The early days: what foods got you by?

That is so great that you knew at 5 what you wanted and had the "balls" to stick with it even under so much pressure.

 

I had a heart attack when I was 38. I was really motivated, but weakened by growing up in a "eat more beef" culture.

Fake meat helped me....Boca All-American Patties. I really missed hamburgers.
The smell of beef cooking makes me nauseous now.

 

My folks are vegetarian so I grew up eating their way and eating all the mock meat products. My folks gave my brother and I some flak when we started eating meat. They taught us how to eat a healty vegetarian diet so it wasn't to hard to make the transition.

 

When I was veggie many years ago, I ate way too much cheese. I'm thinking about going veggie again. Don't think I'll ever go vegan, but veggie. I have so many health issues to deal with and it seems like it might be the answer to it. Diabetes, high blood pressure, now high trigylcerides and obesity. I'm think if I go veggie and learn to eat healthy and not just cheese on everything it will be a good thing. Now what to do with my junk food junky meat loving husband and the "I want Meatloaf" boy.

Kathi

 

for me, the food that got me through in the begining was a veggie rice pilaf... brown rice, garlic, tofu, peppers, corn and salsa, topped with soy sauce. I lived on that stuff!

 

What food made it easier? Well I never have found being a veggie hard from day one (I was lucky enough to make the decsion in India....best veg food in the world!) but I suppose the advice I would give is to learn different styles of cooking and techniques from other parts of the world.
Indian is probably the greatest veg food in the entire universe, but there are tonnes of really nice mexican and Thai veg dishes you can make too...You can also improvise and think up your own.

Actually since being a veggie it's opened up a whole new world of food and culinary delights for me. I get a fantastically varied diet now and really do enjoy cooking food, something that I found a chore whilst being an omnlivore...It was always so easy just to dump a fatty sausage roll in the microwave...

My advice is to get totally involved in your cooking and diet. Learn about new foods and techniques, spend time on it. Enjoy it! I think this is most important.

 

19.....errrrrrr! (I'm sorry to hear that) I know what you mean about cheese. (you just rent it, but the length of the "lease" seems like it varies with the kind of cheese it is...LOL)

One of the things I just love about my neighborhood is that good Indian food is just "right down the street". Oh yeah!
There was a time when I wouldn't look twice at the stuff.....till I started seeing veggies differently. (learned that there's more out there than just corn, green beans, potatoes, and lettuce)


If not for threads like this one, and people like all of you, I'd probably be dead right now.
Thank You!

 

You know how cheap okies can be....their way of recycling the old signs...LOL

I did some contract work for parks and rec around OKC back in 2003. I was amazed how many indian owned businesses there were..but few restaurants.
Few vegan places too.
Seems to me that down there, they think vegan and pagan sound too much alike. (they're scared that they'll get PAGAN restaurants next...hehe)
Many things about OK that I like...many other things...errr...

You know how it is....

 

I was fortunate to make my transition the first time in New York. I lived in a part of the city that had a tremendously diverse Asian population. In addition, LAUREL'S KITCHEN was a relatively new book. I ate various types of tofu that I probably haven't touched in over 25 years... fried, pickled, seasoned. I also ate tabouli a lot in the summer, babaganouj and falaffel.
It took me well over a year to finally make a distinction between vegetarian and health food. These days I'm pretty much on portion control (vegetarians CAN be overweight!).

 

Yeah, I'm still a big guy. Pretty solid though. (at least more than I was back when I was doin' the carnivore thing..hehe)
Some of us just like our veggie portions bigger, huh?

BTW, I'm not teasing you, it's just that we're at that same age. You seem to have much better discipline than I do though. I'm still a relative newbie at this stuff compared to people like you and drumminmama.

thanks again guys

For the record, I wasn't being derisive toward pagans in my previous post. (just toward some of my okie "brethren")

 

The first vegetarian restuarant that I was ever in was a tiny little place in Seattle. Vegan, Pagan, Lesbian, and S&M. The food was great. I loved it there. I miss Seattle. There was a Wiccan bookstore right next door.

Kathi

 

http://www.moosewoodrestaurant.com/
When I used to go away to a retreat in northwestern Massachusetts (Rowe Camp and Conference Center) I was often treated to cooking that came right out of the Moosewood Cookbook. It's an excellent read

 

It's hard to believe that there are many vegans who cannot live without their daily dose of w(h)ine. Food preparation, consumption and digestion is supposed to be a celebration of life. It can be enjoyed alone or in the good company of good company. Anyone who chooses to put on a sour puss and make faces at food should be removed from the table or spanked ! <j/k>

 

peanut butter sandwiches with either raspberry jam, honey, sliced bananas or even just plain PB.

I love rice and can eat it 3 times a day...yes while alot of people cook hot cereal (like oatmeal, maypo, maltex, or whatever)for breakfast during the winter, my version of hot cereal is rice.

I also love the pre-measured packages of the mixed legumes with seasoning packets...I soak & cook them in crock pot with whatever veggies I have for soup/stew