The act of giving up meat for good has been plaguing me for a while now. Trust me I love and eat meat like nobody’s business but I have reached a point in my life where I think…no…I feel like its time. So now comes, the why. I think the “why” is important. It is what keeps you committed. It cant be about a passing fad, and certainly not because a celebrity lives the vegetarian lifestyle.
Ive read many of the pros for transitioning over to a vegetarian lifestyle and here are a few of the benefits that I found:
While meat provides a lot of protein, it also provides a ton of fat — especially saturated fat. Which means that by cutting out meat, you’ll be cutting out a lot of bad fat, and replacing it with things that are probably not only lower in fat, but that contain some good fats. This greatly reduces your risk of heart disease, and in fact numerous studies have shown that vegetarians tend to have a lower risk of heart disease, as well as hypertension, diabetes, cancer and other diseases. Read more here.
You probably don’t want to hear about the horrific treatment of animals that are raised for food, even before they are slaughtered for our benefit. But suffice it to say, there are great amounts of suffering involved, and by cutting out meat, you are reducing your involvement in that. Read more here.
There are actually numerous ways that the meat industry harms the environment, from a waste of our resources (animals raised for food eat enough grain to feed the world), to a waste of fuel, to the pollution caused by their waste matter, and much more. Read more about that here.
It’s possible to be vegetarian and eat very unhealthy foods, including Coke and fries and fried stuff and pizza and chips. But it’s much more difficult. Studies repeatedly show that vegetarians are slimmer and are less likely to be obese than meat eaters. If you’re trying to lose weight, being a vegetarian can be a good part of your program.
In general (though not necessarily), vegetarians replace meat with more nutritious foods, such as fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and so on. If you do that, you will be getting more of the nutrients your body needs, giving you better health, less illness, and more energy.
So back to my “why”. My “Why” is simply to live a healthier lifestyle. Im almost 40 and its well past time for me to start living my nutritional age. Today Im happy to say that I have eaten more vegetables in the past month than I have in my lifetime and I feel great. Now it is time to start finding some great vegetarian recipes.
One thing that I found disturbing was as I looked for new recipes, I found ALOT of recipes that were filled with bread, bread (yes I said bread twice), potatoes, rice and pasta! Now that could be an issue, cause Im on a high protein low carb diet right now and I am not trying to become anybody’s carbatarian!!! So until I find some great high protein, low-carb recipes I’ll stick to my black beans, quinoa, green beans and veggie salads as my main dishes. (Oh! I bought tofu today and cannot wait to try out some recipes with it.)
As I turn this new corner in my life I am excited about entering a world of new foods. I am excited about touching, cooking and tasting recipes with Tempeh, quiona, and tofu, eggplant, avocados and spinach! And with the benefits of the prevention of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity and other diseases linked to eating animal products I feel like I am finally on the right track.
I would love to hear from you to find out if you are a vegetarian or vegan, how was your transition and by all means, please share some great recipes and resources!
Love this Jaimi!! and I’m on the journey with you. 5 months in, I did have one slip up but I see and feel the difference. I feel lighter, healthier and more energized and going vegetarian has allowed me to indulge fully in all that the land of fruits and veggies have to offer (and there are so many fruits and vegetables I’ve forgotten about!).
FYI regarding recipes filled with bread (and pasta), I’ve found that too. One thing that I started looking up when I made the switch were fruit and vegetable carbs. Example, (if I do recall correctly) veggies like broccoli and cauliflower and corn and fruits like tomatoes are all considered vegetable carbs. I use these fruits and veggies instead of processed carbs as fill ins for certain meals. For example, instead of potatoes, there’s a great recipe I have from the cooking channel where the chef used cauliflower as mashed potatoes and it’s yummy! You can also do vegetable strings (I got that from Rachel Ray) where you peel, with a peeler that allows for wider strips, veggies like carrots and zucchini and then boil them and they almost become like noodles. You can also create your own veggie or seafood patties and top them off with avocado, and cheese and couple it with a side salad or quinoa.
The possibilities are really endless as long as your willing to exercise your creative culinary juices. Oh and speaking of which, I have fallen in love with home made smoothies.
Isis thanks so much! I def look forward to swapping the latest and greatest veggie recipes with you! The things you described above sound amazing and so much better than black and green beans every night for dinner. lol!
It looks like you’ve already stumbled across the 101cookbooks.com blog which is my number 1 go-to. Check out her categories for “high protein” and “low-carb” recipes for good ideas on what to cook. I also got her cookbooks and they have been really great so far.