is besides the point. Honestly - I have never really thought about where food came from (except for hot dogs, LOL!) - if it tastes good, I'll eat it. I love to try new things so I tried some of the items & I have to say that I have liked every thing I tried......

Anyway - can I ask some questions, too? If I phrased something wrong, please take it as I phrased it wrong & not that I am trying to offend anyone.

What is this Quorn that has been mentioned several times???

Some of you mentioned that your kids chose this for themselves. My DD is 5 & I can't imagine her telling me she wants to be a vegetarian. How does a young child know enough about this lifestyle to know that is what they want for themselves? I would think (ok, I know) if my DD said something about not eating something, my first thought would be she is being fussy. . How did you/they know just how serious they were about it?? I can see a teenager making this decision, but a 5 or 6 y/o? Was there any prior influence on the child from the parent? If your child is one & you are not, did it take a long time for you to adjust to the new ingredients & cooking??

Is there calcium in soy milk? If not, how do you supplement - with vitamin pills? or do you get it in other products? What does soy taste like??

Is it hard to get used to the taste of things like veggieburgers vs a hamburger ( a real one, not a fast food restaurant one).

For those that converted to vegetarian, vegan, etc... Do you ever miss not eating an item?? (ex: I live in New England - seafood is a given staple here. I would think that for me to give up lobster, crabs, shrimp, clam chowder, etc. it would be just like a smoker trying to quit.....) How did you get over it?

It is one thing to eat one meal this way, but to eat a lifetime this way - does your body have to get used to it?? (kind of like when you first start the Atkins diet). Is this lifestyle something that people do "cold turkey" or do you work your way to it?

Do vegetarians only eat organic??

Are things like cooking sprays allowed??

Are there any plants, grains or veggies that are off limits?

I am sure there are more questions, I just can't think right now....

First Quorn is the brand name of frozen food that is non-meat. they make Riblets, crumblers, chicken, hot dogs and so on. I believe it is mostly wheat based. My DD loves them. they are expensive but she is the only one that eats that way so it's not too bad.

My DD at 6 or 7 saw a documentary on TV about how they slaughter cows. She just refused to eat anything that came from cows, enen though up until then she loved burgers and steak. She had no problem with the other meats. Little by little she fazed out pork (except for bacon) and when she hit 15 decided no more meat. She still eats cheeses and eggs...but she eats lots of rice, beans and pasta, and veggies. She also eats tofu based meals. Cooking wasn't much different when she was younger, we never ate much red meat anyhow, but since she gave up other things it gets challenging sometimes. Like when I make beef stroganoff, I have to keep a portion of the sauce off to the side and she eats it over pasta...I know it looses alot of the taste but she doesn't seem to mind. Same thing with chicken alfredo, I keep some sauce on the side and she puts it over her "chicken" with pasta. If we have hot dogs she makes up her own. If we have burgers we throw on a Boca burger for her. So it is possible for a child to make that decision...I can tell you that the rest of the family are meat loving people. BUT I respect her decisions and give her lots of credit for sticking to them. I never thought she would actually do it...my thoughts were "oh this will last few weeks" It's been about 1 1/2 years now, and I don't see it changing for her, ever.


edited to add...the only thing she says she misses is "real" bacon. She eats the fake stuff and it's just not the same for her.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

edited to add...the only thing she says she misses is "real" bacon. She eats the fake stuff and it's just not the same for her.

Yeah, there isn't a good substitute for bacon. What I use for "BLT" sandwiches is cooked provolone cheese. I preheat a dry griddle on med/med high heat. I then put a slice of prov cheese on the hot griddle and heat it on one side until it is bubbly and light brown. I take it off the heat for a minute and when it's cooled a little I flip it and cook it a little on the other side. Put it on a paper towel and on to the next piece... Don't overcook as it will continue to cook while it's cooling for the minute--just play around and figure out how you like it. Obviously this doesn't work for vegans, but for those who eat cheese it's tasty and smells good while cooking (ok, it's not bacon, but it works on a sandwich and is good hot, too).

T&B

 

[sha_lyn]

I believe the main ingredient in Quorn is a fungi, similar to mushrooms.

 

[jacksonsmom]

How did you/they know just how serious they were about it?? I can see a teenager making this decision, but a 5 or 6 y/o? Was there any prior influence on the child from the parent? If your child is one & you are not, did it take a long time for you to adjust to the new ingredients & cooking??

Is it hard to get used to the taste of things like veggieburgers vs a hamburger ( a real one, not a fast food restaurant one).

For those that converted to vegetarian, vegan, etc... Do you ever miss not eating an item??

It is one thing to eat one meal this way, but to eat a lifetime this way - does your body have to get used to it?? (kind of like when you first start the Atkins diet). Is this lifestyle something that people do "cold turkey" or do you work your way to it?

Well, since we are a veggie family it was just automatic that when my son was born that he would be raise on a vegetarian diet. If when he is older and he wants to try meat that is his choice. He tells people he is a vegetarian & yes he knows that hamburger and the like comes from a cow. He probably knows more about that whole process then his meat eating friends

No, I don't think it was hard to get use to a veggie burger vs a regular burger. You can dress it up just like a regular burger. I usually put lettuce, onions, mustard, ketcup & pickles on mine

Do I miss eating meat? No I honestly don't. Sure for a while I did, but I haven't had a real hamburger for over 15 years I don't miss it. In fact when I see a hamburger cooking it looks gross to me, sitting them cooking in all that fat/grease! Also the smell of cooking hamburger & Bacon gags me. Yuck!

