Becoming a vegetarian

It depends, I suppose, on where you live and what vegetables are in season but, on the whole, meat and cheese are by far the most expensive part of most people's food expenditure and most people eat far more meat than they really need to provide the necessary proteins. Becoming vegetarian or even just cutting down on meat should therefore significantly reduce your food bills. Most of the proteins which are normally derived from meat can be replaced by balancing proteins from grains and pulses, both of which can be bought in bulk and stored. The advantage of replacing meat with these sources of protein is that there is much less 'bad' cholesterol in grains and pulses and one tends to use more vegetable oil in cooking than animal fat. Yes, it does take some effort to adjust to a new regime. You have to consciously think about new recipes and plan accordingly. Meat is often ready prepared and all you have to do is take it out of the package and throw it in the pan. Vegetables, on the other hand take some preparation - dried beans and peas may need soaking overnight, vegetables very often need to be washed, peeled and chopped and unfamiliar recipes need to be tried and adjusted to your taste. You can begin by REDUCING the amount of meat you eat by serving smaller portions of meat and increasing the amount of vegetable accompaniments. Try consciously reducing your portions by half. This is quite easy to do in a chili con carne or a casserole meal; not quite so easy if you are serving chicken portions or a roast meal. While you are about it, you should also gradually decrease your salt/sodium intake. Most people add far too much salt to food and substantially increase their risk of a heart attack. How much salt we use is a matter of taste and we can educate ourselves (and use alternative herbs and spices) to eat much less by gradually and consciously reducing the amount used in cooking.

You are so right. The only vegetables on sale are what is in season. Right now I am enjoying watermelon. I find I can get more fruits for less money than vegetables. I am learning to cook different ways with potatoes to make them go farther. Ifound a seasoning packet where you only use a tablespoon of the seasoning (bacon and chives) and 1 tbsp of oil. Cut your potatoes in half, then slice in wedges and place in a sealable bag drizzle seasoning mixture over it and shake in bag Place in oven of 425 for 15 minutes turn and leave in another 15 minutes and you have a really good oven baked fresh french fries without being in all the deep fried oil. I also found a local restaurant that does fresh side salads for 3.50 and I could not buy all the vegetables needed for this salad plus dressing and they give you a slice of hot soft brown bread. I have also learned if I am buying peppers fresh, red onion, etc I purchase in bulk, come home and slice how I want them cut and freeze in bags. Then when I want fresh pepper I don't have to pay the outlandish prices for one pepper. I usually try to his the farmers markets during spring and summer and the rest of the year I use a bulk store like Sams Club. The hardest thing I find is buying fruits fresh and keeping them fresh enough to eat all of it. So I find myself going to the store more than once a week to keep up with fruits over veggies. While I love veggies and fruits, I certainly still know I have to have some protein in my diet. So a bit of meat tastefully done with good vegetables is always welcome.

I've read about becoming a vegetarian. I've reviewed some of the pros and cons. We cannot say that only vegetarians are healthy or it's really healthy to be a vegetarian. Why? I've read that it's not giving us a balance diet. Protein coming from animals are still more important than the protein substitutes we get from plants. And if you're a Christian, there's a book there that says, you should not deprive yourself of protein from animals because it makes the body weak and when the body is weak, the spirit is prone to temptation. So i don't even desire to become a vegetarian. I'd rather exercise and eat a balance diet.

Becoming a Vegetarian is a very good for health and I would also like to be but it is really not possible at this situation. I also tried to be a vegetarian but was unsuccessful. It's not easy to be a vegetarian.

becoming a vegetarian gives many benefits. As like you said, It would give healthy body for us. Nevertheless, it costs more. Yeah, my friends had experienced that. They were vegetarian and i think it us true that they are healthier until now. It is very good i think.

I am shocked to hear that it is expensive to become a vegetarian because here in kenya vegatables are more affordable as compared to meat. I am also shocked to hear that there are semi-vegetarians. I have a friend who is a vegetarian. He has not eaten meat in over 15 years. He is the healthiest person I know. Personally I cannot imagine not eating meat. I love meat and especially chicken. Good luck in becoming a vegetarian.

