Vegetarians.

[LilBit]

I try not to overdo it on the soy, so I tend to eat a lot of dairy, beans, whole-grain pasta, peanut/almond butter, and oatmeal.

 

[Redsox]

At home I eat a lot of salads and pasta and love Thai when I go out. I eat far too much bread.

 

[Ram]

Whether you're a vegetarian or not, avoid refined carbs and remember to eat your fats (avocado, nuts and seeds and coconut).

Stock up on potatoes, beans and cottage cheese. You will need your protein.

 

[Spiff]

Sometimes when I think about the horrible things that are done to the animals I eat, I ponder about becoming vegetarian. But then my carnivorous human instinct always overpowers me and wins. I'm so weak, I know. Damn those ancestors of mine!!!

 

[bankside]

I had given up vegetables completely but now I realise I actually enjoy some of them in moderation and I need to include them as part of a healthy lifestyle. Tonight steaks...Tomorrow rotisserie chicken. And I'll probably cook some kind of vegetable with them. Maybe even not potato if I feel daring.

I work with a woman who occasionally has a meal of nothing but vegetables, which seems a little extreme to me.

Oh, and just now I had one of those "fruit to go" fruit leather strips.

 

[PlazaPeej]

"The beef industry has contributed to more American deaths than all the wars of this century, all natural disasters, and all automobile accidents combined. If beef is your idea of `real food for real people,' you'd better live real close to a real good hospital." -- Neal D. Barnard, M.D., President, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, Washington, D.C.

http://www.indianchild.com/vegeterianism_quotes.htm

 

[hylas]

vegetarian here. i eat whatever i feeli like eating... but im lazy, so i almost never make things that take too much time. i end up making pasta a lot. tomato sauce, broccoli sauce, cougette sauce, spiatch sauce... also, lots of cheese.

I was never quite able to wrap my head around (...) why cow's have feelings but lettuce doesn't.

is this a joke? you think lettuce has feelings?

in case youre serious: feelings, pain, joy, thoughts, awareness, the sense of identity... all those things are directly connected to the nervous system. cows have a nervous system that is quite similar to ours, which makes it likely that they feel and think in a somewhat similar way. the nervous system of a slugg, on the other hand, is very different, so the existance of a slugg is probably very different. plants dont have any nerves at all, so its reasonable to assume that they dont have any form of awareness, or feelings.

 

[954dude]

I eat portions from all food groups each day. I mostly have apples, oranges, bananas, lettuce, cucumber, tomato, cheese, water, wheat, peanuts, and beans in my diet.

There are MANY sources of the essentials (iron and the like) and maintain a vegetarian diet. Sometimes I'll eat some seafood.

I grew up eating chicken and turkey (sometimes goat, duck, and lamb) but never ate beef or pork.

 

[StationToStation]

I would recommend consulting with a food nutritionist. Here in Portland at new seasons market there are nutritionist on staff to be your personal shopper with you to guide you through the food aisles. Whether it be special diets like gluten free, vegan, etc or just taking a new look at foods health value.

Changing ones diet will change you, would be nice to support along the way.

 

[Nomenclature]

Maybe i'm weird, but I honestly don't understand how a man can keep weight on eating only fruits and vegetables. I know vegetarians have to supplement with B vitamins and protein, because they aren't getting it from their diet.

 

[Críostóir]

I spent a spell as a vegetarian when I was younger... all I ate were PB&J sandwiches, pasta/carbs, and junk food/candy.

I gained like 50 pounds.

Hmm. I think 'ur doin it rong' is the correct internet phrase.

Sometimes when I think about the horrible things that are done to the animals I eat, I ponder about becoming vegetarian. But then my carnivorous human instinct always overpowers me and wins. I'm so weak, I know. Damn those ancestors of mine!!!

There are moderate positions, you know. You could try eating only "cruelty-free" meat, range-fed cattle, etc. Eating local will help; if you buy from someone whose farm/chicken coop/ranch is close enough to visit, you can see for yourself how the animals are treated.

You could also try simply cutting down on the amount of meat you eat. Eat it no more than once a week, then once a month, then every two months...stop whenever you find you need it more often, and increase to a level you can live with. That's best for health-based concerns, rather for moral ones, but it's better than nothing.

In short, you don't have to be absolute about it (about anything, really) to be a good person. Well, I think good people are absolute about not committing murder and so on, but you know what I mean!

I was never quite able to wrap my head around how factory livestock is terrible but factory produce is fine, or why cows have feelings but lettuce doesn't.

Lettuce really doesn't. I personally don't understand why chicken and broccoli are treated differently, since they have about the same intelligence!

Seriously, "fluffy-bunny" vegetarians irritate the fuck out of me. We're HETEROTROPHS. That means we kill things and then eat them (if they're animals or cooked vegetables) or eat them ALIVE (raw vegetables). Either learn photosynthesis or back the fuck off.

I'm a vegetarian. These days it's for obscure spiritual reasons...also, after 32 years I'm pretty sure going back to eat meat would involve a certain amount of barfing. It's happened with pretty small amounts I've gotten accidentally; I'm pretty sure that if I ate a steak my peristalis would reverse completely.

Organic chicken, natural red meat(occasionally grass-fed), occasional salmon(not enough fish), a combination of organic and conventional fruit and vegetables(eating more vegetables), whole grains like brown rice. Normally, I wouldn't eat so many multigrains but I've been incorporating more foods with gluten lately because I need to regain some weight that I lost a couple of years ago and am unable to do so on a gluten-free diet. So, I've been getting a lot of Barilla pasta lately and Cascadian Farms Raisin Bran, also Kashi's Heart to Heart cereal, which mostly consists of oat flour.

