Vegetarians/Vegans

[stripedysocks]

I haven't had meat in a week, I want to see if vegetarianism would be a good idea for me. So far, so good! I feel so much better in general, and even emotionally (battling depression so really anything that helps is good for me!)
I think vegetarianism will give me something to stand for, something to believe in. Plus, it's healthy as hell, so why not?! I'm excited, I hope all goes well for me with this

[justanotherhater]

I haven't had meat in a week, I want to see if vegetarianism would be a good idea for me. So far, so good! I feel so much better in general, and even emotionally (battling depression so really anything that helps is good for me!)
I think vegetarianism will give me something to stand for, something to believe in. Plus, it's healthy as hell, so why not?! I'm excited, I hope all goes well for me with this

I'm happy for you! I'm glad you feel better this quickly. It took me at least 2 weeks to feel better when I changed my diet drastically.

[Celestica]

does anyone have reccs for vegetarian receipe blogs

http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/
http://herbivoracious.com/
http://www.veggiebelly.com/
http://sidesaddlekitchen.com/
http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/

The last two are vegan-based blogs, but they have some awesome recipes. Side Saddle Kitchen is my personal favorite.

Thank you!

[Angie V]

I haven't had meat in a week, I want to see if vegetarianism would be a good idea for me. So far, so good! I feel so much better in general, and even emotionally (battling depression so really anything that helps is good for me!)
I think vegetarianism will give me something to stand for, something to believe in. Plus, it's healthy as hell, so why not?! I'm excited, I hope all goes well for me with this

I'm happy for you! I'm glad you feel better this quickly. It took me at least 2 weeks to feel better when I changed my diet drastically.

Same! I felt lighter but my body was NOT happy at first. I felt weak and I had to keep running to the bathroom often. But after about two weeks (just like you), it stabilized and I felt 100x better. :3

[Angie V]

I'd like to attempt a tofu scramble sometime, usually with tofu all I do is a basic stirfry or make desserts with silken tofu.

My mom actually made this for me the other day and it was really good!

[stripedysocks]

I haven't had meat in a week, I want to see if vegetarianism would be a good idea for me. So far, so good! I feel so much better in general, and even emotionally (battling depression so really anything that helps is good for me!)
I think vegetarianism will give me something to stand for, something to believe in. Plus, it's healthy as hell, so why not?! I'm excited, I hope all goes well for me with this

I'm happy for you! I'm glad you feel better this quickly. It took me at least 2 weeks to feel better when I changed my diet drastically.

Thanks! I wish my family would become vegetarian too, but they don't really understand. Maybe after my body is completely used to the vegetarian thing and they see how much healthier I am, they'll want to do it too.

[Nadeshda]

I usually marinate the sh*t out of tofu, just because the ones that are sold where I live are incredibly bitter and sour. I usually switch up the marinade, but right now I have it marinating in tomato puree, teryaki sauce, orange juice, lemon juice, paprika, olive oil, coriander leaves and pepper. There have been times when I also used mustard and honey (or agave) along with ketchup, barbecue sauce, liquid smoke, cinnamon, tahini... plenty of spices, plenty of flavour and to make sure it's all flavored, I top off the marinade with water. Leave overnight or longer marinating and just pan fry. Sometimes I also heat up the marinade liquid and let it thicken for a bit and pour over the cooked tofu. YUM!

[Angie V]

i just bought this book called 'the vegan cookbook' (hahaha the title cannot be more generic) at tj maxx for $6. it's green and has an assortment of beans on the cover. if any of you see it, i recommend it! i've made a few of the dishes in there and they are really delicious and not difficult (i'm a terrible cook), and my non-vegan, meat-eating family loved them too and have requested more (:

[Upnorth]

I usually marinate the sh*t out of tofu, just because the ones that are sold where I live are incredibly bitter and sour. I usually switch up the marinade, but right now I have it marinating in tomato puree, teryaki sauce, orange juice, lemon juice, paprika, olive oil, coriander leaves and pepper. There have been times when I also used mustard and honey (or agave) along with ketchup, barbecue sauce, liquid smoke, cinnamon, tahini... plenty of spices, plenty of flavour and to make sure it's all flavored, I top off the marinade with water. Leave overnight or longer marinating and just pan fry. Sometimes I also heat up the marinade liquid and let it thicken for a bit and pour over the cooked tofu. YUM!

