In any case even I have run into the issue of ‘what do I make for dinner? I don’t know. I could make…no, that has meat in it. What about….no, that doesn’t work either. Maybe I just won’t bother.’

I think not eating leads to almost as many health issues as eating does.

You realize vegetarianism isn’t *new* right?

That there are various groups of people that have been vegetarian for a long time. Does the diet of a Buddhist lead to health issues later in their life?

There are more health issues among people that eat meat then those that don’t.

It’s true that most of us eat too much meat, but banishing meat for good is not part of a balanced diet and can easily lead to health issues.

So for god’s sake stop this pointless veggie-is-healthy propaganda. Eat less meat or eat no meat because you feel sorry for animals. But don’t expect to get healthy because of it.

For every study which claims vegetarianism is healthy is another one which claims that it isn’t, so just go the middle way and eat less meat, not sacrificing it for good.

[...] one of the newly found (to me) but growing to be favorite blogs I came across this great article on how to eat vegetarian without breaking the bank. A lot of the tips are common, like buying at [...]

Don’t get me wrong I love certain vegetables and grains. But not nearly as much as slow roasted pot roast with brown gravy.

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I also get a hamper of organic fruit and veggies delivered each week.

These options do cost more, but I have prioritized my health. I try not to waste anything. Last night I stayed up late pickling some left over cauliflower. It was really easy and I can’t wait to sample it.

[...] Fresh fruits and veggies can get expensive when you’re eating a healthy vegetarian diet, but there are ways to eat vegetarian on the cheap, too. [...]

[...] J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly brins us some helpful tips on being a vegetarian for cheap. You can combine those tips with our tips on saving money at the grocery store, even if you are a carnivore. [...]

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I have to chime in with those praising u-pick patches. We pick a ton of fruit every summer. In the past we have picked apples, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries. The places are almost always cheaper than buying at the store and usually much better in quality. We eat lots of fresh fruit this way during the summer and freeze tons of it for use through out the year. There’s nothing like a bowl of oatmeal on a cold winter morning loaded down with lots of frozen fruit (and a dab of whipped cream).

Another great source of inexpensive fruits and vegetables are Amish communities. We live near a large Amish community (in central MO) and buy lots of fresh produce and fruit from them. I like to drive through and envy their beautiful gardens and I like it even more when they start hanging signs up showing the vegetables they have ready for sale. They also bring in fruit from other Amish communities to sell. We buy several crates of peaches every summer from them. They also hold produce auctions periodically, but I have no experience with that.

The tricks to becoming a vegetarian are not complex. Some *are* hard though.

When I became a vegetarian, I was living in a fraternity house at college. I didn’t have much money, and there was a lot of pressure and teasing about doing this “unmanly” thing. The small amount of pressure you will get from your parents and friends will not be anything as bad as many of us went through.

Eating out vegetarian:
1. Learn to order ridiculous sounding things “I’ll have the chicken pad thai without the chicken or shrimp”

2. Don’t complain when you occasionally need to order a pile of a la carte items to eat at a restaurant with your friends. On average, you’ll make up for those times with all the times there are normal plates for you

3. Create a short explanation of what you’re doing and why. Say it 42 times one evening (to yourself or partner). Now when someone asks, you won’t have any emotional reaction at all, and therefore won’t dread eating with them.

4. Expect many people to think you’re a PETA. Find one thing to object to about them, and one thing to commend what they’ve they’ve done.

5. Learn the difference between vegan and vegetarian. You will have to explain it *many* times.

Eating with your vegetarian family
1. Buy at least 2 good cook books. I’ll list a few at the end of this list that deal well with this.

