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Trying Vegetarianism for a week or so

#244
bassbully said:
I highly doubt I will ever stop eating meat altogether. First, I love it second I need it. I know my body and on vegies alone I feel bad. I used to powerlift, weightlift heavy in my late 30's early 40's till I had injuries some from lifting another from a job accident. In that time I had to use protien to build and maintain muscle I could not get enough from vegies alone. I was in the best shape of my life until injuries came. My addiction is fats and fast food. I have to focus on my addiction to it and it is an addiction just like smoking, drugs etc.
IMO fast food is like a 24hour crack store with slow side effects and a trip to bad health and early death. That dollar menu at the fast food places is the devil and temps people for a quick bad meal, cheaper to buy there than to make at home and loaded with garbage and fat.
If i focus on replacing half of my meals or more to vegies its a win without going all the way...thats my view.

Today my goal is to add as much of the vegetarian concept as possible since my goal is good health not just building muscle. If the largest part of my diet is green? It's good! But meat will never go away I'm not that interested or dedicated to living only like that I'm afraid.
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:D This was my quote on 8/2/12 well I was wrong! I have been Vegan since 8/10 and going strong. It has been fun cooking new foods and learning about being a vegan. It can be a challenge but as of now its not so bad.
 
#246
Congrats bassbully!

Cool to stumble upon this thread and read the experiences of so many vegetarian and vegan bassists. I've been vegetarian over 20 years, it's actually been incredibly easy for me because most of my favorite foods are vegetarian! On the rare occasions I get a craving for beef or fish or something, I just eat it, but that only happens a few times a year.

One piece of advice I can give to any aspiring vegetarian is to learn how to cook whole foods from scratch. Once you do, you'll realize what a ripoff the supermarket "vegetarian meat substitutes" are (not to mention salty and kind of weird-tasting). If you learn how to make good lentil soup, red beans and rice, tofu stir fry, hummus, etc. then you won't have much need for $3.99 vegetarian "bacon" or $5.79 vegetarian "sausage."

Cool thread, enjoyed reading! :)
 
#247
Mushroo said:
Congrats bassbully!

Cool to stumble upon this thread and read the experiences of so many vegetarian and vegan bassists. I've been vegetarian over 20 years, it's actually been incredibly easy for me because most of my favorite foods are vegetarian! On the rare occasions I get a craving for beef or fish or something, I just eat it, but that only happens a few times a year.

One piece of advice I can give to any aspiring vegetarian is to learn how to cook whole foods from scratch. Once you do, you'll realize what a ripoff the supermarket "vegetarian meat substitutes" are (not to mention salty and kind of weird-tasting). If you learn how to make good lentil soup, red beans and rice, tofu stir fry, hummus, etc. then you won't have much need for $3.99 vegetarian "bacon" or $5.79 vegetarian "sausage."

Cool thread, enjoyed reading! :)
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Thanks guys, you are right on cooking yourself to save money. Tonight I tried making bean burgers for the first time and they turned out pretty good overall they need some tweaking but overall pretty good.
I love to cook but still need interesting ideas,thank goodness for the net.
 
#249
Late entrant to the thread, but I've been a vegetarian since the first day of my life, as has everyone else in my family.

I would say that the situation out here is radically different from that in the US of A, with the large number of vegetarians. This means that there's lots of variety for veg folks in every culinary aspect of our lives, from fresh ingredients at the marketplace to the food served at restaurants. As such, I've got a fair few ideas for veg delicacies, though it's quite possible that they may turn out to be too bland for people whose taste buds have been trained on non-veg fare for much of their lives ;)
 
#250
champbassist said:
Late entrant to the thread, but I've been a vegetarian since the first day of my life, as has everyone else in my family.

I would say that the situation out here is radically different from that in the US of A, with the large number of vegetarians. This means that there's lots of variety for veg folks in every culinary aspect of our lives, from fresh ingredients at the marketplace to the food served at restaurants. As such, I've got a fair few ideas for veg delicacies, though it's quite possible that they may turn out to be too bland for people whose taste buds have been trained on non-veg fare for much of their lives ;)
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You are an exception for sure being born a vegetarian which is really rare. Most people in this country adapt the lifestyle later in life changing from a diet full of meat and dairy. I have read in countries such as yours it is more the norm and food choices are easier from this.
Here, it's hard but I think it is getting easier. Food here is abused and offered in mass quantitys and amounts full of fat, sugars,chemicals and garbage for the most part. Trying to eat a wholesome diet can be hard and it requires one to do their homework.

This is the challenge I face as well as in needing easy, simple recipe's so if you have them PM me or put them on here for any of us to share.
 
#253
bassbully said:
This is the challenge I face as well as in needing easy, simple recipe's so if you have them PM me or put them on here for any of us to share.
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Honestly my best advice is to force yourself to develop a palette for simply-prepared, lightly-seasoned foods. It might take a few months, but will be great for your bank account and health in the long run. Stock your pantry with salt, pepper, good olive oil, and your favorite vinegar (I like apple cider but maybe you prefer balsamic for example). Learn a few basic cooking techniques like making soup, cooking beans (a crock pot/slow cooker makes it trivially easy), sautee, steam, stir fry, salads. If you have older family members (grandma, etc.) who know how to cook ask them to spend a day together teaching you how to make soup, casseroles, bread, cookies, etc. They will love it!

Then if you really want to take it to the next level, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from a local farm. They will give you a basket of veggies each week, and it becomes an interesting and fun challenge figuring out what to do with them all. Once you know a few basic cooking techniques and understand how flavors work (combining salt, sweet, sour, bitter, etc.) then you can cook any vegetable even without following a recipe.
 
