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How do I become a healthy vegetarian?
Excerpts from "Your Guide to Becoming a Vegetarian" - E-book PDF 518kb
Chapter 1: Introduction
So, you’ve decided to become a vegetarian but you are not sure where to start? What do you eat? How do you deal with others? What about nutrition? Can I get enough calcium? How will I feel my children? What if my spouse doesn’t want to change? We are going to answer those questions in this book. But to get started you need to understand a little about yourself. Ever make New Years Resolutions you didn’t keep? Life will carry you away if you don’t stop to think over your own thoughts. That’s right, before we talk about the diet of a vegetarian, I want to discuss the thought process of change.
First of all, it is important to think about why you are becoming a complete vegetarian before you even get started with changing your lifestyle. What is motivating you to change your eating habits:
- Health issues?
- Animal rights?
- Environmental?
- Longevity?
- Vitality for your later years?
- Prevention of disease?
- Culture change?
- To loose weight?
- Increase your mental health?
- Desire for new foods?
- Religious or spiritual?
- Overcome heart disease?
- Deal with diabetes?
- Endurance and athletic performance?
- Spouse or partner is a vegan?
- Want more energy and vitality?
- OTHER:_____________???
Most of you probably have several of these reasons or even others. Knowing each of the reasons that affect you, will help you make the right choices and keep up your motivation to change your way of life.
Next, how much do you eventually want to change? Regardless of how many animal products you would like to give up, you can use this guide in the process of your life change. This is a monumental change for many people and to have a personal guide you can depend on is a big help. That is what this book is all about. Guiding you through a lifestyle change to help you stick with your choices.
How fast are you willing to change? Some people drop everything overnight and never look back. But most people who jump in too fast, without considering why they are changing, slowing drop it over the next 5 to 10 years. You need to make a conscious thought filled choice at every turn to keep up your new healthy habit. Positive lifestyle change is not as easy as just buying veggies and not buying meat.
So, we are going to go through a simple 3 step formula for making change and we will peak each one down as we go:
- Motivation
- Knowledge & Action
- Higher Power
Ok, before you close the book, I want to let you know we are going to make this very real and practical for vegetarianism and making those changes. I am not a psychologist, but there are some real issues you will have to face making this lifestyle change. Let’s break it down, so you can see exactly what is coming.
- Motivation - in chapter one will go into detail on how you can stay motivated in your new change.
- Knowledge & Action - this is the longest portion of the change model.
- What are the steps of progression?
- What can I eat? (Recipes in the Appendix of the E-Book or browse online)
- Nutrients you need
- Menu planning
- Cooking tips
- Where will I shop?
- Higher Power - this is an important chapter dealing with the problems you may face as a vegetarian. How to deal with family, how to have self-control, and so on which we will discuss in question answer format in chapter 10!
We will help you with getting some delicious recipes, in the Appendix, to get you started so you can make meals your whole family will love. That is my goal. I want to help you make your choice to become a vegetarian as easy as possible.
So, get ready to make a difference in your life!
Chapter 2: Motivation
Remember that list of what motivates people to go vegetarian in chapter 1?
- Health issues?
- Animal rights?
- Environmental?
- Longevity?
- And so on....
Now is the time to really think over your reasons. Consider each one that applies to you in detail and rate them as to how important each one is in your life. This will determine the priority of that item in relationship to other factors in your life. Is a health lifestyle more important than a certain hobby you may have? Some thing may conflict in your life either because of type or time, and you have to decide, make a conscious choice to prioritize.
How important is it for you to stay healthy? Join a forum for health and vegetarian issues. What concerns you the most about animal abuse and misuse? Join a Vegan Club. What is bothering you about the environment? Join the Sierra Club. Are you trying to prevent or treat heart disease? Find a local CHIP chapter (Coronary Health Improvement Program). Do you see a pattern here yet or should I go on? Social support. Friendship. Like minded individuals. One of the biggest pitfalls to change is a lack of support. GET SOME! A place to ask questions, someone to lean on when self cries out “I’ve HAD enough!” Social support is one of the biggest helps for those making change. We are gregarious creatures with a desire for company and encouragement. Get a friend to lean on!
