Please Help! I have tried veganism once and vegetarianism twice and have always failed. I do want to at least be a vegetarian but with southern in-laws and a carnivorous family myself it is kind of hairy.... Any suggestions not for switching to vegetarianism but for STICKING TO IT?
Sounds a bit like me, a few years ago. This is gonna sound cliche, but really what helped me is just plain deciding one day that I WAS going to be vegetarian. No looking back, no excuses or exceptions, and no ya-buts... it was gonna happen. Knowing why *I* wanted to make the change really helped too. The family thing is a bit trickier. To begin with, I did a lot of "short-order-chef" meals, making one thing for myself & something completely different for the rest of the family. That evolved into my making a lot of "add meat - or don't" type meals where I would cook something up & have meat that could be mixed in last-minute, AFTER I pulled my share out. And from there, my family has slowly decided that they like my veggie-versions better so 6 out of every 7 days I make whatever veggie dish sounds good for ALL of us, and once a week my husband will cook something with meat up while I get the pick of the fridge for leftovers. My in-laws aren't a problem... but my MOTHER is a dyed-in-the-wool carnivore. It's been almost 3 years since I switched to vegetarianism and she STILL tries to serve me fish, shrimp, and the occasional chicken. I avoid visiting their house on "meatosaurus picnic holidays," and bring a protein-rich side dish to share or nibble at sunflower seeds on the way home after eating yet another green salad at her house. Haven't really figured that whole "What to do with Mom" concept out yet either. Good luck! love, mom
First of all are you going veg for health or ethical reasons? If its for health then it can be harder to stick to it. It's easy to tell yourself just this one time won't hurt (your weight, cholesterol, etc). But if it's for ethical reasons just picture what that animal went through and that will often end the urge to eat it. Also what situations are making it hard to stick to it? Family gatherings? People picking on you? Easier to eat a meal someone else made with meat than to cook your own without? Its hard to just generalize and give you advice on how to stay vegetarian without knowing the situations that are making it difficult for you to stick with it.
I would like to go vegetarian for ethical reasons. What I have a hard time with is several things.... 1. Cravings...it sounds terrible but I honestly love/crave meat sometimes...however I do think I can stave this off with meat substitutes like veggie burgers, ect, it's hard when I am out or at someone's house and this isn't an option. 2. At someone's home I have a hard time turning down something they worked really hard on to prepare. I really don't like to make someone go out of their way to accommodate me when I am a guest or be offended when they unknowingly serve me something and I refuse to eat. I know some would say just "think of the animals" which I do, but when it's your husband's 75 year old sweet grandmother it's not as easy. 3. Ridicule. I'll come right out and say it....I have tried this several times and now people don't really take me that seriously as a vegetarian. Yes that's my own fault for caving other times but I just get tired of hearing it and would rather just not mention it.
Over time you'll probably lose most of the cravings but you might not lose all of them. It gets easier as you find new foods you like to replace old ones. If your going somewhere for dinner you can bring along a side dish. That way you have something you know you can eat. This works really well at holiday dinners. For some reason a lot of people take it personally when they hear you are a vegetarian. For this you just have to grow a thick skin. There will always be people who feel the need to pick on others. I've been one for over 25 years and it still bothers me but I do ignore most of it. Also when people do see that you are serious about it and you don't give in, they will let up. One thing you could tell people who aren't taking you serious is: "This is something I would really like to do and it is hard. I would appreciate if you could help me by watching and making sure I don't eat anything with meat in it." Sometimes including people in what your doing helps as they don't feel left out or left behind.
i think you should relax try as hard as you can and when you fail, just let yourself fail family stuff, do whatever makes the carnivores happy and don't count it against yourself [maybe a few friendly hints after picking forlornly at the turkey will get you a little slack next year] after a while it will all get easier and easier the people who don't take you seriously are probably taking themselves TOO seriously [do them a favor and ignore them]
I can understand the family gathering thing... just eat the sides and stuff, thats what I do (if its like a holiday dinner or something like that). Just say no thanks if someone offers you meat. For cravings something high in fat like nuts or cheese is good. I know you are trying to go vegan so cheese probably isn't a good way to do it, but it works if you really crave something like that. But nuts are good too and fake meat stuff of course. I just watched the movie Earthlings and I don't think anyone could eat meat after watching that honestly. I took a friend and she is seriously thinking about going vegetarian now. So if you really want to be a vegetarian and you're having a hard time its good to remind yourself... Its very graphic though just to warn. Good luck!
Thanks for all the replies everyone, some really helpful stuff here. So far so good, one thing that has been really helpful is keeping a lot of subs around (veggie burgers, faux chicken nuggets, ect.) so when I am in the mood to splurge it's still vegetarian. We'll see how the holidays go but as mentioned above, I am losing my cravings for meat anyway, I think I will be fine with sides which are always plentiful at thanksgiving, hopefully I can brush aside any rude comments.
yep. make it as easy as possible. You won't live on mock meats all your life. It's more like they fill a niche: bbq, winter, whatever. Cook extra and freeze it in single serve portions, and always have three meals in reserve for lazy days/sick/whatever.
Firstly, you could try looking up vegetarian recipes that are great to eat and that will make up for the meat dishes you sometimes crave for. Second, you could try sharing with your family some of the veggie recipes, as side dishes or you can add a few pieces of meat for them after you have your dish ready and put it separately. Thirdly, when you are invited to a meal somewhere, you could inform your host before that you are a vegetarian, this way they won't feel bad that they have nothing much to offer you and you won't feel bad either that they have worked so hard on a dish you can't eat.
i live in texas, a place where meat is ALWAYS in yoru face. ive been a vegetarian since november 2003. the main thing i had to do is buy things that tasted like meat (morningstar farms has some good soy products that taste like it) and bring snacks EVERYWHERE. alot of times there wouldnt be a vegetarian option so you get discouraged and give in, bring snacks and thats avoid the problem
