Post from: Blisstree

Nutrition Basics: Good Sources of Protein and Iron For Vegetarians

1. Only on Mondays. Eating vegetarian food forever might sound daunting, but anyone can hack it for a single day. Check out the Meatless Monday website for some great resources and support for reducing the meat in your diet. Once you’ve got Mondays down, add another day of meatless eating to the schedule. And another. And so on.
2. The elimination game. Choose one non-vegetarian food (beef, or chicken, or spam, or…) to stop eating this week. No fair choosing a food you don’t eat anyway! Once you are comfortable with that change (after, say, a week or a month), choose another food to eliminate. And so on.
3. Stop buying meat. Depending on what you already have on hand at home, giving up meat might mean wasting a lot of food. Don’t let this serve as an excuse; just start altering your shopping habits. If you stop acquiring non-vegetarian foods, sooner or later you’ll run out of the meat products you have on hand, and your diet will eventually become vegetarian. Use the transition time to learn new recipes and get comfortable with your new way of eating.
4. Focus on what you’re adding, not what you’re taking away. Becoming vegetarian can mean learning new recipes, discovering new favorite restaurants, and exploring lots of healthy, delicious new foods. Why not treat yourself to a vegetarian cookbook and commit to trying new recipes at least once a week? Explore your town’s vegetarian restaurants. Pick up a new fruit or veggie the next time you’re at the store. If you focus on finding vegetarian foods you can get excited about, the number of meat-centered meals in your life will naturally decline.
5. Be bad. If perfectionism is standing in your way, give yourself permission to be a bad vegetarian. Slip up at parties. Have turkey on Thanksgiving. Forget to read a label or two. Nobody is keeping score. Give yourself permission to make mistakes along the road; just get moving in the right direction!

What are some of the tricks you used to move yourself towards a vegetarian diet?

Post from: Blisstree

5 ways to slowly go vegetarian

1. When frequenting chain restaurants, the more extensive the menu, the better your veggie options tend to be. If you find yourself in middle American mall country, opt for one of the chains with a menu that goes on for pages and pages: Cheesecake Factory, PF Changs, or even TGIFridays will have several vegetarian items for you to choose from. Applebees and Chilis have fewer options for vegetarians, as I remember (please note that it has been years since I’ve been to any of these restaurants, so some of their menus may have changed for the better or worse in the meantime). If you’re stuck with fast food, try to find a Taco Bell or a sub shop such as Blimpie’s.
2. Go east. Asian restaurants almost invariably offer the best choice of dishes for vegetarians. Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and Chinese are all usually fabulous bets. Japanese restaurants usually have some great options, and more and more places seem to be offering extensive vegetarian sushi menus. One exception tends to be Korean – I’ve been to a few Korean restaurants which didn’t have anything veggie on the menu, but if you ask nicely they’ll usually put together a vegetarian bi bim bap for you. Vegans should be mindful that vegetarian Indian cooking often involves ghee (clarified butter) and paneer (cheese), so ask about a dish before you order.
3. Seek out an all-vegetarian restaurant or two. I take such delight in perusing a menu that is completely vegetarian. It’s such a nice feeling to have so much choice again, after being relegated to only one or two options at other restaurants. You may think your area doesn’t have any vegetarian restaurants, but you may be surprised. Ask at your local health food store. Check out a guide such as HappyCow. Ask other vegetarians you know.
4. Go Mediterranean. Italian, Turkish, and Greek restaurants usually have delicious vegetarian offerings. Italian pastas, pizzas, salads, and vegetable dishes are best fresh and served in the most authentic restaurant you can find (I know, not always easy). Greek and Middle Eastern restaurants usually offer a wide array of vegetarian salads and appetizers (hummus, falafel, tabbouleh, eggplant salad, cheese salad, stuffed grape leaves, tzatziki, etc.) – I tend to make a meal out of two or more small dishes. A word about stuffed grape leaves: the ones served cold are usually vegetarian, whereas the ones served hot usually contain lamb. When in doubt, ask the server.
5. Ethiopian and Mexican are usually excellent choices, too. I envy you if you have either of these nearby.
6. Wherever you dine, don’t be afraid to speak up. If you’d like to have a modified version of something on the menu (a salad without the bacon bits, a veggie plate made up of various side dishes), ask your server nicely if your request can be accommodated. If you’re not sure if a particular dish is vegetarian, ask. If it makes you feel more comfortable, preface your requests with a big smile and something like “Sorry to be a bother, but I’m a new vegetarian and I’m still trying to figure out what I can eat.” I cannot emphasize the “nicely” part enough – firstly, someone is more likely to help you out if you treat her with kindness and respect; secondly, being rude to someone who will be bringing you food is always a bad idea. Often places will be accommodating to your (reasonable) requests, but sometimes they won’t. You’ll never know unless you try. Also, by speaking up you let them know that there’s a demand for vegetarian options – maybe you’ll even inspire them to add to their menu selection.

