Any Vegetarians/Vegans that could give me tips?

Question

I would like to transition into the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle for health reasons but does anyone have any tips to make it easier on me (im Hispanic so you know we eat meat with everything smh 🤦🏼‍♀️) also do those of you who are vegetarian/vegans have cheat days or is that like against the lifestyle and morals of it?

Answer

I’m vegan, so I don’t eat or use animal products at all. I was never a big meat eater, so I didn’t have a lot of trouble making the switch. I had to read labels A LOT in the beginning, but after a month or two, you start to realize what has milk and stuff in it. Thing you have to be careful with, is don’t eat the processed vegan/vegetarian foods too often. Try to stay plant based 🙂 When I switched to a vegan diet, I lost about 15-20 pounds and I feel much healthier now. 
I don’t eat much for breakfast or lunch since I’m on the go, so I usually just grab a granola bar and a banana. If I have more time, I’ll make a bagel, toast, waffles, pancakes, dairy-free yogurt. There are tons of cereals that are vegan or vegetarian. Salad, soup, peanut butter and jelly, some kind of fruit for lunch. 
For dinner, I love making burrito bowls. Rice, beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, peppers, avocado. Salads, veggie soup, veggie chili.
If you have a dish that you typically like to make, I’m sure there are alternatives to make it vegetarian or vegan! I definitely recommend getting a vegetarian or vegan cookbook. It’ll help you with ideas on what to make 🙂

Answer

Buy a vegetarian cookbook, there are so many great recipes in there.

Answer

Im what they call "ovo-pesketarian" which basically means fish and eggs are okay, no dairy or meat. I mainly do it cause i dont like dairy or meat, it kinda freaks me out :P the best advise i could give, especially if you're tryna be vegan, is be prepared to do some meal prep. Packaged/premade food will almost always have animal products in it unless youre willing to drop some $. I use the app mealime.. Its soo helpful! You basically put the settings to what you don't want to eat and it gives you a bunch of recipes to choose from for the week and then makes a shopping list for you 🙌🙌 also, i know plenty of people who are "flexitarian" meaning the majority of the time theyre vegetarian/vegan, but like if their at someone's birthday get together they wont deny a piece of cake. No shame in that game, you do what makes you and your body happy!

Answer

I don’t consider myself vegan or vegetarian. I too am Hispanic. So eating out is what I save my meat and dessert for. At home I guess I’m kinda vegetarian with the exception of no salt cottage cheese and plain Greek yogurt. It’s easier to control what you eat at home than when you eat out and let’s face it we all want to enjoy ourselves when we go out. My mother hates my diet since she’s the one that always wants to eat out. Every time she sees a commercial she wants to go eat there. From red lobster to Outback Steakhouse. I will join them once a week or every 2 weeks. They are my reason for recycled weight. If I never ate out I would probably be past 100 pounds down instead of between 87 and 78. It’s a constant up and down. Valentine’s Day I had steak and crab cakes, cheesecake, etc. And a grilled chicken sandwich with sweet potato fries another night that same week since we went to see a show at the casino. And then I send the rest of the week trying to lose it again. She spends times with her best friends which are like family and I have to go too. Most of the time I swap salad for fries. But some days you just eat the fries. I attached some of the things that I have. Not all it’s just an example. And my foods have changed. I learned to eat plain Greek yogurt without the need of granola so less calories there. Before I could not stand it alone but got used to it when I forgot it one day. I chase it with an apple between bites so it helps. As long as you don’t quit trying, that’s what is important. Life happens. Weddings or birthdays etc. You make adjustments as well as you can. And then you spend the rest of the week being good and eating better. I have grown to love eating veggies. As a kid they ended up on the floor or hidden under a cushion etc. I can eat a steam bag of green beans like most people eat chips. I don’t crave sweets I crave apples. I love envy apples I buy 2-3 containers 5.5 pounds each from Costco. Sometimes I will do cut up English cucumber and baby carrots with guacamole on a day that I have a lot of extra calories carrots and peanut butter. You figure out what works for you both food and exercise so you don’t dread it or avoid it. I don’t crave sweets because I have alternative if I ever do like the dole dark chocolate frozen bananas or once in a blue moon breyers delights mini pints of ice cream 70-80 calories each. I have found the that vegan or non dairy ice creams are higher in sugar and fat so I stick with the breyers. 10 grams or less is my goal on sugar. I use MyFitnessPal app and Fitbit and walk that’s it. I do high protein high fiber and low sugar low salt and mostly granola for bread carbs. But I don’t consider myself vegan or vegetarian. Good luck.

Answer

I haven’t had meat in over two year. The first year I was a strict vegan which is difficult especially when eating out. This past year I added in cheese occasionally, mostly when eating out. If you’re making the switch for ethical reasons you will never “cheat” (ethical reasons extend to the clothes you wear to the household products you use, you want to make sure nothing includes animals or is tested on animals). I would never eat a piece a meat because it goes against what I believe it and no piece of food is worth compromising that. If you don’t want to “cheat” I strongly suggest educating yourself on meat consumptions effect on the environment, on your own body and animal welfare. Netflix has a bunch of documentaries, forks over knives, what the health, etc. The stronger your beliefs are against eating meat (or dairy) the less likely you are to cheat. 
I meal prep every week. Breakfast is overnight oats, I eat a lot of nuts, snacks are fruits and veggies in peanut butter or hummus. Lunches are salads, wraps, rice based bowls with beans, guacamole, salsa, lettuce, corn. Lots of tacos, soups. Falafel is good. There are a bunch of vegan meat substitutes I use to make spaghetti and taco “meat” filling. There are also vegan burgers so you can have burgers and fries. Even Carl’s junior now has a vegan burger. There are so many options!

Any Vegetarians/Vegans that could give me tips?

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