alison_in_oh

Ah, but variety is the spice of life and the essence of good nutrition. This is a fabulous, extremely healthful menu for one day! Whoo! (Albeit about double my target caloric intake!) Just make sure to range wide over the course of a week or a month and get lots of *different* grains, and fruits, and beans, and veggies.

*drool* You're making me hungry.

Javelina

Yeah, I figue if I can come up with about 7 menus of this sort I can rotate them and not have to think about it so much.

akarius

I am on my fourth day without meat. I am doing pretty good but I could really use a steak about now. I am still eating eggs and milk though. I don' know what I am supposed to don with all the meat I got packed away in the freezer. I guess I will save it for a special occasion.

WarrenG

I'm not a big meat eater, especially not red meat, but last year my coach (who is also a Sports Medicine M.D.) mentioned that I need to be getting "hemiron" and that red meat was one of the only good sources for it. So now I have some red meat about once a week or so. When I do it's only very good cuts of meat-I figure if I'm going to eat it, it had better be worth it. Fresh sirloin tri-tip is my favorite. Grilled/barbeque'd, or marinated and roasted out of the drippings. I like it medium-rare.

Vegbikr

Javelina,

Good for you for going vegan! I transitioned into veganism (from ovo-lacto veg) about 12 years ago, and have ZERO desire to go back to my unhealthy, carnivorous former lifestyle. At first it seemed difficult, but only because I had not educated myself to all the vegan options out there. In terms of energy level, I have never had so much energy than I do now. For the past 6 years I have been commuting year-round (weather permitting) to work, logging in close to 6,000 miles last year. I also rarely catch colds and have been given an excellent bill of health from my doctor. And being an environmentalist at heart, it's just another way to do something positive for the earth.

And I totally agree with Fred, people just make it seem more difficult than it really is. These days with so many veg products entering the mainstream grocery stores, you can find so much variety, not to mention the delicious recipes available in vegan/veg cookbooks And learning to substitute ingredients for eggs/dairy products is pretty easy.

Eating vegan is just a matter of being more aware of what's actually going into your food, but then again, if everyone were like that, we wouldn't be a country with an obesity epidemic.

Congrats again!

Cynthia

Wulfheir

Any food bank or soup kitchen would take it.

sestivers

That's because s/he's indoctrinated in a culture that thinks everyone should be eating meat. There are other sources but I bet s/he has not even tried to look for others because it's normally a safe assumption that someone is willing to eat some red meat.

It does not really sound like you want to be a vegetarian anyway, though.

pakole

Hemiron is only found in red meat. The benefit of using hemiron is the fact that it absorb better than other iron sources. Thus, for the same amount of iron in the body, one must eat three times more non-hemiron-based iron compared to herimon, but that does not mean that you need it. If one is very cafefully with their diet or take iron supplements, then can go without hemiron.

Katrogen

I was a vegetarian for a year. In that year alot happened... I became more active, I lost 45 pounds, I became more healthy and disciplined. Along with aware of how I eat. The last few months though I have been having problems of binging, headaches, being tired, bored of food, and of course being hungry.

Thats all changed though. I quit the vegetarian thing about 3 weeks ago and am now enjoying small amounts of any type of meat but base most of my protein intake on turkey breast. I eat that for lunch and dinner, every night. I'm so much happier now! I even switched to healthier carbs... brown rice, dark brown sugar, whole wheat bread, stone ground everything ... oats ect. So much happier. I eat tons and tons of fruit everyday... along with yogurt and I will not drink anything except flavored water. I feel so much energetic, smarter, fuller and happier. I don't feel like I've cut myself off from the rest of the family dinner anymore. There was most of the year where I forgot I was vegetarian because you get so used to it after awhile but it wasn't permanent for me.

Its alot easier for me to fill a balanced and healthy diet with meat in it. Plus with a weight lifting program I've started... I need protein.

Good luck to those who are on the veg diets, and remember to always give what your body needs. Its a great choice for those climbing out of a bad habit into a clean body with better choices.

jennings780

I wonder how some of you who used to be vegetarian can go back to eating meat. The idea of eating "flesh" disgusts me at this point (vegan for 3 years).

Good nutrition info and guidance for eating mostly or all vegan can be found in "Eat to Live" by Dr. Joel Fuhrman. I have recommended to many people and those that have read it have raved - without exception - even those who continued to eat meat.

sestivers

I know what you mean. I started feeling sick one time at a restaurant when a ladybug was on my table and the waitress killed it. I don't even kill cockroaches in my house anymore, I just chase them back outside.

DannoXYZ 

While heme-iron is a form that's more readily absorbed, 5-35%, it's not a significant amount more than from non-heme source 2-20%. The concentrations of heme-iron in meats is actually lower than non-heme iron in many vegetables. You just have to eat more veggies to get the same amount of iron. It's actually not the iron itself, but the surrounding inhibitors that determine the absorption rate. Animal proteins helps facilitate absorption while calcium inhibits it: AJCN - Iron status and exercise


I tried trapping a mouse with tupperware a couple months ago. I aimed the bowl down and swung as the mouse ran across the floor. Unfortunately it wasn't fast enough and got caught with its head and torso on the inside and its hind-legs and tail on the outside. I didn't even hit it that hard, but it lay there wriggling and squirming in pain. It was so awful to sit there for 30-seconds watching it die as its twitches got slower and slower and I could see that its breathing slowed as well. When it was dead, I scooped it up and buried it in the backyard, said a little prayer and went to the pubs to drown in liquor. It took a lot of confessions at church and weeks of psychotherapy to get over that one...

