intro to vegetarianisim

PrairieMom wrote: I have decided to try to make the big leap into vegetarianism. It was the next logical step in my quest to make my life as difficult for my self as possible.
So, anyone out there know of any good resources for recipes or meal plans? I am so used to looking at veggies as a side dish, that I can't really see serving them as the main course, and we haven't really experienced a whole lot of different veggies, ( just tried squash for the first time this fall. )
Someone please point me in the right direction.
Jennifer?

Kaitlin'smom replied: good luck, I cant give up meat espically now I will be getting 1/2 cow and some pig from MIL, at least I know thats organic, hand feed no chemicals and yummy.

you can do a veggie lazana, or more pastas as main dishes. Oh I love butternut squash soup, I dont have a recipie I get some each fall from my former boss he makes it and its soooo good. Oh theres eggplant parmasan, which is really very good. I guess I had a few ideas.

My2Beauties replied: I envy you and let me know how it works out because for a long time I've always thought about it but my husband would never have it so I'd still be cooking it for him and I'd have to resist the urge and I don't think I could. I have no clues but I'm want you to KUP on how it goes...I will live vicariously through you

Oh there are tons of soup though, potato soup, veggie soup, dumplings (without the chicken which are still really good), I'm sure you can find tons of vegetarian recipes if you google.

cameragirl21 replied: I am so proud of you, Tara, seriously! What a great come back to PC...as far as I can see anyway, lol.
You will feel SO much better after giving up meat, honestly, you'll feel like a whole new person--more energetic, less sluggish and less "heavy" if you kwim.
Check out goveg.com and yogaforsurfers.com. The first website obviously is for those looking to make the leap that you are about to make and the second is a yoga guru in Cali who is a nutrition expert unlike any I've ever seen before. I have emailed her asking tons of questions about getting protein, etc and have yet to find a question she can't answer. In fact, if you tell her Jennifer in Miami sent you, she'll likely know right away who I am, lol.
There are plenty of other resources, let me know if you need more. Make sure to take a B complex supplement because there are certain B vitamins, specifically B 12 that are not found in a vegetarian diet. I almost always forget to take the supplement and am very healthy, outside of my asthma so you can easily survive without it but I do recommend it and keep telling myself that I need to get more serious about remembering to take it daily.
Feel free to pm me or ask here if you have any more questions or need anything else.
I am seriously SO proud of you!

PrairieMom replied: Just got back from the grocery store. Good thing my phone has a web browser on it, because I had to google a few ingredients. I have no idea what 1/2 the stuff I got even is.
I couldn't even find zucchini by sight, I had to find the sign that said it and match it up with the food underneath. this is going to be interesting....

A&A'smommy replied:
GIRL are you SERIOUS!!!

my goodness being a vegetarian is easy if my kids and my husband didn't like meat so much I probably would NEVER eat meat, I actually use to be a vegetarian before I got pregnant with Alyssa then I craved hamburgers. Are you going to try and get your whole family to be vegetarians? Just wondering my husband and my oldest child will barely eat anything outside of corn, so stuff like tofu (which I love) among other alternatives are out for us as a whole

Mommy2Isabella replied: yay! What a great thing Tara!!

I am a mostly non meat eater, unless pregnant and I try to FORCE myself.

Are you still going to eat fish?

There are lots of different things, I LOVE making zuchinni soup. Two zuchinni's tomato pastes, vegetable stock garlic, and your choice of beans .

DELICIOUS!! I can give you more specific recipe if you want it.

PrairieMom replied:
I'm going to cook vegetarian meals at home, but if DH is out, I have no control over what he eats. He's not entirely on board with it, but he isn't refusing either. I think he agrees its a good idea, but he likes him some steak. LOL.
I don't know about eating fish, I think we will for a while, as we ease into stuff here, like, I am planning stir fry this week, I will probably throw some shrimp in. I have some in the freezer. I have a bunch of meat actually, so we will slowly work through that stuff first. I would like to have maybe just 2 meat meals a week , you know, cut way back. I don't want to waste what we already have.

wcs40110 replied: Geeze that sounds exciting. I want to try but im so terribly picky. Keep us updated

luvmykids replied: I was vegetarian for a short time in high school, I was on the cross country team and decided with all that running to go all the way healthy My coach helped me a lot but I don't remember much about it other than eating lots of lentils (which I've continued to do, we have them about once a week). I also ate sheperds pie, baked potatoes, meatless chili, lettuce wraps with asian noodles inside. You could even use the meatless chile as a topping on the baked potatoes or in a taco shell, then top like you would a regular taco. I didn't go vegan so I still ate eggs as a big protein source, are you only giving up meat or going vegan?

PrairieMom replied:
oh no, not vegan. That would be a HUGE hardship on the family. I don't thinK I'm going to be a hard core veggie, just a Doin the best I can type Veggie. Does that make sense?

luvmykids replied:
Perfect sense!

cameragirl21 replied: The key is using spices. I constantly saute veggies in a combo of curry, tumeric, and coriander, a favorite combo of mine but I'm not sure that kids will go for it if they're not used to it, the curry and tumeric are very strong and very yellow, watch for stains, lol.
If you use spices, whichever combo you and your family like best, you won't miss the meat because you'll be getting plenty of flavor.
Tara, if you go veggie and add some daily wheat grass to your diet, you'll be one healthy Earth Diva!

luvmykids replied: Or barley grass, I think it's a little easier to get down. Plus DH has a whole hydroponic set up in the garage and grows it so it's free

cameragirl21 replied: I buy organic wheat grass powder and mix it with water every morning but I'm going to start growing my own, I think. My new apartment has lots of light and I think having a few rectangular planters with wheat grass growing here and there would add some funky, natural decor and allow me to just eat my own, except that Idk if just eating it is as good as juicing it, I mean logic dictates that it should be but I've always heard about wheat grass juice and let me tell you, as someone who juices a lot, juicing wheat grass is NO fun, I'd rather just chop it up and put it into a smoothie or a salad.
And it's expensive too, just think of the money I'd save....
Hydroponics, ohhhh, I'm SO jealous, you've no idea. What does he grow there, besides the barley grass, I mean? Do you eat barley grass everyday?

momofone replied: i rarely eat meat and noticed i was feeling tired alot and realized because i was low in iron so now i take a multi plus iron and feel better.

luvmykids replied:
According to DH, barley grass is very hard to digest without juicing first. I say that so you can take it for what you want, he has done far more research than I. He only grows the barley grass, for the horses and if I'll let him take over more of the garage, he wants to use it for cattle too...it's as much of a super food for them as it is for us.

I don't drink it every day, probably about four or five days a week. Unless he juices it and stands over me until I drink it, I don't

I am thinking of experimenting with some hydroponic veggies though, it's really interesting and been a lot of fun to watch him fiddle around with it.