Any vegetarians here?

I stumbled across a video on you tube called meet your meat this weekend, so I did more reading and more watching and my husband and I both have decided to go vegan...Its one thing to eat meat...but quite another to tourture living creatures,I had no idea.:eek:

Yes I have seen that video, its absolutely disgusting. I wish I could go vegan, but at my college its impossible cause I have to have a meal plan with the cafeteria, and I dont have a kitchen since I live in a dorm. But this summer when I'm at home I think I might try being more vegan.
 
I was a vegetarian for 6 years from almost 14 till 20. I ate things like gravy though, and i never gave up fish, but i didn't eat any meat.

I never lost weight, and find i actually eat healthier now that i eat meat, but that' smore because i'm eating meals my mum cooks, rather than a lot of ready made food. I was never good at eating a lot of vegetables.
 
I'm vegan =)
It did nothing to my weight... but my option had nothing to do with losing weight, I'm a lot more happier since the day I stoped killing to feed myself.
 
I stumbled across a video on you tube called meet your meat this weekend, so I did more reading and more watching and my husband and I both have decided to go vegan...Its one thing to eat meat...but quite another to tourture living creatures,I had no idea.:eek:

You've made the most wonderful choice! Welcome to vegan world, you'll notice the changes... in your health, beauty and peace... I can't express how beautiful is to be vegan... Yey for you!! :D :D :D
 
I don't think vegetarian diets are necessarily healthier than others. However, it usually does force you to consume more vegetables, which many people lack. But lots of fattening, unhealthy junk foods are still vegetarian, so watch out for that!

When rightly done, it's healthier... but a lot of people hasn't the necessary education to be a good vegetarian...
Tofu is an hell of an aliment! High protein, no fat, a lot of benefic elements..
Go tofu! :p :p
 
I do not eat beef because the methods of producing it are awful right now. I eat some vegetarian-fed chicken about twice a week. I would say that it is hardy to eat good if you workout a lot and do not eat meat but I do not eat beef anymore.
 
When rightly done, it's healthier... but a lot of people hasn't the necessary education to be a good vegetarian...
Tofu is an hell of an aliment! High protein, no fat, a lot of benefic elements..
Go tofu! :p :p

I am sooooo scared to try tofu. Do you have any good recipes for beginner tofu eaters? I wont be able to try cooking it until I go home this summer, but I definitely want to experiment with vegetarian cooking.
 
I am sooooo scared to try tofu. Do you have any good recipes for beginner tofu eaters? I wont be able to try cooking it until I go home this summer, but I definitely want to experiment with vegetarian cooking.

Dont freak out :D I was just like you before trying! When I became vegetarian, I was... "ok, I have to eat that, but it seems... oh... i'm going to puke!".. I spent a lot of time without eating soy/tofu/seitan... But any vegetarian should do this! So I had to made myself like those things...
What was my plan? well, when you're really hungry you eat things that otherwise you wouldnt eat... I had my lunch and then I didnt eat anything in the afternoon, waiting for dinner... 7 hours without eating, yes it was unhealthy but sometimes we must to radical things... At dinner I went to a veggie restaurant.. and oh god... "I'm sooooooooo hungry!! what? tofu?? YES, I love that!" :D :D
Made this for 3 days... at the end of it, I was a tofu lover! Right now... I couldnt take tofu out of my life! It is really a question of habits...
Once we turn vegetarian.. by moral, I mean, we compromise not to eat meat because we care about animals and environment, we cant step back, what kind of person takes a so importante choice and then steps back? loosers... but we must be healthy so we know we must eat vegan protein sources.. If we must, we do.. and some time later, it gets really easy and we dont miss or desire those old painful flavoures anymore.
Recipes.. well.. its hard to tell, I've many books but they are in Portuguese and I dont know english sites where you could go, but I'm going to google it a little :) But I think you could try a vegetarian restaurant at the beginning because when we do it by ourselfs first we might not liking tofu because we made it badly... and then we think we get the wrong idea about tofu :)
 
lol thanks so much. I will definitely have to try out your plan of trying tofu for the first time. Right now I just eat a lot of beans to get fiber/protein, but I would love to have the options that tofu would allow me. I know there are some really good vegetarian restaurants in my hometown, so when I go home this summer I will definitely make myself experiment with it.
 
