Why I became a vegetarian

[michele cryer]

I have always had a great sentimentality where animals are concerned...when I was 17 I decided that I would like to stop eating meat, however as I was living at home and my parents were cooking the meals I honoured their position and ate what they cooked for me.

I left home at 24 and shortly afterwards started to reduce the amount of meat in my diet...this was mainly brought about by the sight I saw on a motorway on the way back from my holiday in Scotland, which had been spent at a farmhouse where each night I said 'good night' to the cows..lol. I saw a truck carrying sheep to, presumably, a slaughterhouse...it was awful, they were all packed tightly behind wire mesh, it chilled me...

I have now not eaten any sort of meat, fish or poultry since 1988 and feel great for it...no worries about bse or the other 'meat' scares...my iron levels are normal and I have not become 'thin as a rake' unfortunately..lol.

I still feel strongly about humans using animals for their own comfort, when it is no longer necessary in our society. I am strongly against Fox Hunting and any kind of animal 'baiting' that still goes on around the world. My opinions on experiments on animals are a little more blurry as I can see the need for testing out new drugs/medicines, but I am more in favour of humans volunteering, for a great amount of payment, to be tested on instead of animals...are we really that alike in the way in which we react to drugs? I am definitely not in favour of testing make up and other products of that kind on animals...

Michele

[Mitch]

An amusing look at a vegetarian diary - not!

I took my first steps towards being vegetarian last night. I was at the chippy after work and instead of me usual sausage and chips!, I had cheese and onion pie and chips.

I can honestly say that it was the most disgusting cheese and onion pie I've ever had for some reason!

I've decided to take this step slowly to get Octoberlost off me back - no not really, I share all of Michele's sentiments here and have been lazy in not attempting to follow through. I love animals and myself and my mother have rescued many cats and dogs through our lives. Some are still with us, some we helped back into health then rehoused to very good homes.

I can't see myself cooking Spinach Lasagne with soya milk and tofu from the Vegetarian Starter pack (uck - I tried tofu once and nearly puked), but in my next shop I'll be stocking up on frozen veggie burgers, lots of fruit and vege (although I've a habit of letting vege go off as hate cooking). I quite like the look of the Chickpea curry though.

Any simple, quick and easy recipes out there from all you experts. I'm feeling rather ill today as I've eaten too much vegetarian ginger parkin cake, and that cheese and onion pie from last night is giving me a bit of jip! ;D

[michele cryer]

Awww Mitch, well done for starting your new way of eating...I don't always enjoy cheese and onion pies either...unless they're homemade, delicious!!!

I too hate cooking, unless I'm really feeling inspired, and so I buy lots of frozen veg instead of fresh, believe frozen veg preserves vitamins better and the added bonus that it doesn't go off as quickly, and it's easier to measure portions per person...you can buy some frozen fruits too if you wish...

I would recommend Quorn products unless you are thinking of becoming a vegan and cutting out eggs...I love my Quorn mince (which I use to make chillis and spaghetti bolognese), cook it in exactly the same way as meat mince...can also be used to make burgers and cottage pie...Becki does those better than I do...also Quorn Pieces are good to substitute in stir fries where you would normally use chicken or fish, and for things like chicken chasseur...there are also lots of quorn burgers/sausages/roasts around which I love...

Hope that is okay for a starter list of alternatives you can use...You don't have to rely heavily on spinach!! I will try to think of the ingredients I use for curries and soups...I just tend to chuck loads of different ingredients in a pan and boil 'em up!!

Good luck...

[octoberlost]

You know it makes sense...but the point is that I try and not kick off about carnivores because I KNOW how alienating it can be, so I try and encourage so dont even start to joke about me nagging, because I know I can kick off one amazing strop, when I want to, and on this occassion I havent...

anyway toffu absorbs any flavour its cooked with, so was the meal disgusting? and byway I dont often eat that stuff besides....

[Mitch]

Thanks for the tips and keep ya cabbage on lettucehead!

Now then, things are not going well. As I was munching on a bit of raw carrot, as I was cooking my vegetable stirfry for lunch I'm not kiddin - a piece of one of me back teeth cracked off!

I think me body may well be reacting adversely to all these vitamins and so forth - or do you think it's age detioration and something to do with the 20 cigs a day I smoke?