Mostly organic dairy from low-fat yogurt, cottage cheese and lactose-free milk, also some Parmesan cheese. I also get lima beans, peas, lentils(when available) and black beans. I also have blackstrap molasses in my pantry, a sunflower seed spread in my refrigerator and chilled Queen olives for gluten-free pizza.

The thread's actually addressed to vegetarians; the OP is trying to get advice on a vegetarian diet. "Organic chicken, natural red meat...occasional salmon" are not vegetarian.

That said, that's an interesting set of dietary choices there.

Thanks for being the guy to push PETA style propaganda in a thread where it wasn't called for, asked for, needed, or cited as something YOU ate as part of your diet as a vegetarian.

But i'll help you and the good doc out - one burger at a time.

(and for the doc's reference, i do live near a good hospital. I also live in the realm of common sense; the sense not to have a burger every single FUCKING day)

I hate PETA as much as you do, but I'll note the a-hole who posted a big disgusting picture of bacon didn't bother you. That's no more wanted in a thread like this.

 

[Críostóir]

Maybe i'm weird, but I honestly don't understand how a man can keep weight on eating only fruits and vegetables. I know vegetarians have to supplement with B vitamins and protein, because they aren't getting it from their diet.

You have a point about some of the B vitamins, though it really applies only to vegans (who eat no animal products at all); regular ovo-lacto vegetarians like me get our Bs from eggs and cheese. Vegans eat weird yeasts and kelp (disgusting) to get theirs.

Protein, on the other hand, is easy to get plenty of without even eating eggs and cheese. Americans have a grotesquely distorted idea of how much protein you need to be healthy, thanks in large part to the USDA, which is more concerned with making sure the agriculture sector is economically healthy than with the health of the populace.

Soy is very rich in complete protein*, but men have to be careful not too eat too much of it (soy is estrogenic). You can get some very good refined wheat-gluten products these days too, or just eat both rice and beans for a balanced protein.

It takes a little more thought, until you get used to a diet, but once you do it's second nature. Most Americans, even vegetarians, get much more protein than they actually need.

____
*Yes, it's complete by itself. Humans can synthesize all the amino acids it's short in.
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[Críostóir]

You're absolutely right about that and appreciate you calling me on it; but to me, there's a difference in scolding a child, and berating/disrupting an extremist.

I chose to ignore the child; giving him attention might make him want more of it.

Considered in that light, we're on the same page. Thanks for responding.

 

[Daximus]

If I HAD to give up beef and pork I could. But I gotta have my chicken and fish. GOT TOO!!! But this thread inspires me to try and try again to add more veggies and fruit into my diet.

 

[Nomenclature]

Soy is very rich in complete protein*

Protein is measured by it's BV, or Biological Value, index. . .meaning that it's a measure of how much your body can actually absorb and use the protein.


http://www.food-info.net/uk/protein/bv.htm


According to science, eggs are the best source of protein you can eat.



[quote[It takes a little more thought, until you get used to a diet, but once you do it's second nature.[/quote]



Sounds like it's just an outrageously expensive, ridiculous way to live to me.


Yes, vegetables and fruits are good for you, and I eat them for the health benefits, but my body can't handle eating only vegetables, and neither can my wallet.

 

[CumAlong]

I believe in a perfectly healthy and natural diet, including lots of greens, veggies, fruits, and meat, personally. I've accepted the fact that one person going on a meat strike isn't going to save the cows, and veggies can't provide the natural animal fats that we do need in some amount to maintain a healthy body.

I suppose we could let the cows run rampid, wild and free, but then they would eat our crops..and we would have to hunt them down like our ancestors did, and nature intended, in order to eat meat.

I also don't feel like defying nature or instinct by over eating meat or veggies in proportion to one another.

The last reason I won't be a complete vegetarian is that there is nothing healthy sounding about your body rejecting and vomiting something as basic a meat BROTH after being a veggy for years.

 

[elvnguardian]

I go through Phases... I'm not a heavy meat eater when I do eat meats, but I usually feel better when I'm eating veggies. When I do it, I usually make things like fruit and pasta salads in large quantities in advance, so, it's readily available when I'm hungry, and I can just throw some in a Rubbermaid and bring it to work. Oh, and the frozen vegetable medleys with Lima Beans are great to mix into pastas. Those Chick'n things are pretty good, and one of the Veggie Burgers is decent.

Oh, and Tomatoe and Mayonnaise on Whole Wheat, greatest snack EVER!

 

[Críostóir]

Sounds like it's just an outrageously expensive, ridiculous way to live to me.

Well, you can do it cheaply. But you're not here to discuss how to eat vegetarian, which is what the thread is about; you're here to diss vegetarianism, which is a) off-topic and b) rude.

 

[CumAlong]

Oh, and Tomatoe and Mayonnaise on Whole Wheat, greatest snack EVER!

Delicous! I also like baby leaf spinach, tomatoes and cucumber sandwhich. I prefer spinach to lettuce as lettuce has no nutritional value or taste...

 

[Críostóir]

I suppose we could let the cows run rampid, wild and free, but then they would eat our crops..and we would have to hunt them down like our ancestors did, and nature intended, in order to eat meat.

Actually I think we should wipe them out completely (yes, I mean make cattle EXTINCT) and replant all that former rainforest and so on with trees. Cattle ranching has a huge carbon footprint and herds of cattle emit environmentally significant amounts of methane (a much more harmful gas than carbon dioxide). Trees, on the other hand, take carbon OUT of the atmosphere and use it to build their own substance, emitting oxygen in the process.

This will never happen until/unless huge herds of cattle become unprofitable to keep around. Being a vegetarian is doing my own tiny part in that.

But now I'M off-topic.