Vegetarian/Vegan?

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   iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years ago

   Come and introduce yourself! Let's get to know more vegetarians and vegans! Let's share our experiences, our knowledge, and our foods!
   And if you're not currently a vegetarian or vegan but are thinking about it, you are still more than welcome to join in!
   
   *I have personally been a vegetarian for about 4 years now and a vegan for 7 months and I have enjoyed every minute of it! I would never go back! I chose this lifestyle because I love and appreciate life too much to eat. I wouldn't eat a human being, why would I eat an animal? I absolutely love animals, they're the best companions

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      Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hello! Awesome! I have been a vegetarian for 10 years! Changed my life! Looking forward to future conversations! Blessings!

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         iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         That's great!! I sure hope to get to say the same 6 years from now;D

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      ecoethicalveganposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Hi! I've been vegan for around 3 &1/2 years.I luv that anyone makes any effort to reduce their reliance upon animal products, it's all good!
      
      Thanx for the subject matter
      
      _/ \_

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         iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

         

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   WryLiltposted 12 years ago

   I am not a vegetarian or vegan.
   
   I just hate the taste of meat. I don't eat it at home and if I'm forced to eat it when out, will only do so if it's covered in enough condiments to cover the tasteless and rubber like flavor.

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have a friend that's like that! I find it very interesting ... is there any kind of meat you do like?
      
      Thank you for sharing!

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         WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Nope. They all taste like rubber - although fish tastes like saltier and softer rubber. To me, steak and chicken taste the same!

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            iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Wow, really? I know when I did eat meat, I won't lie, it was good, lol, but I find it gross now. And I never really liked fish or any kind of seafood so I've always been clear there... but like rubber, hmm, I don't know if the taste came close to that, haha:)
            
            Have you tried any kind of meat substitute? They sell them at most grocery stores and they're not always made up of tofu... Just a thought:)

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               WryLiltposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               Oh yeah, I eat sanitarium nut based products. And you can actually find some nice flavored tofu.

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   Lisa HWposted 12 years ago

   I've had my mostly vegetarian phases over the years.  I say "mostly" because I'll usually eat eggs and cheese during those phase.  When I'm in a non-vegetarian phase I'll add tuna salad because it makes me feel better.  I'm now recently back into the egg/cheese phase (ovo-lacto vegetarian, which doesn't count in the eyes of some vegetarians).  My daughter tried vegan for a year or so, so I'm pretty familiar with vegan foods.  Last year I had a vegan engagement party for her and her fiance.  That was a little bit of a challenge.  The upcoming wedding will be vegetarian.
   
   My reasons haven't ever been health.  (I care about healthy eating, but that's never been the reason for being vegetarian, or "bordering" on it with the tuna salad thing).  It's always been the "other issue" - well, that, and the fact that meat is really creepy to eat.  I stay away from a lot of vegetarian discussions, though, because they so often lead somewhere that I find disturbing.

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      Marlena Oechsnerposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Lisa, I really identified with your post. I am a vegetarian but eat eggs, cheese, milk, honey. I don't eat meat because I don't like the thought of killing an animal. But I do eat fish. That usually sends many a blogger into a frenzy about me actually being a vegetarian. I do eat some vegan foods (Boca and Morningstar save me from boring lunches). But I could never give up milk or yogurt or ice cream! Besides, milking a cow doesn't kill it. I've grown up on a dairy farm, so I guess my lifestyle is based on experiences growing up and every person has their own reasoning. Who is to say what really defines a vegetarian?

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         Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         I'm always reluctant to join in vegetarian discussions (in fact, I usually don't) because I slip into that thing where I add tuna salad for awhile until I get creeped out by it (again).   What I've found, though, is that there are times when, if I'm in a particularly "frazzled" state of mind (or else feeling kind of exhausted a lot of the time), tuna salad makes me feel better - so I "slip up" in order to feel better.   I do eat honey (but don't use leather products other than that a couple of pairs of shoes I have do have some leather on them).  (Separate issue for people who aren't vegans, but again, I cross the border in a couple of isolated ways.)
         
         Morningstar and Boca - I have a freezer full of them.  I like them best browned in a pan with a little oil or a little margarine.  I don't do that all the time, but if I'm serving a guest a meal with those I'll do it because it makes them that much better (I think). 

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            Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Lisa, I recently found Boca's! They are the next best thing. Although I wasn't a huge burer eater in the past, I found them to be a good replacement for some texture...from eating salads, veggies and juices everyday. I am so grateful to have this forum

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         JayeWisdomposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         There are many types of vegetarians (though only one type of vegan). I've been a strict vegetarian, then a complete vegan, now am back to a type of vegetarianism known as "ovo-pescetarianism" because I eat organic eggs from free-range grass-fed hens, as well as some fish because my doctor says at my age and with my health issues I need to eat certain fish instead of taking fish oil supplements.
         