2. Learn how to pick out a veggie/fruit that is ripe (I use the book listed at the end). Unripe veggies taste nasty to everyone. And no, tomatoes you buy at the supermarket aren’t ripe. All of those are unripe, just like the green ones. They’ve just been turned red with a dose of ethylene gas

3. Learn to cook more complex dishes. Meat is a complex thing. It has a lot of flavors that stand out. Veggies aren’t very complex things on their own. You need to learn about 6 spices and 4 herbs to really be able to keep your food from being overly bland. I suggest cumin, tumeric, ground red pepper, coriander, mustard seed and black pepper for the spices. For the herbs, learn cilantro, flat leaf parsely, oregeno (dried and fresh) and thyme( dried and fresh).

4. *SLOWLY* change your fat intake. Many people will drop to 1/9th or 1/10 their fat intake when they “go veg” or “go vegan”. This does *not* make them feel good, and also can cause their skin to dry out. We cook in butter all the time (while saturated fat, the buteric acid makes it act more like unsaturated fat in the body). Vegetarians still fry things. My favorite foods are eggplant parmesan (which is fried) and friend zucchini. You will have a much lower *saturated* fat intake when you’re a vegetarian, and you will have a lower overall fat intake (which is only important from a caloric standpoint).

5. Learn to make filling foods. You will eat less protein as a veg. This is not a bad thing from a nutritional standpoint, you need very little protein when not trying to add muscle mass. However, the lack of protein can make some omnivores and new vegetarians overeat (if you’re making stuff that tastes good). I cook dinner for 6-18 friends of mine every Sunday night, and we quite often see them overeating (and borrowing some Rolaids afterwards) when we don’t observe this rule. Learn how to cook things like barley, lentils, steel cut oats and really try to think of “fiber” as a food group.

Eating when visiting friends:
1. This is the hardest part about being a vegetarian. If its a dinner party, let your host know, offer to bring a dish or two.

2. If its an event like a wedding, eat beforehand, and pick around (your eating habits shouldn’t be worth bringing up to your hosts, who honestly have more than enough to worry about). Keep a pack of nuts in your pocket if you can’t eat beforehand, and sneak some to fill you up. If someone provides vegetarian meals, thank them profusely.

3. Some times you have to chose between what you eat and offending people some. You can lie and say you already ate at a catered work thing, etc, but sometimes, you gotta pick your battle. Its not easy, but this just happens sometimes.

I’ll copy this entry at the blog I’ve never started writing in (http://grogandvittles.blogspot.com/) about food.

(This entry is there, and there will be more).

–Michael

Good Cookbooks:
http://snipurl.com/threebowlcookbook – has whole meals planned out for you (honestly a hard part of vegetarianism)

http://snipurl.com/sundaysatmoosewood – Dishes from all over the world (has some fish recipes, but plenty that aren’t fish related).

Good veggie picking guide:
http://snipurl.com/produce_picker

Because we can’t afford organic and some of the chain grocery stores here in Chicagoland seem to not know what a real sale is we shop at the local produce markets. There we can get 20 limes for $1, Avacados for $.39 each, cabbage for $.18/lb, etc. They also carry lots of very different produce like pomegranites, baby bok choy, Indian eggplant, persimmons, cactus leaves, etc and we try them every once in awhile.

I also found a new blog (I have no affliation) http://www.veganfamilyliving.com Vegan Family Living that is focused on sharing information on mostly the diet aspect of vegan living.

I love farmers markets but we have a hard time finding one on a weekend that is close by.

There are also a few CSA things here. I compared the prices, and those prices are completely insane. There is no way I am going to pay 4 times what I pay at the store to support local farms. I just can’t afford that. I went on a farm tour last year and the prices at each farm were completely ridiculous. Most of the farms offer some kind of stand during the summer & fall, which is why I went on the tour–I thought it would be nice to meet farmers and see who might be selling what. I’d love to buy locally but in almost every instance here it is not affordable.

I found a single farm stand that has wonderful produce and wonderful prices and when they set up their table (card table! with an honesty box!) I go about once or twice a week and buy a bunch of stuff, leaving a big tip.

I have found that local is nearly always healthier, but it is almost never cheaper. Fortunately I have a patch of sunshine and this year I hope to grow a bunch of things I like to eat, have a surplus, and freeze or dry that surplus.