What’s your favorite restaurant for vegetarian dining?

Post from: Blisstree

Vegetarianism for Beginners: Tips for dining out

You are opening the door to a whole new culinary world when you stop centering your meals around meat – allow yourself to explore new things! This post will focus on meals you prepare yourself; we’ll cover dining out in another post. My suggestions sometimes include eggs or dairy products – if you are going vegan, just skip those options or use a replacement (such as vegan cheese).

As you consider the suggestions below, jot down all of the ideas that come to mind. You should have a multi-week meal plan together in no time.

1. What meals do you already make that are vegetarian or could be vegetarian?
Chances are that a lot of what you already eat could be adapted into vegetarian-friendly meals. Think about your favorite things to cook, and how they could be tweaked to be meat-free. Sometimes you can just leave the meat out of the recipe all together. You could also try substituting an imitation meat product, or any form of vegetarian protein. Don’t be afraid to experiment and find out what works for you.

Love spaghetti with meat balls? Leave out the balls all together, or try making a vegetarian version. Are you a big fan of a cheeseburger with all the fixings? Explore your local stores for a veggie burger you can love just as much. If you’re not sure which brand to try, why not get several and have a taste test? Instead of chicken fajitas, just have veggie fajitas.

2. What favorite vegetarian foods could you learn how to make?
When I’m looking for new cooking ideas, I often turn to my favorite foods that I don’t yet know how to prepare. Think of your favorite restaurant meals, or those specialties prepared with love by your friends or family members. Then google the recipe, or hit up your friend for hers (or even a personal cooking lesson). Love stir-fried veggies but don’t know what to use as a sauce? Now’s a great time to learn.

Saag paneer is my standard order at Indian restaurants, or was until I moved to a city where I couldn’t find a restaurant which did it well. But thanks to the wonders of the internet, I was able to find a recipe I liked and make it myself. Pad thai with tofu has long been one of my favorite restaurant dishes, but it only occurred to me to try to make it myself when I came across the recipe in Vegan with a Vengeance. And I was finally inspired to try stuffing zucchini flowers myself when I took a cooking class last week which showed me how easy it was to do.

3. What recipes catch your eye?
Thumbing through some cookbooks or browsing around online can expose you to more recipe ideas than you could possibly try in your lifetime. Don’t get overwhelmed – just look for one or two dishes that sound interesting to you. Try browsing the cookbook section of your local bookstore for vegetarian cookbooks. You could try this online, too, but I find it more fun when you can literally thumb through the books. See if your local library has any vegetarian cookbooks on offer – and if they don’t, put in a request that they get some.

The internet contains a wealth of recipe sources for vegetarians. Even most non-vegetarian recipe sites allow you to search for vegetarian recipes. Check out the Veggie Chic sidebar under the heading Vegetarian Resources, or this page for a list of some of my favorite veg sites.

4. What’s available at your grocery store or market?
It’s easy to get into a routine at the grocery store, always grabbing your same standby foods and not really looking at the other things on offer. Time to open your eyes! Start by focusing on the fresh produce aisle. Challenge yourself to purchase at least one new veggie each time you go shopping. If you’re not sure how to prepare it, try looking up some recipes online.

In addition to fresh foods, you may be interested in exploring some other vegetarian products. Check out the refrigerated or freezer sections for vegetarian products such as veggie burgers, Quorn, etc. Wander down aisles you usually skip and see what’s available. Better yet, visit a specialty shop, farmers market, or health food store where you don’t normally shop. Don’t go too crazy with the processed foods, but don’t be afraid to try new things, either.

