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Encouraging That Aspiring Vegetarian or Vegan in Your Life
Posted by Guest Blogger at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (12)
Your friend has finally gotten it! Fred has finally decided to give up meat and/or animal products. Great! You are brimming with excitement, and you can’t wait to introduce him to the joys of tempeh, seitan, and tofu. However, he is struggling with a continuous hankering for bacon or artery-clogging cheese. You don’t want to come on too strong and send him running for the beef-laden hills, but you still want to provide him with that extra boost during weak moments. How do you achieve that balance?
Remember that some people will have a slower transition than others.
Some people go vegetarian overnight, while others make the transition over time. It’s important to emphasize long-term goals. For example, your friend may decide to try to eat vegetarian two or three days out of the week. Integrating vegetarian suggestions occasionally like this may help that omnivore who is really struggling to change from a diet heavy in meat to a plant-based diet.
Suggest nonperishable snacks to battle an empty stomach.
There’s nothing that will sink a vegetarian resolution faster than a famished, growling stomach. These are vulnerable moments, especially for a person who is giving up flesh foods. It’s very important that your buddy be fully prepared for traffic jams, delayed trains, and late meetings. New vegetarians may feel quite pleased with the new diet until they are so hungry that they will eat anything in sight, including burgers at the McDonald’s down the street. Suggest packing nonperishable snacks such as nuts and crackers to keep in the work desk, car, pantry, etc.
Invite your friend over for a product tasting.
Remember that first time you spooned soy yogurt into your mouth? Did you know what to expect? Were you apprehensive that you would hate it? Your aspiring vegetarian or vegan friend is now entering a whole new world of food. This world can be unfamiliar, and your pal Susan may feel like she doesn’t know where to start. Extend an invitation for dinner and some snacks. Serve appetizers that include veggie meatballs, veggie cocktail sausage, and vegan cheese. Offer a taste of Vegenaise on a spoon and suggest trying Earth Balance spread on a piece of toast. She may feel reluctant to buy a huge bag of groceries without trying the products first, especially if she has mainly subsisted on animal products. Your invitation will show her that vegetarian products taste good and can help her find a few tasty options.
Invite your friend over for a cooking lesson.
Remember the first time you cooked a meal? Did your recipes always turn out as planned? Probably not. Know that George’s first attempt at baking tofu may not turn out so well and that this may prove discouraging to him. Invite him over for dinner and cook the meal together. And show him the numerous, delicious recipes at VegCooking.com.
Act as a quick-reference guide.
Ever try to count the number of types of veggie burgers out there? Ever stand in front of a shelf of vegan cheese and feel perplexed? The vegetarian market is exploding, which means more product choices. Your pal may feel a bit lost in this new world, and your knowledge can make it a lot easier. Offer to go shopping together at the grocery store. Point out a couple of common products that can be found anywhere, not just health-food stores. Web sites such as GoVeg.com and vegetarian magazines and cookbooks are great resources to recommend.
Remember—not all brands are the same.
Let your friend budding vegetarian friend Sarah know that faux meats vary greatly by brand. If she tried her first veggie hot dog and hated it, suggest another brand. Better yet, act as her personal chef and suggest some of your own favorites. This can save time and money and will enable her to build up a supply of staples in the kitchen. (This is also important for when she begins cooking experiments on her own. When something goes awry, it’s always helpful to have a Tofurky sausage in the freezer to turn to.)
Be human and confess what you struggle with.
Many aspiring vegetarians will feel guilty about their cravings for flesh foods and animal products. They will question their ability to stay away from them. Some will even think that perhaps giving up these products is much harder for them than for everyone else and that maybe they just don’t have the ability to do it. While this view is sometimes used as an excuse, it can also be the result of frustration and discouragement. If you were once an omnivore, let your vegan wannabe pal Jim know what your challenges were. Say something like, “When I went vegan, I missed cheese terribly. I thought I’d never get over wanting it all the time. But eventually, I stopped craving it and found other foods that satisfy me. And I feel great knowing that no animals were harmed in the production of my food.” Jim needs to know that many vegetarians were once avid steak lovers and that those “perfect” vegans out there are also human beings with frailties.
Kimberly Eaton is an animal rights activist and aspiring foster mom for cats.
Posted to Health | Posted to Tags: Guest Blogger, Health, vegan, vegetarian
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Cathy says...
June 11th, 2009, 11:36 pm
Tehina is a great solution to those cravings for animal products. It is full of calcium and iron. In fact, Tehina from whole sesame seeds has more calcium and iron that meat! I buy sesame paste at the health food store and mix it with lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and cumin. It’s delicious with vegetables. Or you can spread the sesame paste on toast, add a bit of honey, and you’ve got a great breakfast.
Ellie B. says...
June 12th, 2009, 6:22 pm
Excellent article! It’s so important to remember that not everyone has an easy transition. I, for one, grew up around soy products and tons of different kinds of food, so making the transition was completely easy. However, so many of my friends live on chicken wings and bacon bits, and cringe at the thought of new foods.
Natalie says...
June 12th, 2009, 7:07 pm
Oops, I think you meant to say agave nectar, Cathy ;]
Elaine D says...