Lecterman

I can sympathize Danno, as I am a vegan for reasons including both health and ethics(animal rights).

I do not like to see any animals suffer or die, especially due to my actions, however it will not always be unavoidable.

Case in point, one night a couple of years ago I was walking my dog and I happened to see some movement in the grass on the other side of the road. I went over to see what it was and there was a rabbit who had been hit by a car. Upon closer inspection I found that its entire lower body had been crushed by a tire. As it lay there, breathing laboriously, I debated with myself whether to let it suffer (it was obvious the rabbit was in extreme agony), or take it upon myself to relieve that agony. I ultimately decided to do what I felt was the right thing. So I found a substantial sized rock and did what needed to be done.

Did I feel horrible? Absolutely. My wife can attest.

But I thought, how bad would I have felt if I had just left it there?

Granted, not the same cirmcumstances as yours, but I want you to know it's okay to feel those feelings. You can be proud that you were trying to do the right thing and capture the mouse humanely.

ragsie

You describe almost the exact reaction I had when I became a vegetarian two years ago! And just like you, I have been starting to have some of the same problems the last couple of months, and I have been thinking of eating some meat again.

My question is: How do you do it? Did you just start one day, or did you gradually eat more and more? And did you feel sick afterwords, because I've heard rumours of vegetarians getting stomachaches, vomiting, and worse after eating just a tiny bit of meat!

srrs

i had the same reaction to both of you - been veggie for five or six months, lost energy, got bored and sluggish. i went to a dietician and found out that what i thought was enough protein was actually about half the amount i needed. servings of vegetarian protein are much larger than servings of meat - two eggs, or half a package of tofu or half a can of beans.. and i don't consume dairy, of which they recommend one serving per meal, so i needed to get that additional protein too, which means i needed to start eating 2 servings of protein per meal - which turns out to be a lot! but since i upped my protein intake, my body's working better, i don't feel bored and weird about my diet anymore, and i'm altogether much happier! so if you want to go back to meat, you should by all means do it, but also know that it's not the only way - you can just increase the protein in your diet and get similar results...

diplomaticdecay

ive been vegan for 5 years, and 5 years ago, when i started off vegetarian, it was no problem for me at all. and it was the strobgest ive ever felt in my life. i havent had any meat cravins or anything., although for the past year ive been having some terrible dreams where im eating meat, and i wake up in a cold sweat. i guess thats what i get for eating it for 14 years of my life

pakole

I was in the same boat. I started to feel sluggish and my muscles were not recovering as quickly as before. After a little research, I found out that I needed way more protein then I was taking in. After that, I do not feel sluggish from diet only from lack of sleep, but that is another issue. Yet, in June, I will graduate. Yay.

Ready to Ruck

haha, today at the grocery store there was a moth flying around. It was pretty apparent to everyone and it didn't bug me. Watching it fly around gave me something to do in the long lines.
then an old man swatted it to the ground then stepped on it. I gave him a funny look and replied "...what did you do that for? I mean, was it going to harm you?"

I've been strict vegan for a month (freegan for 6 months before that, vegetarian for 6 months before that, and guilty meat eater before), because I finally had enough money to support my diet completely. Actually, it's the food stamps that help me. But man, I went crazy with soy and tofu. I now have to watch my legume intake because I'm always teetering on the edge of too-much-legumes. Man, beans/legumes interact with a bacteria in your intestines which gives you the foulest gas. Plus I read too much protein is hard on your kidneys.
So, I've been experimenting with alot of whole foods, raw food meals, and macrobiotic meals. Ever since I stopped eating soy-based this or that, I've felt that my diet is very varied.

I can't imagine how unhealthy I would be eating the average American 10%meat diet: cancer, cholestorel, less energy, etc etc

DannoXYZ 

Uh, I think for the average American, it's a lot higher than 10%...

sestivers

I was thinking the same thing, but maybe he has a source to back up the number.

Funny (annoying) thing happened at work the other day... each family in my department is supposed to bring a "hot meat main dish" to a pot-luck going away party. Does the standard definition of a main dish now require that it contains meat?

They're going to get chili with Morningstar Farms veggie crumbles in it. Not only will it be meatless, it's completely vegan too. I bet no one will even be able to tell.

highlyselassie

This...

should help you fulfil your untapped potential.

sestivers

highlyselassie:

Ha ha, good one. Your name is not a coincidence, is it.

Team Hammertime

sorry to burst your bubble but you do give off body odor. the source of most body odor is the waste gases released from bacteria. bacteria thrive in the moist warm sweat no matter if u eat meat or not. so you may stink less, but stink nonetheless. shaving also reduces bo, by exposing skin to the air and hence drying the sweat quickly.

obsidian

We evolved to eat meat! Our ancestors were hunter-gatherers. Our genes, our metabolism, our tastes are for this type of diet. It is no wonder you who post your feelings of weakness and hunger on this type of a diet! You are going against eons of evolution.

Ready to Ruck

10% by weight*
And for the average human being it is 2% by weight.


On to the topic of meat cravings, I don't and never had any. there are 2,000 edible plants. I've been too busy being overwhelmed by the possibilities and various cooking methods of so many non-animal foods that I don't have the room in my head to crave meat. If there's anything that I get cravings for it is Tofutti Cuties (when I crave dessert) or avocados (when I wanna eat a meal that will fill me up).