I could never become a vegetarian,because I could not live on veggies and fruits all day long. I would get the hungery. A vegetarian is so hard to cook for. My granddaugher's boyfriend was a vegetarian for years and now he not. He said that he was not getting enough protiens.

Well, I am a vegan since birth. You said vegetables are too costly there but are meat and fish cheaper than vegetables?? I don't know! About the inability to keep up the vegan diet, I think you should try it couple more times so that you get adjusted to it and your urge to eat non-veg is reduced..Just keep trying. Nothing is impossible. Cheers!

I have been a vegetarian in the past. Today I eat meat sometimes, but I love fruit and vegetables and on many days my meals only consists of vegetables. In the some of the supermarkets in my country they have vegetable buffets with cut vegetables where we can make our own salat. My husband and I often buy those mixed salat bowls, because we are able to get a lot of different vegetables that way. If we had to buy all of the vegetables and cut them ourselves, it would be more expensive, as those salat bowls are relatively cheap. If we are having company and need vegetables for many people we buy vegetables and cut ourselves, but if we only need vegetables for two people it is cheaper to buy vegatables from the buffet.

I've been a vegetarian for years, and I don't find it nearly as difficult as you did. Veggies are on the higher priced items at the grocery store, but I don't know that I would call them expensive. For me it's just a matter of buying one thing and not several others. I don't miss meat in the least. In fact, I became a vegetarian because I didn't like meat, and not for any health or ethical reasons. I have become considerably more health conscious since becoming a vegetarian. But then again, I was 14 when I became a vegetarian and I just didn't know anything about healthy eating. lol

i also trying to do the same things, i also reduce my intake of meat and most likely indulge in eating viand mix with vegetables. i like them steam r eat it slightly blanched. i especially like cabbage, radish, spinach, eggplant, and other green and yellow vegetables. so most f the time i think could live with that with a fish and vegetables. but, could not be a totally vegetarian, since i still eat bread with eggs and fish. so when it comes to raw eating vegetable my stomach could not handle t well, so i need to cook them. it s a good thing to eat vegetables and avoid meat for longer and healthier life.

It really helps to eat veggies.Even me, i do eat a lot food veggies in our home because we have plenty of food here.I only eat sometimes like pork,and other etc.

to be a vegetarian is easy and cheap, in my region, meat of all kinds are quite expensive while vegetables are so cheap. so for me to be a vegetarian is as easy as a pie.

i m a vegi...so i do not agree with u...i find it a healthy way of life. u cud say i m not aware abt the non veg taste...i never felt the need. so for me it is very easy...just avoid non veg.....:)

A vegetarian diet tends to be less expensive than one based around meat. I ought to know, since I keep a vegetarian and organic kitchen. Veggies tend to be less expensive than meat; a vegetarian diet doesn't mean just eating vegetables, and eating healthfully means being more productive (meaning: possibly more money) and having fewer health issues (meaning: less money spent on medical costs). Make friends with dried beans, lentils and brown rice. Eat seasonally as much as possible. Support your local farmers' market(s). Get a share in a CSA (now is the time of year to be doing your research and signing up). Improve your cooking skills.

Good question, too, if I could, I would like to become a vegetarian. I frankly do not look just the spending. My greatest trouble, would force myself to this healthy way of eating and above all very ecologic. This, in my opinion we should do it all! eating vegetation is healthy and certainly brings great benefits to the body. Unfortunately in his thinking, are very few; We hope that with time, people start doing this kind of reasoning, so that I be a vegetarian is not just a thing impossible.

What I agree about is that it's not easy. It's difficult to find ready-made vegetarian foods, so you have to cook yourself if you want to afford it. If you ate raw vegetables and fruits only, then you would need a lot of them to feel full, so yes, it would cost too much. But if you can make a good plan about the dishes you want to make, it can cost about the same as a non-veg diet.

yea i think its ok to, i agree, its nice to eat veges and fruits but cant live without eggs and meat they are gift from our god so why live and deprive our selves wouthout them, there are many benefitst in the animals that are not in the planet so why to do that