         I can't bring myself to eat meat, but stopped trying to convert all of my extended family and friends to vegetarianism quite a while ago. Some of them do eat very small amounts of meat or eat it infrequently. Perhaps that's my influence...who knows?
         
         While they will eat a lot of veg dishes when they visit (I'm a pretty inventive cook), I now try to keep some grassfed, free-range chicken strips and grassfed, free-range bison in the freezer for them. Because I know this meat comes from a natural, non-cruel environment and not a factory farm, I can handle feeding it to my guests. I just can't eat it myself, and I don't like preparing it. When you haven't eaten meat in a long time, you tend to develop a distaste for even seeing raw or cooked meat. It makes me feel quite ill if I drive near enough to a McDonald's to smell hamburger cooking.
         
         So, don't worry, Marlena, you are a lacto-ovo-pescetararian if anyone asks you again!

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Nothing wrong with being an ovo-lacto vegetarian:)
      That's awesome that you're familiar with it, but what I find even cooler is that you made a vegan engagement party and are doing a vegetarian wedding! That shows true support to your daughter's choice of lifestyle! I don't think my family would survive without their meat at my parties, haha. The food can be expensive but it's so good:D
      
      Thank you very much for sharing!!

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         Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         A lot of people were skeptical to know the party would be vegan, but the food was good.  (It wasn't all that easy to find a baker who'd do a vegan cake, but the one I got did a beautiful job - no bargain, though.)   I'm sure there were people who would have rather had a non-vegan menu, but it wasn't like they got "weird vegan food" (the way a lot of people thought they would).

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            iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            That's awesome:) I'm sure the food was great, something different:)

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   Faceless39posted 12 years ago

   Great to see this topic come up; thanks for the thread!  I've been vegetarian for almost half my life (15 years out of 34) and tried the vegan thing for 5 years until I fell off the wagon with CHEESE.  There was just nothing like cheese in the vegan world, I'm afraid.  But I often opt for vegan meals, anyway, and love veggies!
   
   I wonder if vegetarians and vegans tend to buy organic more than meat eaters?

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      Lisa HWposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      My kids were pretty much raised on the octo-lacto type diet.  I'd make occasional, limited, exceptions because I didn't want to completely eliminate some things from their diet.  They very much turned into adults who don't eat meat (two of them, more than one of them, though).
      
      I think the main difference between my daughter's previous vegan diet and her "plain old" vegetarian diet now is cheese.  I don't know..   She's got having babies ahead of her.  I'm not sure such a strict diet (as vegan) would be great.  A lot of vegan foods are just "vegan by accident", so that works out well.
      
      Oddly, I tend to stay away from organic stuff because I don't really like the idea of some chemicals not being used.  I'm already paranoid enough about fresh produce.  I worried more about chemicals and additives when my kids were little.  Now it's just me, and I'm not all that comfortable with some organic products. 

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Wow! 15 years? I sure hope to last that long and longer!!
      Did you get sick after eating cheese after so long?

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      Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Oh My! Cheese was the hardest to give up! Over the years, I found dairy to tire me out; sluggish, feeling bloated. After stop eating it, as GOOD AS IT TASTE.. I feel better not eating any dairy. I have it every blue moon, but health is more important. I am looking for a good alternative. I tried soy based products in the upscale grocery stores, but so far nothing really good. Anyone know of a good cheese subsititute?

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   SanXuaryposted 12 years ago

   I am Vegan but chose to be for better health after watching forks over knives. The evidence was to convincing and if its true it really is a crime that more people are not being told and it is not being promoted. When you show proof that cancer can be stopped and coronary heart disease can be reversed that is really powerful stuff. The studies include the largest human study on health ever conducted. I have never purchased prepared vegan food and I make all of my foods from whole foods. It is actually very difficult to do when around 80 percent of all of are products contain some animal by product. Its no wonder that we our overdosing on animal by products. Still my food bill is the lowest it has ever been by default. I spent only 35 dollars one month. I use to drink two pots of coffee a day and now one cup is to much. I also feel like I have the energy of an 18 year old.