Learn about the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle and share those with others. As you share, you are more motivated to keep moving forward. For an in depth look at the benefits of Vegetarianism - Go to: www.healthyhomecookin.com and check out the FREE health articles! Get informed and stay informed. Sign up to vegetarian newsletters, look for local supper clubs, join a book of the month club, or look for a Seventh-Day Adventist Church, as they often put on health seminars. Even if health is not the primary reason you are going vegetarian, the seminars will help remind and motivate you to continue in your new found lifestyle.
Prepare for the trials! Yes, there will be trials, temptations, and tantalizations. Plan ahead how you will deal with circumstances. Give yourself an armor to fight the battles. So, if eating out with friends is problematic, then have a plan. Perhaps choose a restaurant that is favorable to vegetarianism, or think ahead what you can order before you get there. If it is going to a relatives home for the weekend, think of was you can participate in meal preparations. Make it fun, enjoy the variety, and avoid criticizing others for their choices. Like begets like. If you are critical or condescending of others it will come back to bite you!
Prepare for the wrong thoughts that come to sabotage your new choice to live a healthier lifestyle as a vegetarian. Redirecting your thoughts is one of the keys to changing your mental outlook. When an insidious negative thought comes, learn to recognize it and then re-direct it into a positive thought or at least neutralize it. Sounds like a sci-fi movie, huh? Vaporize those incoming missals of destruction! Ok, its not quite like that, but you get the idea. You are what you think so think about what you want to be.
Post little notes to remind yourself, why you are making these changes. “I will feel better about myself.” “I appreciate the benefits of this choice.” and so on. Little notes help you to stay focused when your emotions are drained. They guide your thoughts, like mentioned above, to a more positive outlook.
Share with others! Sharing what you have with others helps to keep you on track. It keeps you motivated to learn more, keep going, and press forward. You will be motivated to keep advancing in your own progress as you mentor others in theirs. It will give you even more meaning and will keep everything fresh. Hold mini cooking classes, invite a friend to a vegan meal you’ve prepared, join a group and help out in it.
To recap on motivation:
- Get social support
- Learn the benefits
- Prepare for the bumps
- Challenge unproductive thoughts
- Post reminders of why you choose this
- Share with others
So, what are the steps of progression for a health lifestyle as a vegetarian? Let’s explore those next....
Chapter 3: What are the steps to becoming vegetarian?
Here it is the part you’ve all been waiting for. How do I start making the actual changes in my diet?
The first big step in a healthy lifestyle is adding nutritious foods while eliminating the most harmful things, like: chemicals, drugs, alcohol, caffeine, etc. I strongly suggest you get off all the Biblical abominable's like pork products, shrimp, etc. See Leviticus 11. These are some of the highest in cholesterol and other contaminates. It is not a good idea to eat a living garbage dump, but that is exactly what you are doing when you eat bottom feeders like lobster and shrimp. Hummmmm, bet you never thought of that while dining out on these costly critters.
The second step in a healthy lifestyle change is eating more whole foods, like whole grains (not whole watermelon). Start by adding whole wheat flour to your baking, use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white for a nice mix. This allows it to still be light and tasty, while adding the fiber and B’vits of the whole grains. Start using new grains like Spelt or Kamut. The more new foods you add to your diet, the less you will miss those other foods. The more natural the state of the food the better!
Next step, reduce and eliminate your cheese consumption. This is the hardest for people to give up, but it is one of the worse foods. It is devoid of many nutrients and hard to digest. Even harder than meat!
Ok, now it is time to reduce and eliminate meat. Start with the red meats and progress to chicken and fish. It seems red meats create more of a craving than the others. Start with going vegetarian two days per week. Then work your way to a complete week. Take however long you need to develop a system and habit you can live with. If you go too fast you may give up. Not to mention the other’s in your household may not approve! You can use the meat substitutes, also called meat analogs. Now that sounds delicious! Or you can opt for recipes that are more conducive to both lifestyles like: pasta, lasagna, rice & beans, Chinese food, Indian food, etc.
