Vegetarians

[HollynLA]

Sorry, I should have mentioned in my post that I was mostly referring to vegans.

I eat red meat, chicken, lots of fish, etc. I try to stay away from processed foods, frozen prepared foods, and what I call "fake" foods. I stick with whole food. What falls in that category? Well, if you can catch it, kill it, or grow it, it's whole foods.

[Audrey2Katrina]

it's basically maneure in another form.

Jeez, Sean, you think maybe you sort of provided TMI?? I mean I can certainly understand living in an area where good food is right after God, Country, and Family, and one of the finest food areas in the nation, but when you get right down to it... well, nvm. I'm sure others see where I'm going and I really don't want to go there. I LIKE good food too...

Incidentally, Janice, I don't know how much you may or may not like split-pea soup, but I love the stuff, (Of course I have my own N'Awlins recipe complete with all the "essentials" like a pinch of cayenne, onions, spices etc..--sorry also include some chunks of nice lean ham!) .. Of course one can forego all the "fixins" if they so desire; but I only brought up this particular kind of soup because just one serving can provide nearly half your daily need of fiber.. and what's even better is that it's the soluble fiber (which is much more important than the insoluble that a lot of folks suffer through thinking it's all the same--it ain't.).

A2K

[Janice]

I was thinking earlier of looking up some good soup recipes. Thanks.....

That would be great and great for the old bod too...

[Audrey2Katrina]

frozen prepared foods

I agree with you if you're talking about those frozen meals; but a lot of research has shown that quick frozen veggies have almost the same nutritional value as fresh... and in the final analysis, unless you intend to eat them raw, once you "cook" them, the state they came in doesn't much matter as they lose a lot of their nutrition in the cooking process, especially if it's boiled. The exception is in canned veggies, as these are pretty much devoid of nutrition as they've already been cooked, usually soaking in sodium, and sitting for God only knows how long. The only canned veggies I ever get (and they're more accurately legumes) are beans as I don't have the time to cook those things--and the fiber value for which they are most noted is essentially the same.

Okay... I'm getting hungry now!

A2K

[Audrey2Katrina]

I was thinking earlier of looking up some good soup recipes. Thanks.....

You're quite welcome and I forgot to mention another GREAT thing about split-pea soup... it's LOADED with protein..

A2K

[HollynLA]

Audrey, you're right, and I usually buy most veggies frozen but there's nothing better than fresh green beans. I was referring to frozen meals or meals from a box, ie hamburger helper. That stuff taste horrible and is so full of chemicals not to mention expensive. Blakgh

[JQ Public]

My mother is vegetarian. She considers egg, seafood, and poultry meat as well. I never understood the point of being vegetarian if you ate fish and chickens, but that is beside teh point. She is in no way a waif, and the doctors always compliment her on how she has perfect health stats like cholesterol, blood pressure etc. I guess its b/c we're indian so there is a lot of different veggie foods she can eat. Breads, lentils, fruits, spices veggies, rice. Its amazing the things you can make that are just rice or corn based.

JQ is your mom here in the US also? If so has she found it to be easier or more difficult to stay on the vegetarian diet. IOW, are the different vegetables she is used to available here or is it harder to keep a variety in the diet?

Actually anyone can answer that, but I directed it at JQ since he mentioned their ethnicity and the variety and I wondered if it was easier or harder here.

Hey!
Yeh when she first came here it was difficult, when going out to eat, finding anything on the menu that didn't have meat stock, eggs etc in it. She has been here since 1978 and I was born here in 1983 so she got used to it. Luckily america's taste buds have changed. Things like more asian/hispanic vegetables and foods have made her menu choices easier. But to tell you the truth when she went to the grocery store she always found enough of the "basic" (rice, vegetables, spices) to make her food. She even invented lots of fusion type dishes until she was able to obtain the ingredients. Nowadays, there are specialty markets and Indian stores everywhere (at least where we live) so its alot easier. One interesting thing is that she grew up never eating meat so she never felt the need to start. I guess its like me...I never grew up drinking alcohol or having parents that drank alcohol so I never get the urge to have a glass of wine with dinner. I guess its not hard to stay vegetarian when you've been that way since birth. OH well sorry for the late reply and I hope that helped ya out BTW my mom does consume milk/dairy products and always has since birth.

[coriolis]

Interesting topic, everyone.

I do eat meat and animal products. I even chewed on my leather baseball mitt when I was a kid.

[petal*pusher]

I'm also a vegetarian!

Several years ago my daughter (then 7) was diagnosed with Juvenile Rhumatoid Arthritis. After reading tons of info about arthritis, we decided to eliminate red meat from our diets. Soon after, she and I decided to take ALL meat out of our diets! (My husband and son do eat meat.)

I started eating this way just to help encourage her....but started realizing that I felt better too! She is 28 now, and although I eat a vegetarian diet, she is a vegan. (no eggs, cheese, milk, ect.)

I am by no means a skinny person....daughter is....but not me! Even if I unknowingly eat something made with meat.....like an egg fried with bacon grease....it upsets my system somewhat. I do occasionally miss the texture of burgers and such, but know the challenges red meat can cause. Thanksgiving turkey usually teases my appetite too, and I do eat a couple small pieces. (Hey! I had to get up at 4:00a.m. to get him in the oven!)

There are tons of needed requirements in all we eat! I really think my vegetarian diet is more challenging to others than to me!.....p

[Miss Mary]

Are there any vegetarians here? What basically do you eat all day?

Do you find that being a vegetarian that you are at the weight you desire and you do not have the weight problems that people who eat meat do?

Good topic! My oldest daughter has been a vegetarian for almost 3 years now. She won't eat anything with a face. Non-vegetarians then ask her if she wears leather products and uses cosmetics with animal testing and/or animal by-products. They take it one step further, IMHO. Because my daughter is a thrift store shopper. Rarely, if ever buying anything full price and she doesn't care one wit for leather products (but probably owns a few pairs of shoes or purses made with it). She just simply no longer eats meat or seafood. I wish she would eat Salmon though and won't even take fish oil pills. But at her yearly check ups, she's always healthy so I no longer worry.

Prior to his we had a good friend who's been a vegetarian for almost 20 years. At first I used to view her diet as very wacky, out there, odd and out of the norm. But after having had colon cancer and surviving it, praise God, I have looked at her diet in a whole new light. I often joke with her that she'll probably live the longest of all of us (and my daughter!).

Finally, I eat very little meat, never-ever steak, avoid beef if I can, eating only chicken or turkey and fish mostly. Meat and fish comprise about 10% of my total diet. I do believe it is healthier to avoid meat but since turkey is one of my 10 basic must have foods for my health situation now, I think that's okay. I try to buy free range meat also.

Mary