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   AlanSaldanaposted 12 years ago

   Girl, let me tell you. I would not worry to much about the clothes and what they are made of. It is hard enough worrying about all the food with animal stuff in it.
   http://www.zimbio.com/Bodybuilding/arti … eless+male

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   Dani Katarinaposted 12 years ago

   So happy you posted this!!! i went vegetarian 10 months ago, and this month i decided to transition to veganism. I am definitely always on the look out for new vegan buddies (online or off) love to share and love to learn from others!! My name is Dani and I have a blog: www.the-healthy-hippie.com...i love cooking and am always posting new recipes and writing reviews on new vegan products i discover!
   
   nice to meet you and everyone else, feel free to add me as a friend! always looking for new vegan interactions.

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Awesome! I will gladly add you!

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   adamwebb1991posted 12 years ago

   In Western medicine, patients are sometimes advised to adhere to a vegetarian diet.

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      I have definitely heard that:)

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   SanXuaryposted 12 years ago

   More and more doctors are converting to nutrition as the best medicine. Here is something beyond absurd. The claim is that the more milk you drink the less of a chance that you will suffer from osteoporosis. Yet America consumes more dairy then any country on Earth and suffers the most from it. We have more broken hips then any country in the World as well as hip replacements. The statistic are staggering in opposition to our current nutritional belief system.

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      iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

      Well aren't we the only living things that still drink milk after needing it as babies? Cows are forced to produce it for our pleasure when we honestly don't need it at this age... No wonder we're messed up, haha. Something I had heard that I found pretty interesting!

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         Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

         Very interesting! Milk along with other diary products make me slugglish. I have found, for me, health wise, it is not good. SanXuary true statement!

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            iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

            Isn't it? Haha, I've only been vegan for about 7 months but I find I feel a ton better than I did before!
            Have you tried milk and dairy substitutes? It's a matter of getting used to the change -- I have Original Silk Soy milk with everything! And for ice cream, my local grocery store has a few tofu and soy ice cream bars that are absolutely delish! Not trying to say go vegan, but if you can't have milk/dairy, that doesn't mean you can't have the wonderful taste at all!

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               Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

               I have tried Soy a few times, wasn't impressed. However, it could have been the brand or etc. I will try the Silk Soy. I do miss a good cold glass of milk. Soy ice cream bars? Wow! That sounds heavenly. Now, that will make my weekend if I can taste one of those!! Thanks so much! I had just given up and sacrificed! Feel good, but if I can have a substitute, that would be a plus!

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                  iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

                  Haha, do try it! And like you said, it may be the brand so I would try a couple. I personally haven't tried the tofu ice cream but the soy is really good! Tastes just like chocolate and vanilla!! Your local grocery store just might have some!
                  Good luck!

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                     Rachel1Curryposted 12 years agoin reply to this

                     Thanks

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    iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years ago

    No problem:)

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    modgirlokposted 12 years ago

    I'm vegan, and have been for two years, other than a few minor slip-ups with dairy containing breads or desserts my first Thanksgiving as a vegan. It's nice to see so many other ethical eaters here.

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       iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       I just spent my first vegan Thanksgiving as well -- went pretty great!
       Slip-ups: Yeah, I've had my share of those. People who tell me they swear it's vegan and after a bite I see there are pieces of cheese:/
       As long as in our hearts we know we're vegans, we're good is the way I look at it:)
       Agreed with seeing so many other vegetarians/vegans -- good support!
       
       Thank you for sharing:)

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    SanXuaryposted 12 years ago

    Its all right to slip up this is not a religion. My goal is to reduce the consumption of animal based products in my diet to improve my health. Some products are incredibly hard to find or simply to expensive to replace. Still when I do the math and reduce the number of times I actually eat it. I am winning by huge numbers in comparison to those who pay no attention to it at all. A number of products state that they use the same processing equipment. This makes the odds and quantity incredibly remote of consuming animal based products but yes its a chance a remote one. I knew another person who would eat eggs only if they were un-fertilized. The odds of having a factory hen that even sees a rooster in its life time is incredibly remote. I personally do not touch eggs at all. For me bread is the hardest item in my area to find that does not contain milk. I would love to open my own store with properly labelled products and products that meet vegan guidelines. I would love to shop in a place that does not cost a arm and a leg and allows a healthy choice with out trading off for high corn fructose or some other non food group. I would have my own bakery and cannery supporting local organic farmers and make a chain of healthy food stores. I would post the truth to good health on every aisle. My question to a World of obesity and countless health problems is how bad do you really want to live?

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       iiimusicfreak27posted 12 years agoin reply to this

       And I would visit your store, haha. Yeah, the stuff is expensive and hard to find in normal stores. Good thing I have an organic/vegetarian/vegan grocery store nearby that does have everything labeled. Only problem is, the stuff costs "an arm and a leg" haha. But it's worth it:)

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