There’s such a wealth of delicious, fresh, vegetarian food out there waiting to be discovered. What are some of your favorite vegetarian foods to prepare?

Post from: Blisstree

Brainstorming meal ideas

Lucky for us vegetarians, there’s plenty to eat that’s not meat. After 17 years of vegetarianism, I have to say that my number one reason behind my food choices is taste, pure and simple. I love vegetarian food! And I’m happy to share what I’ve learned along the way with anyone interested in reducing the meat they consume.

So if you’re looking to move towards a diet that’s healthy, delicious, and good for the planet, stay tuned for some tips on making the transition. Have specific questions? Leave a comment or send me an email (jul at b5media.com).

Post from: Blisstree

New series: Vegetarianism for Beginners

One piece of advice that I liked was ‘if you can’t give up one particular animal product, give up all the other ones’. In other words, try being a flexitarian. According to Michael Pollan’s recent article in the New York Times (which I talked about here), people who eat tiny amounts of animal products are just as healthy as vegetarians, anyway.
The other advice I really liked was ‘don’t sweat the small stuff.’ Really, what’s the benefit of freaking out over a tiny bit of butter or some other animal ingredient? Regardless of whether your veg*nism is motivated by your health or animal rights, small amounts of things you can’t even taste are probably not going to hinder your goals in any significant way.

Vegetarianism is not a personal purity test — our positive and reasonable influence on others is just as important as our own commitment to a conscious and compassionate diet.

I think the overall senitment, that one can be vegetarian without being militant, is a great message to be spreading.

Post from: Blisstree

Becoming vegetarian: a different take on the beginner’s guide

While I really don’t like looking at sites such this, I can see the point. Isn’t it a good thing for us to know where our food comes from? Meat is chopped off a dead animal, not grown in little styrofoam trays in the grocery store. If the truth about your food’s origins grosses you out, should you be eating it in the first place?

On the other hand, I wonder if sites such as this ever actually convince anyone to give up meat, or do they just cause people to associate the gross images with vegans and animal rights activists? What do such images do for you?

Post from: Blisstree

Will gross pictures make you go vegan?

The mother in this article about raising vegetarian kids chose the latter approach. Luckily for her, feeding children a healthy vegetarian diet is easy:

Foods that appeal to kids include veggie burgers and hot dogs. Soy milk fortified with vitamin D and calcium is also a good bet. Yeast flakes are an easy way to add vitamin B-12 to your child’s diet, and while veggies like spinach provide a punch of zinc and iron, parents should pair it with vitamin C-rich fruits and veggies to enhance absorption.

The article made me wonder how many other parents would react the same way. The myth that meat is an essential part of a meal still seems to have a stronghold in most American kitchens, although hopefully this is changing. What do you think?

Post from: Blisstree

When good kids go veggie

[...] last week Britain’s leading organic baker, Andrew Whitely, wrote to me to warn of what he calls of “baking’s big secret” – the use of enzymes. Andrew describes the use of these enzymes as secret because they do not appear on the label. Industrial bakers use a loophole to classify them as “processing aids”. The problem for a vegan like me – or for that matter for Jews, Muslims and vegetarians – is that some of these enzymes are manufactured from animals, including pigs.

I am a label-reader, and I usually won’t ingest anything that I know contains something non-vegetarian. But I also don’t often go far out of my way to make sure something is really, really vegetarian. If I don’t know it’s there, and I can’t taste it, then fine. How far would you (or do you) go to avoid non-vegetarian or non-vegan foods in your diet?

Post from: Blisstree

How vegan is vegan enough?

It was one of the most ridiculous things I have ever read. Sure your body needs certain foods to stay healthy. But if it could accurately communicate those needs to you via cravings, wouldn’t we all be eating perfectly-balanced, healthy diets? Why is it that the most common cravings are for junk food? Because our bodies really need more Doritos to perform their best?

The truth is that cravings are only an indicator of what you (as a conscious human being) want, and not of what you need. If what you want is to eat meat, or ice cream, or twinkies, then that’s your choice to make, but don’t fall victim to the ridiculous excuse the blogger I mentioned earlier used. Just because you crave something doesn’t mean your body is better off if you eat it.

Post from: Blisstree

“But my body told me to eat meat” and other lies