Tofu really has no flavor -it takes on the flavor of whatever it's being cooked with - if you like strong flavorful sauces -like curries -that's really the best way to start with it... the worst part of tofu, if there is one, is getting past the texture of it... It's really got a texture unlike anything else Ive had...

the frozen food section usually sells lots of meat replacements -morning star farms makes a lot of different meat replacements that arent bad - the biggest problem I have wit them - is will only eat beef rare or medium rare, so going to a veggie burger or soy burger everyhing is cooked til it's dead and that's just off putting.. .but if you like well done -you won'tt notice a difference
 
Yeah, texture is a big thing for me too. Like I refuse to eat Jello, I just hate the way it feels in my mouth,and I think tofu has a texture similar to Jello. I actually do like veggie burgers as long as they are set up like a real burger (bun, cheese, lettuce, etc...) but that sometimes takes away the healthiness factor of it. I have had the morningstar vegetarian breakfast patties and they are pretty good, I'll probably get some of those this summer when im home. For now, when im at school I pretty much survive off of beans lol, but my body has adjusted to all the gaseous foods I eat (lots of beans, broccoli, lettuce) so that I dont feel bloated or have gas, its pretty amazing what the body can adjust to!
 
tofu isn't quite as bad as jello more of a flan that's a little too firm - i'm not sure what the texture really is - but some methods it can be good -like using a grill pan with teriyaki sauce - i find it best with really strong flavors...

it's definiely woth trying - it comes in different textures -frm soft whic you can blend into things like shakes or dips -or an extra firm which is good cut in chunks in a sauce.
 
tofu isn't quite as bad as jello more of a flan that's a little too firm - i'm not sure what the texture really is - but some methods it can be good -like using a grill pan with teriyaki sauce - i find it best with really strong flavors...

it's definiely woth trying - it comes in different textures -frm soft whic you can blend into things like shakes or dips -or an extra firm which is good cut in chunks in a sauce.

Thanks for the info! I like flan ok, i just dont know if I would like a flan that tasted like teriyaki sauce lol....oh well I guess i'll just have to force myself to experiment. It could be fun to take some friends to a vegetarian restaurant and have us all be completely stumped about what to order.
 
that's kind of the best way to do it - ask the server for some suggestions and just share everything...

vegetarian lasagna is always safe :)
 
I've been vegetarian for as long as I have and I'm yet to try tofu. That sounds really bad. My partner insists she doesn't like it, so we don't eat it, but I'm not sure if she's ever tried it cooked properly. I understand it's made from soya milk, which means I should like it, since I love soya milk.
 
Just stopped by to say hi...Im not a vegetarian, but I have always thought about tofu. I was never really sure how to cook it though. I'll be interested on your thoughts of it. I have always wanted to try being a vegetarian for a while, just because it can be so healthy, but to be honest, I really am not that big of a veggie eater and I think I will starve!! lol.....

Let me know how the tofu goes....

BIKINI BABES RULE
 
I always thought tofu tasted and felt a bit like scrambled eggs only slightly firmer. It's qutie nice in chinese style food.

The only vegetarian meat i could ever eat was quorn.
 
tofu seriously has no flavor - it's all about what you're cooking it with...

a very simple curry sauce (that you can adjust the spices to your liking) is

1 can of light cocoanut milk (not the sweetened stuff that's used in pina coladas)
1 can chicken broth
4 cloves of garlic
1 onion, chopped
3- 4 tbs curry powder (sweet or spicey, your choice - I tend to go half and half)
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin


sautee the onion and garlic til translucent
add the cocoanut milk and chicken broth (ok vegetable broth for non meat eaters)
and bring to a boil and let reduce but about 1/4 (takes about 10 minutes ish)

add the spices and bring to a simmer

Add in about a pound of large diced extra firm tofu and let simmer about 20 minutes

You could also add some mushrooms in there as well for flavor

at the end add in a handful of torn fresh basil for color

serve over rice or shiratake noodles

(the sauce also works well with chicken instead of tofu and even better if you m ake turkey or chicken meatballs -it will be the best thai meatballs you've ever had)
 
Thanks Mal! it seems like you know a lot about cooking. I have seen some of your recipes in the Recipe section and they sound delicious! I love to cook, but I dont have much practice at it, so I'm hoping that I'll have plenty of chances to practice this summer. I will definitely try that recipe, I have always wanted to try something with curry in it, but I never have.
 
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