I did the 'slow' method I guess. I first cut out all red meat & pork (pork was easy since I didn't eat much pork any way). I did continue to eat chicken/turkey & sometimes fish.
After a few years I did cut out chicken/turkey. I still did eat fish every once in a while. I was not a big seafood eater so I maybe had fish once a month or less. Shortly after I cut out chicken/turkey I decided to cut out seafood too. That was easy for me since I did not eat it much.

I do eat dairy & eggs still. I don't think I will ever cut those out.

 

[Laura]

Okay, here goes nothing! What's wrong with cheese? Because it's dairy, therefore cow?

What's rennet?

What's wrong with marshmallows? I didn't think there was anything natural in them...oh wait, eggs?

What's in jello?

What could a sample menu for a day consist of (exclusing tofu, because that just scares me for no good reason! )?

Look how much I'm learning!!

I don't think anyone answered the rennet question, or I missed the answer. Specifically, rennet is the lining of an animal's stomach. It is used to curdle the milk to make cheese.

Marshmallows and jello both are made with gelatin. Gelatin is made from boiled animal tissues--basically many of the remnants of an animal's slaughter. A lot of people don't realize what it is.

My menu varies, but I drink a SlimFast for breakfast, and for the other meals I eat veggie burgers, veggie chili, spanakopita (feta and spinach with phyllo dough), egg sandwiches, pizzas, pastas, lentil soup, potatoes, salads, wrap sandwiches (esp. with hummus), and snack on fruit and nuts unless I'm eating junk food--shame on me when I do. Vegetables are often side dishes or entire meals, if I'm not very hungry. I eat large lunches and smaller dinners. I need to lose weight, and for my diet I need to eat less fatty cheeses and eat more fruit. And just eat less, period.

As for missing meat, no, I really don't miss much of it. A few things like bacon (what's with bacon, I'm apparently not alone) and seafood, but as a whole, no. I know I can eat anything I want, and there's no vegetarian police to come and take me away if I eat a burger. But I don't do it anyway.

 

[Melissa M]

I don't even know exactly what rennet is, but maybe someone else knows. It is a meat product, though.

A lot of people who don't eat dairy or eggs choose that because of the deplorable way that animals are treated. They might not be killed for the milk or eggs, but it's a fate worse than death. I visited a egg farm when I was a teen (and ate meat). The chickens were stuffed in little cages, with a slanted wire floor. It was slanted so that the eggs would roll forward to be collected. It was really an awful place and I'm surprised that I continued to eat meat. It made quite an impression on me for sure--that's been almost 30 years ago and I can still remember it plain as day.

Also, for dairy, it doesn't agree with a lot of people. Afterall, we're the only animal that drinks the milk of another species.

Waaaaa, I want the pie--I get dibs! I'll have to look that up.

T&B

Rennet comes from the stomach lining of cows and is often times used in the making of cheese.

Other reasons to avoid dairy:
--In order for a cow to produce milk, it must be impregnated. After giving birth, a female calf will be raised as a dairy cow, a male calf will be shipped off to become veal.
--The amount of waste created by dairy farms is astounding. Here in Waco, our lake is polluted by the manure from upstream dairy farms. The water tastes horrible!
--There is also a vast amount of land wasted. We are using land for cattle that could just as easily be used to raise crops for humans.

 

[hunnypotmama]

Whoever posted that we are the only beings who drink the milk of another animal was exactly right. I noticed that I got really stuffy (read: mucous-y) when I drank milk or ate ice cream, and so I have cut out almost all dairy. Cheese was the hardest thing to quit, but I read somewhere that Americans eat almost 30 pounds of cheese a year. I admire anyone who can stick to any diet (be it vegetarian, or no sugar, or Atkins, or whatever), but the no dairy thing just feels right for me.

 

[sweet angel]

How do you get calcium if you eat no dairy? Supplements?

 

[hunnypotmama]

Greens and broccoli are an excellent source of calcium. Also peas, celery and lettuce has some...basically anything you'd put on a salad

I also take supplements. What's funny, the stuff I've read about dairy said that the way it's processed and then the way it is metabolized by our bodies, we get very little actual calcium from dairy.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Whoever posted that we are the only beings who drink the milk of another animal was exactly right. I noticed that I got really stuffy (read: mucous-y) when I drank milk or ate ice cream, and so I have cut out almost all dairy. Cheese was the hardest thing to quit, but I read somewhere that Americans eat almost 30 pounds of cheese a year.

That was me and I wonder if giving up dairy would help with my constant stuffiness. I chalk it up to allergies, but it might be dairy. Right now I'm on a restricted diet due to constant migraines and I don't know that I can handle any more dietary restrictions. Maybe when I start adding some of my current restricted food I can then try to reduce dairy.

Can you have a little dairy and not get the stuffiness or does even a small amount to it?

Sometimes I think I should be losing weight since it seems there's nothing left for me to eat. Maybe I'll have a pity party for lunch.

T&B

 

[Sandy22]

I don't think anyone answered the rennet question, or I missed the answer. Specifically, rennet is the lining of an animal's stomach. It is used to curdle the milk to make cheese.

Thanks Laura! I think that may have cured me from my cheese addiction! I eat way too much of that stuff. I've been a vegetarian for over 15 years but I've never wanted to know about all the "hidden" animal products for fear there would be nothing left of my favorites to eat! I know someone mentioned rennet-free cheese, can you get rennet-free cottage cheese?

 

[hunnypotmama]

Tigger&Belle, I sent you a PM.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

I know someone mentioned rennet-free cheese, can you get rennet-free cottage cheese?

Unless rennet goes by different names (like MSG does) there isn't rennet in the cottage cheese that I have in my fridge.

Thanks Honeypotmama for the PM!

T&B