We have decide to become a Vegetarians
A few weeks ago, I picked up a couple of Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) Magazines from the local organic store. When Kyle read them, he asked us why we were not vegetarians…
In the magazine, it showed what happens in the American meat industry each year. The living conditions of some farms, be it chicken, cows, pig or fish. These living conditions can cause outbreaks of disease and parasites. How about the hormones that are injected into the animals to help them grow? These would be the same animals that we are consuming, all the toxins and chemicals into our bodies.
After reading the magazine, Kyle and I have decided gradually remove meat and dairy from out diet. This isn’t going to happen over night but over time. The plan is to eliminate one food at a time. Our first ones would be the red meats which will be very easy as the kids are not big fans of meat as they are too lazy to chew. We are fortunate that our kids love vegetables and fruit so going vegetarian will be easy. Now we just have to make sure we add proper nutritional vegetables into our diets.
Another item that we are going to start slowly replacing is cow’s milk. Last week we bought a couple of different soy beverages to taste and check the nutritional facts. We are very fortunate in Canada as all the nutritional facts are all listed our food products. So far so good, the kids like it, replacing cows milk with soy will cost double but I figured that using vegetables to replace meat will be save us. We are keeping a log to see what our results are.
Replacing eggs will be a little bit more of a challenge. I love baking so now I just have to find recipes that does not use eggs or milk. There are tons of recipes online and it is fun to experiment with different foods types and varieties. I found a Vegan Baking site that explains how to replace egg, milk and butter in regular recipes.
Doing research will take time and energy to make sure we are getting the proper nutrition. This is the reason that I have decided to eliminate one food at a time so that it doesn’t get too overwhelming and force me to give up.
Another important thing is, not eating meat protects the environment too. Read more about the negative effects. According to the United Nations: Raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” More reason to eliminate meat from my diet.
Being a vegetarian is a good thing. As I embark on my journey to becoming a vegetarian, do you have any tips of ideas for me?
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I plan to avoid all of the faux meat products, like vegetarian wieners and hamburger patties. I was a vegetarian back in university and veggie wieners were a staple. At that time my only reason for going vegetarian was…I’ll admit it…Jennifer Weston. What was that, about a 6 week thing? Anyway, I kept it up for almost a year, then my brother took me out for sushi. Since I had no real reason (or knowledge) to keep me a vegetarian it was simple. No meat to raw meat over night. The fact that I ate veggie wieners during those days was always the butt of jokes. If you don’t want to eat meat, then don’t pretend.
Now that my eyes are open, I see a lot better and I mostly see that I have the opportunity to help my children gain life-long healthy habits. That will make it much easy to stick with it. Even though tuna sashimi is my favourite food now.
Hi Amelia!
This is a great idea! While I am no expert, my family has been vegetarian for as long as I can remember and both my parents have been veg for over 30 years. While they do still eat dairy (rennet free products and organic milk), they don’t eat eggs. It’s really easy to find recipes that have replacements for eggs – vinegar, applesauce and buttermilk are some of the most common, though buttermilk will not be an option for you since you’re cutting out dairy as well.
You can also find an egg replacer at most health food stores. We’ve been using it for years. Your baked goods won’t have the same fluffiness as with eggs, but the egg replacer works really well. It’s a powder (I think starch based) that you mix with water and add to your recipes.
Sounds like Kyle is not into the faux meat products, but they do provide a lot of clean protein and they’ve come a long way even since I was a kid. Make sure also to incorporate legumes in your diet. Rice and legumes consumed together actually create a perfect whole protein!
My biggest advice is to ensure that you have enough protein in your diet. It’s a bit more difficult as a vegetarian, but there are so many products out there, as well as some vegetables that will provide you with a sufficient amount. If you’re looking for some soy-based protein products you can try the Church of Latter Day Saints or Fourteenth Day Adventists. They make some really great products. If you’re experimenting, you can also try making your own Seitan. I like it in moderation – its a bit chewy, but also a great source of protein. And of course there’s always tofu, but again moderation!
Good luck and let me know how it goes! I’d be happy to send you some recipes as well!
Thanks Halona for the great tips. It is going to be a learning process but I am looking forward to learning more. It is quite exciting to experiment with different foods. Yes I want to make sure that we all get enough protein, especially the kids. Might tap into some of your resources eventually. Thanks for the good wishes as we embark on our journey… You know what, the kids are excited about it… Makes it easier.
Hey Amelia,
Great that you and Kyle are doing this together. How awesome! It helps to have the accountability of loved ones especially your mate. Although, I do eat meat, it’s less frequent and generally from a researched source. Ith my blood type which is O, I find that extra protein makes a big difference in my diet.
I’m clear that any diet that we choose can be made fun, which is key. Congrats on the taking on the Vegan journey. Let us know how it goes.
Cheers,
~Joseph
I wish you guys the best of luck with it. It is a worthy goal in many ways.
Unfortunately, I know I could never go there even though i had clients in the animal agriculture industry early in my life so saw some of the things you referenced.
I will say that, either things have gotten worse, or PETA exaggerates and/or finds the worst offenders and shows them as the norm. The disease control measures that used to be in place, a least at chicken and turkey farms i saw, were fanatic.
Some of the pig farms were really disturbing, mainly due to the enormous amount of waste produced by the pigs and what was done with it. Also due to the artificial insemination procedures that were described to me, i think mainly to freak me out. Put me off pork for a while and i still rarely eat it.
I really can’t find a way to feel bad for chickens, though. Nancy buys free range and i think that is probably as good as we will get there. And fish? I can’t even think about that.