#254
Mushroo said:
Honestly my best advice is to force yourself to develop a palette for simply-prepared, lightly-seasoned foods. It might take a few months, but will be great for your bank account and health in the long run. Stock your pantry with salt, pepper, good olive oil, and your favorite vinegar (I like apple cider but maybe you prefer balsamic for example). Learn a few basic cooking techniques like making soup, cooking beans (a crock pot/slow cooker makes it trivially easy), sautee, steam, stir fry, salads. If you have older family members (grandma, etc.) who know how to cook ask them to spend a day together teaching you how to make soup, casseroles, bread, cookies, etc. They will love it!

Then if you really want to take it to the next level, join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) from a local farm. They will give you a basket of veggies each week, and it becomes an interesting and fun challenge figuring out what to do with them all. Once you know a few basic cooking techniques and understand how flavors work (combining salt, sweet, sour, bitter, etc.) then you can cook any vegetable even without following a recipe.
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Thanks, I am a decent cook and have studied some vegan recipies but need all the help I can get. Last night I tried a black bean/chickpea burger that worked out ok a bit bland so I will tweak it more but overall it was pretty good and in my lunch today at work.
I made my version of Cowboy beans which were black beans, Cilantro, spices,onion, garlic and TVP with a half packet of vegetarian brown gravy mix. It was awesome my wife loved it.

I do stirfrys with Tempeh and did a scramble with tofu but still need ideas. What I am amazed at is I eat less and feel full all the time much more than I did when I ate meat. I do get bloating and some gas from beans (sorry honey) but that might be part of the game? I am saving money since allot of the items for the cooking I am doing are not expensive and last a long time. I never buy lunch out anymore since finding foods that work for me is tough which saves me money and curbs my addictions a win-win!
 
#255
bassbully said:
Thanks, I am a decent cook and have studied some vegan recipies but need all the help I can get. Last night I tried a black bean/chickpea burger that worked out ok a bit bland so I will tweak it more but overall it was pretty good and in my lunch today at work.
I made my version of Cowboy beans which were black beans, Cilantro, spices,onion, garlic and TVP with a half packet of vegetarian brown gravy mix. It was awesome my wife loved it.

I do stirfrys with Tempeh and did a scramble with tofu but still need ideas. What I am amazed at is I eat less and feel full all the time much more than I did when I ate meat. I do get bloating and some gas from beans (sorry honey) but that might be part of the game? I ammsaving money since allot of the items for the cooking i am doing are not expensive and last a long time. I never buy lunch out anymore since finding foods that work for me is tough which saves me money and curbs my addictions a win-win!
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That all sounds amazing!!

To answer your question about beans, it varies from person to person, and also over the course of a lifetime. People who eat beans frequently tend to have higher levels of the enzymes that break down the starches and get less flatulence. I can certainly vouch for that, I eat beans at least once a day and never have even a hint of gas from them anymore.

One thing you might want to check is that you've cooked them enough, I think they are harder to digest if they're not thoroughly cooked. I cook them overnight on the lowest setting of my slow cooker (after first bringing them to a boil on the high setting).

Also there are certain Indian spices (off the top of my head: turmeric, ginger, asafoetida) that make beans more digestible. Personally I sometimes use a piece of konbu (kelp/seaweed) cooking beans which helps to tenderize them and also adds some vitamins/minerals.

A final thought is that certain beans require more preparation than others; red kidney beans for example can cause horrible cramping/gas if you don't soak them, bring them to a full boil, and drain off that water. Pinto beans and lentils, on the other hand, I can just cook and eat with no soaking/preparation.
 
#256
Mushroo said:
That all sounds amazing!!

To answer your question about beans, it varies from person to person, and also over the course of a lifetime. People who eat beans frequently tend to have higher levels of the enzymes that break down the starches and get less flatulence. I can certainly vouch for that, I eat beans at least once a day and never have even a hint of gas from them anymore.

One thing you might want to check is that you've cooked them enough, I think they are harder to digest if they're not thoroughly cooked. I cook them overnight on the lowest setting of my slow cooker (after first bringing them to a boil on the high setting).

Also there are certain Indian spices (off the top of my head: turmeric, ginger, asafoetida) that make beans more digestible. Personally I sometimes use a piece of konbu (kelp/seaweed) cooking beans which helps to tenderize them and also adds some vitamins/minerals.

A final thought is that certain beans require more preparation than others; red kidney beans for example can cause horrible cramping/gas if you don't soak them, bring them to a full boil, and drain off that water. Pinto beans and lentils, on the other hand, I can just cook and eat with no soaking/preparation.
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I cooked a pot of lentils last night and tried to curry them and didnt do it right. Any ideas on lentils? I have allot :)
 
#257
My favorite way to eat lentils is in soup with carrot, onion, celery, etc.

Other than that I do not generally season my beans (just a little bit of salt, maybe some molasses) because I like the flavor on its own.
 
#259
Mushroo said:
My favorite way to eat lentils is in soup with carrot, onion, celery, etc.

Other than that I do not generally season my beans (just a little bit of salt, maybe some molasses) because I like the flavor on its own.
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I think I will use some of my vegan chicken flavored stock with those veges and add the lentils to make a soup...yum.
 
#260
I've been a quasi-vegetarian for 3 years now. I still eat chicken and fish, but no red meat and no dairy of any kind. No alcohol or soda of any kind, just water & juice, period. Started working out daily. One thing I can certainly attest to is the quality of life is so much better. Like night and day.

Although not eating related, I also stopped watching tv at the same time. Food for the mind/spirit is also vital for overall health. Started playing bass at the same time too! Looking back I can say they've all been great choices! Onwards and forwards! :D
 

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