June 13th, 2009, 10:36 am
I personally found the transition very easy……. and that was 20 years ago when
even Soy milk was difficult to find! A suggestion for the new Vegetarians missing their ‘Cheese’….. we purchased a wonderful cookbook “The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook”…..it is filled with easy and excellent recipes for cheeses, spreads and sauces. The internet is a WEALTH of information - you can find a ‘Vegan’ version for any and every recipe one would want. A favourite of our family and a Christmas breakfast tradition is Veggies Benedict - a recipe from Dr. John McDougall’s website. The Hollandaise Sauce is absolutely delicious……… made with Raw Cashews.
Becoming Vegetarian and better still becoming VEGAN will change your life and
change the world.
Bon Appetit!
Elaine
Bonnie Bonsor says...
June 13th, 2009, 4:03 pm
I am wondering how I can get around the fact that I become extremely ill if I do not have eggs or some kind of meat, like beef, and especially milk. The last time I tried to do this I almost ended up in the hospital. I only eat red meat about once a month - but I find that without chicken or tuna or some kind of protien like that, I become shakey and my heart races - also I must have milk - every day. I have Osteoporosis and really bad bones - and milk is one thing I have always needed all my life…I also am not in the tax bracket to be able to buy all organic foods…I would like an article addressing all these issues…thanks.
marcia parent says...
June 13th, 2009, 5:53 pm
Its confusing. I need a book that tells which products that dont have animal by products . And were to begin with out any meat when you have someone in the house that eats meat. I need a book of vegetarian stuff (food) so i can learn that difference. M. Parent
Jen-X says...
June 14th, 2009, 2:17 pm
I go back and forth about using faux products, particularly cheese. Fake animal products usually have a fake taste (there are exceptions: Gimme Lean Sausage, Earth Balance Buttery Spread, and Vegenaise).
After eating a faux cheese product sometimes it leaves me craving the real thing, which is dangerous ground to tread. Often I will use ground cashews (with a bit of coarse salt mixed in) to top off pasta dishes and pizza, and I’m always left satisfied. Cashews are natural, healthy, and delicious!
LeeAnn says...
June 15th, 2009, 5:58 pm
Bonnie, like you, I would love to become a vegan, and have tried it more than once; however, am unable to keep my blood sugar stable without an awful lot of protein. Yes, I have tried soy, nuts, seitan and beans and all the usual sources of protein that vegans eat. I have followed Dr. McDougalls diet plans to a “T” only to get sick— all sorts of diabetic symptoms that I do not have when eating meat. I hate it eating meat and sometimes could almost puke, but the other alternative just does not seem to work. If anyone reading this has some advice, I would be completely open to it. There are lots of folks like me and Bonnie so speak up!
Olga Zaric says...
June 15th, 2009, 6:33 pm
I recommend Veggie Bacon Strips (they are delicious and even my cat is crazy about them!) and Veggie Breakfast Links - both Yves Veggie Cuisine brand.
Bonnie, read “Diet for a New America” by John Robbins. Everyone should read it! There is a special chapter about osteoporosis.
Letty says...
June 17th, 2009, 4:24 pm
I enjoyed what you wrote.Specially because right now my brother is considering becoming a vegetarian.For me, the transition was overnight and so easy, but now I am in the middle of my transition to becoming a vegan and is being a bit difficult.That is because I am visiting in Mexico, where the most common form of vegetarianism is lacto-vegetarian, at least in the smaller cities.
Sherif Hamdy says...
June 19th, 2009, 5:41 pm
Hi,
I wanted to post some pointers for people who mentioned struggling with a veg. diet.
First, we should point out that we are animal rights activists and that we do not have physicians on staff. If your question is related to a health problem that you are experiencing, please contact a health care provider.
A vegetarian diet with a healthy variety of food should more than adequately meet our nutritional needs—in fact, it’s healthier than eating meat! The American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada’s joint position paper on vegetarianism asserts, “Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals.”
Dr. William Castelli, the director of the Framingham Heart Study, the longest-running epidemiological study in medical history, reports: “[V]egetarians have the best diet. They have the lowest rates of coronary disease of any group in the country. … [T]hey have a fraction of our heart attack rate, and they have only 40 percent of our cancer rate. They outlive us. On the average, they outlive other men by about six years now.”
Below are some links that will provide you with additional information about the health benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets:
• http://www.PETA.org/about/faq-veg.asp
• http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/index.html
• http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/b12.htm
• http://www.GoVeg.com/veganism.asp
• http://www.DumpDairy.com/more.html
We also encourage people to read Dr. Neal Barnard’s Eat for Life and Vesanto Melina and Brenda Davis’ Becoming Vegan. Additional books on veganism can be found at https://www.PETACatalog.org/products.asp?dept=115.
Stan says...
June 28th, 2009, 1:34 am
This is all good information but it is good to remember that one size doesn’t fit all because of allergies. I have been a vegetarian for many years but my girlfriend hasn’t. In the last few months she’s made the transition but it hasn’t been easy. Both she and I are allergic to all nuts so that’s not a snack option - it hasn’t been that difficult since we both like lots of vegetables, but she is also allergic to most citrus. I love all the various veggie burgers - mostly the Morningstar products from Trader Joes and other grocers - but she really doesn’t like the smell - yes - that’s right - she feels they have almost a plastic-like odor. Has any one else heard this complaint? Is it better to go with the less processed soy products rather the processed burgers, fake-chicken and such which reading the contents do have a lot of chemicals in them?