Another awesome thing to do is bread tofu with nutritional yeast and spices after marinating it, then fry

[thrillah]

I eat vegan / raw a few days out of the week and I LOVE it. I haven't touched dairy in about 5 years and I never grew up eating red meat but do enjoy a good fish and chicken dish. I stay away from Soya too... is there anything else similar to tofu you guys could rec?

and just curious -- do any of you have protein shakes?

[canaduh]

Changing over to vegetarianism was relatively easy to me. I've always had a phobia of undercooked meat so I rarely ate it so the transition wasn't as horrible as some of my friends described it. I also had my mothers support on it. I don't really like tofu, but I do like having other forms of protein such as peanuts and nuts. I'm actually debating on becoming vegan, though I will be waiting until I have a steady job since it's very expensive in my local grocer for vegan alternatives.

[Nadeshda]

I eat vegan / raw a few days out of the week and I LOVE it. I haven't touched dairy in about 5 years and I never grew up eating red meat but do enjoy a good fish and chicken dish. I stay away from Soya too... is there anything else similar to tofu you guys could rec?

and just curious -- do any of you have protein shakes?

A good meat substitute you could try that is not soy based is seitan, which is made out of wheat flour. it is essentially seasoned gluten, so if you avoid gluten, don't go near it. Seitan's texture is way chewier than tofu and has more natural flavour to it, but you can still marinate it and cook it anyway you like. You can buy it premade or buy gluten flour and make your own - there are plenty of recipes online and you can add all sorts of seasings or spices that you like It's super easy to make too!

I have protein shakes regularly, but that's because I'm into heavy weightlifting (at least 3-4 times a week). I always have a shake after a workout, but when I wasn't lifting heavy, I'd only have one if I felt really tired or drained after a workout, or when I could feel I'd be really sore the next day. My shakes are whey-based, but I eat dairy. There are plenty of non dairy options, though

[Lumi]

I'm actually debating on becoming vegan, though I will be waiting until I have a steady job since it's very expensive in my local grocer for vegan alternatives.

I think vegan alternatives are relatively expensive almost everywhere in the world. I personally don't buy any of that stuff, but I guess it can be helpful if you like and are used to eating a lot of dairy products. The prices are absolutely ridiculous though!

[sleep84]

Oh My... I found Laura Verbichher facebook is

https://www.facebook.com/laura.verbich?fref=ts

Her blog is

http://fitgreenandgorgeous.wordpress.com/

I'm completely GONE. I'm obsessed with her now!!!
It's more of a fitness inspirational page, not for food freaks but for healthy and vegan stuff, I guess.

[erfaewsfdes]

Don't know if this has been posted but a vegan recipe finder! - http://foodgawker.com/post/category/vegan/

[justanotherhater]

What are your favorite vegan/vegetarian cooking YT channels? I enjoy watching recipe videos much more because they actually inspire me to get off my ass and cook something

These are mine:
http://www.youtube.com/user/VeganCookingWithLove/ (my absolute favorite, great editing and to the point)
http://www.youtube.com/user/veggietorials
http://www.youtube.com/user/lukin82/videos
http://www.youtube.com/user/MokoBrownVegan
http://www.youtube.com/user/TheSweetestVegan
http://www.youtube.com/user/ZombieGate/
http://www.youtube.com/user/TotallyVegetarian
http://www.youtube.com/user/VeganBlackMetalChef/
http://www.youtube.com/user/realmeneatgreen (not so active anymore)
http://www.youtube.com/user/JasonWrobelTV?

[charlavail]

I haven't had red meat or pork for like 2 years now. I don't know, I just stopped liking it. Same thing happened with seafood a couple months ago. I also don't eat dairy for my health.

I'm like an accidental vegetarian. I occasionally eat chicken though, but I'm starting to get sick of it as well...
Although I HATE tofu. In every way. I also hate that soy fake meat crap.

[LaLaLaLaHateYou]

http://www.youtube.com/user/VeganBlackMetalChef/

I absolutely adore him!! LOL!!

[Vojvodkinja]

Don't know if this has been posted but a vegan recipe finder! - http://foodgawker.com/post/category/vegan/

Thank you!!! I much more prefer blogs than youtube videos and this is a darn good blog!

[Moe424]

Well, I'm not a vegan. But this seems like a good thread so, I was wondering what are the benefits are of changing your diet to vegan? I want to try it because of the animals mostly and the way there being treated. I might try to be a vegan for a day or two, and see how it goes from there! Thanks for any of your guys help in advance!