Going Veg.

Let's share some tips for Lolita or anyone else considering going veg, or eliminating some or all meat from their diet.

Recipes, websites, tips, etc...

Re: Going Veg.

I eat at Blockheads a lot. Cheapest lunch in the city, 3.50 gets me 8 oz of brown rice and 8 oz of blackbeans. add salsa and sour cream, it is so good.

I rely on beans a lot. Bean burritos too. I also eat egg salad sandwiches. I love veggie pizza.

I eat boca burgers, i have to really dress them up though...I usually bake tater tots, and eat the burger with veggie cheese and LTO on a bun.

PBJ was a staple, just eat it on healthy bread.

love yogurt.

waffles made with flax

Re: Going Veg.

You will be surprised at how many veggies you will start to like. I hated ALOT of veggies when I went veg, but after a while I started to like veggies I had once hated - eggplant, mushrooms.

When going veg - try to eat leafy greens, legumes, nuts, chick peas, beans - to make sure you get enough protein. The average American gets something like 10x more than the advised recommended daily protein level (and excess protein can cause calcium leaching and osteoporosis) - so don't be too too worried about it.

If you are missing meat, there are a ton of substitues - boca burgers, tofu, chik nuggets, chik patties (my fav) that taste like your favs. But remember not to eat too much of this stuff - as it is loaded with preservatives.

Great vegetarian staples - eggplant, mushroooms, beans, tofu, hummus, soy milk.

Don't get sucked into a diet of just carbs and dairy - it isn't healthy and can lead to high cholesterol.

Great restaurants - Zen Palate (Westbury), Tiger Lily Cafe (Port Jefferson)

Websites: goveg.com, peta.com, vegsource.com

Re: Going Veg.

I could eat at zen palate 3 meals a day every day!

Re: Going Veg.

I'm not a vegetarian, but the Moosewood cookbook has some great recipes!

Re: Going Veg.

Oh and Goveg.com offers a free vegetarian starter kit to help with the switch - they can mail it or you can download it.

Click Me

Re: Going Veg.

Reading food labels is must; shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's has been a huge help to me (I can't eat dairy or red meat, gave up pork).

Re: Going Veg.

I went veg in stages. First I stopped eating pork and beef, then chicken, but I would still for awhile eat things that contained meat products but weren't meat, like rice a roni, etc (those are the hardest because you do have to read labels VERY carefully), and then I gave up those too. It helped to have a substitute on hand..if the family was eating burgers I had a veggie burger, and I could use all the same toppings and sides.

Re: Going Veg.

My BF was a vegetarian for 10 years (until she found out she was allegric to soy). She did it in stages and found it was less shock to her system.

Living in a city also helps because there are more options for eating out and take out.

Good luck. I tried but I didn't feel well.

Re: Going Veg.

thanks a bunch! i missed this somehow.