Off to ring the dentist! Shame it wasn't one of me front teeth - that would have been a great joke. I'm getting old!! ;D

[michele cryer]

LOL Mitch...perhaps you just need calcium supplements!!! Hope your teeth get better soon... ;D

[octoberlost]

brocolli is the best source of calcuim, milk is truly bad for you...

[Mitch]

Dear Dr.Lost & Michele,

Unfortunately me temporary filling fell out and I swallowed it along with Reg & Sal's apple crumble on Friday night.

Struggling with NHS dentists in Nelson - all moving out and my dentist is moving to Colne. This combined with the difficulty of getting access to doctors in the area must be seriously having an impact on people with mobility issues.

Question - is Shepherds Pie still Shepherds Pie when cooked with Quorn mince?

I must say Quorn works really well as a mince alternative, although me mate wasn't too happy with my spagetti bol last night with Quorn mince - said it felt like a mouthful of rubber.

I'm doing quite well, and can honestly say I've found the transition quite painless. I've started drinking some of the bio-active something or other drinks - don't like the idea there's 'bacteria' in em though! Where's me recipes then Dr.Lost?

[Steve]

Dear Mitch,

Shepherds pie is made with lamb mince.
Cottage pie is made with beef mince.
If made with quorn mince it is Shepherdess pie especially if you do the mash with half sweet potato.

If you want some good veggie recipes let me know. My specialities are Chilli and spinach & chick pea curry.

Quorn burgers are also very nice especially the southern fried ones as is quorn roast for that traditional Sunday dinner.

[michele cryer]

Phew!!! at last another veggie who loves Quorn!!

Not meaning to advertise here, but I've found that my local Morrisons store has a great selection of Quorn products...Iceland also have a good selection but Asda just have the usuals...

My kids enjoy some of the Quorn products better than meat, even tho they're not vegetarian...and get the added bonus of it being lower fat!!

Good luck with the experiments Mitch...shame about the dentists...I saw the headlines yesterday about them!!

[Steve]

michele said:

Not meaning to advertise here, but I've found that my local Morrisons store has a great selection of Quorn products...Iceland also have a good selection but Asda just have the usuals...

Especially when they're 'buy one get one free' ;D

[michele cryer]

hehe...of course the 'buy one get one free' offers are another added bonus!!

[octoberlost]

if your doing spag bol, maybe you should try TVP chunks. They have more protien, less fat, are cheaper, do taste like meat and are animal free...

TVP chunks are quite common in health food stores

[michele cryer]

Well...I've let myself slip into a bit of bad health over the last few years it seems...recently I was diagnosed as having hi blood pressure, slightly raised cholestrol, underactive thyroid and diabetes Type 2.

Most of the above have most likely been caused by my increasing weight! However, on the slightly brighter side, part of that weight gain could be down to the underactive thyroid.

Anyways...so now I'm being medicated for the hi blood pressure, which is gradually reducing...there's just the diabetes and cholestrol to deal with.

I've been to the diabetic clinic, got some good advice re diet and exercise in general...GP says no gym for a few more weeks yet, tho!

I've started drinking Soya milk, and found it really tasty. It has no cholestrol, apparently, and on the carton it states that eating 25g of Soya Protein per day reduced cholestrol...SO:

Can anybody recommend some really good stuff out there, tasty too, and easy to prepare, that I can add to my diet. I tend to eat lots of Quorn which isn't soya based, tho I bought some veggie frankfurters which are partly soya...and I know there are drinks and yogurts out there...can anyone recommend any really good brands? and cheeses too? as I need to lower the amount of fat in my diet also...

thanks in advance for any tips...

[octoberlost]

Soya based products are highly recommended as is the magarine PURA, or whatever its called, these should actively help lower cholestrol. Also products high in omegas are helpful in that they "lower the amount of lipids (fats such as cholesterol and triglycerides) circulating in the bloodstream"
For vegetarians flax seed (linseed), walnuts and tofu is good. I tend to put linseed on my jam toast in the morning, and in whatever im cooking.

In terms of weight loss, products which are high in fibre will work well, lentils, beans, sago, couscous, quinoa, millet. Also brown rice/bread instead of the white variety, also plenty of seeds, which I tend to incorporate into stir frys works really well.

If your stuck for recipes or information try
www.whfoods.com/

[michele cryer]

Thanks for your advice Octoberlost!

I knew I could rely on you for some good info...nice to see you back on the site again too...