Reduce and eliminate other dairy products like butter, milk, ice cream and so on. These are fairly easy to replace with substitutes. Soy milk, non-hydrogenated margarine, soy ice cream, etc. It may take some time to find a brand your family likes. There are so many to choose from and you can even make your own when you get that ambitious. Here are just a few brands:
- Silk
- So-Good
- Rice Dream
- Vita-soy
- Almond Breeze
- Hemp milk
- Better Than Milk
- Pacific (almond, soy)
- Soy Dream
- and many “store” or no-name brands
There are lots of recipes to make your own milk and other diary substitutes, will explore some of those in our recipe section.
Now it is time to lower the fat! Yes, I’m given it where it hurts. For some, like my dear husband, the next cut is a more painful, heart wrenching one, reducing sugar, but for me it is fat. Donuts, cookies, french fries, potato chips, deep fried detectables! I realize you can make all the above vegetarian and even vegan, and you can make them healthier than purchased varieties. But for the most part these foods are blood vessel blocks and bombs! So, if all you care about is the cow and not cholesterol, I guess you can skip this section. (There are more problems than cholesterol, but you get the idea.) By the way for those of you who know cholesterol only comes from animal products and you’re eating fried foods with veggie oil, don’t forget your body makes it own cholesterol. Many a vegetarian has been surprise to get their blood tests back. Don’t be one of them!
The first thing to get rid of in the fat department, is the hard fats and reduce the free fats. What on earth are those? Hard fats are usually hydrogenated so they don’t melt at room temperature. They are often high in saturated fat and trans fats. Nasty little guys they are. Wreaking havoc on your poor little cells. You can use non-hydrogenated fats or oils instead of those bad guys.
Free fats are not free of charge. You still pay in weight gain, heart disease, and your pocket book. Free fats are any fat that are not in their natural habitat. All vegetable oils, margarine, and so on. Reduce these to a minimum, and then reduce them again. Sometimes what we think is the minimum today, is a lot as our taste buds adapt. Yes, your taste will change. Hurraaaaahh! It won’t taste yucky forever. Actually, it shouldn’t taste too bad right now. I have found, since I have been eating this way for over a decade (Love that, makes me sound old and wise.), I have noticed I am still drawn to the donut section. I linger, drooling over the deep fried bread (I should mention I live on bread and potatoes), and I think. Ah, just one, once more for good old memories of taste bud reunions. So, I succumb. I buy one. I eat one. Well, some times I can get through one. I find they aren’t so good any more. The grease oozes out and the sugar hurts my teeth. My guts start to complain, “What did they do to the donuts?” Nothing, I’ve changed, not the donuts.
Reduce sugar in your cooking step by step. You will be surprise how much sugar you can take out of a recipe before it is tasteless. We are an over do society and sugar is no exception. I have written over seven cookbooks and when I look at some of my recipes I think, whoa, that looks like a lot of sugar, half of cup! Then I pull out an “original” and find it said two cups. Oh, right half a cup for a cake that serves 6 to 8 people isn’t too bad. Especially since my icing has little or no sugar, while the “original” has another 2 CUPS!
I would also suggest you reduce spices as your taste buds and buddies adjust to a vegetarian diet. Spices can create crippling cravings causing caving of conscience. (Say that 5 times, fast!) Spices like cinnamon, black pepper -- REALLY bad, and hot foods. Teach your body to go natural. Less is more. Eat your food as close to the way the creator created it.
In summary here is the cooking PROGRESSION to a Healthier Lifestyle:
1. Omit harmful products such as chemicals, drugs, etc.
2. Eat more whole foods (including whole grains) and more raw if possible. Start adding whole wheat flour to your baking. Use 1/2 whole wheat and 1/2 white to get started.
3. Reduce and eliminate cheese
4. Reduce and eliminate meat.
5. Reduce and eliminate other dairy products.
6. Reduce oils like margarine.
7. Reduce sugar & spices.
For the next 7 chapters download the e-book - PDF 518kb