Becoming a Vegetarian Options

[BlissIn06]

Hello to all the vegetarians who will respond to this post!
I have been seriously contemplating making the transition to vegetarianism. Not so much for health reasons but for ethical ones. I don't think I could ever become vegan. That being said what are your recommnedations on how to do this effectively?
How has it impacted your cooking, eating out etc. when you have a spouse or significant other who will never choose this lifestyle?
Thank you for you responses. Please feel free to enlighten me on anything else you think I need to know!

[AlexaEsq]

Hello Sandra! I'm not a vegetarian, but my 14-yr-old daughter is, and has been for 3 years, for ethical reasons. I haven't had many problems incorporating it into our menu planning. I don't do alot of tofu, the dreaded dish that makes us non-vegetarians shudder. Instead, I make lots of dishes (tacos, chili, spaghetti sauce) with the veggie crumbles (made by either Morningstar or Boca) and to me and the rest of the family, it tastes just like burger. We also have a bean meal about once a week or so, I slow cook some pintos or limas and bake up some cornbread, very yummy. I also make meat dishes a few nights, and then my daughter will eat some of the veggie leftovers or have a garden burger and eat whatever I've made for sides.
You'll find that if you become a vegetarian, there are lots of things to cook that non-veggies either (a) won't even notice are vegetarian or (B) won't care because they're so good.
Good luck!

[LastTime4Me]

Hi Sandra! I've been eating no meat except seafood for about 15 years now, while my hubby continues to eat everything. As long as you're not a vegan, you'll have no problem finding foods at restaurants, although sometimes it means just ordering a salad. My husband loves to cook, so he's gotten good and making meals for both of us at the same time. For example, when he makes tacos he does beef for him and tofu for me. When he makes burgers, he does beef for him and Boca for me. With stir frys, he'll give me my portion (just veges) and then add meat to his, etc. Our families are also used to it, so they know to make me some type of meatless pasta or a piece of fish when I come over to eat.
Now that I'm on JC, I just pick the vege meals and try to correspond them with what hubby is cooking for himself so that we can at least share the same veges. I've also started ordering some of the chicken dishes and picking out the chicken and replacing it with tofu or shrimp. Honestly, I've recently started considering the idea of eating chicken and turkey again, just to add some more variety to my JC meals. I'm just not so sure that I can bring myself to do it after all these years. I mainly quit due to ethical reasons, so it's a matter of balancing my desire to be healthy with my desire to not hurt animals. It's really a tough call! Good luck to you with whatever you decide to do.

[cobalt-tree]

Hi! I've been a (sort of) vegetarian for 5 years now. I say sort of because my transition was slow. The first three years I stopped eating all meat except fish and the occasional chicken. I was still a teen and living at home, so this arrangement worked well with my family who never ate much red meat anyway. Long story short, when I moved out on my own I stopped eating meat all together. I still eat eggs and milk, though not very much. My room mate is extremely lactose intolerant, so we rarely had many milk products around.
There are LOTS of options out there for vegetarians these days. I quickly fell in love with the diversity of TVP (textured vegetable protien). My room mate and I would also use things like veggie dogs in all kinds of things in place of meat. The hardest part for me has always been trying to reassure my friends that I dont mind attending their BBQs and when I go out to eat (which depending on the place may have extremely limited options)that I really do in fact like salad!
Good luck!

[BlissIn06]

Thanks ladies for your responses. I might try picking our the chicken from certain JC entrees since there doesn't seem to be a plethora of veg. choices on the menu...that was a good idea!

[mamakitty]

I am not a vegetarian, but have some sriends who are. I came across a product called "Seitan" (sp). It is a wheat protien that can be substituted for meat or chicken. The last time I used it was in a chicken cassrole. No one knew the difference. Infact my husband the meat eater asked for 3rds.
Please excuse my misssspellings. My spell checker is on vacation.
Have a great week.

[2chubby]

I have been a vegetarian since birth, since my parents were. This is my second time with JC after losing 80 lbs. the first time. I kept it off for >5 years, but gained it back after having a baby. It can be a little monotonous as you don't have as many choices while on the program. (I am one of those who would never eat food if it has been touched by meat.) But once you are planning your own meals, there are a lot of choices nowdays with all the soy protein things. I would recommend taking a tour through your local health food grocery store and looking at all the choices. Then you can experiment and find out which ones you like. Not every vegetarian likes tofu! I hate it--but there are lots of other soy products that are tasty.