The Vegetarian & Vegan Thread

[Whitelinen]

^ I second that. And thanks for the tips about pescovegetarianism, I think that's something for me.

 

[Meg]

The definitions for vegetarianism and vegan is exactly the same (no meat, dairy or eggs). Vegetarians do eat eggs and dairy. The other definitions are for vegetarians who choose also to omit eggs or dairy.

 

[Whitelinen]

^ Sorry, I meant vegetarians with "vegetarianism". English is not my first language so I make mistakes sometimes.

 

[fashionista-ta]

This might sound a little bit stupid, but what do people who are vegetarians/vegans for ethical reasons feed their dogs and cats with? As far as I know dogs and cats do not survive without meat, but isn't this against vegetarians?

I'm not attacking as I find vegetarianism to be great, but this question just popped to my mind.

I know of vegetarians (I believe it may have been for religious reasons) who had a pet possum and fed it meat + veggies (possums are very hard to feed properly in captivity as they have an extremely varied diet in the wild).

I have dogs and they eat vegetarian much of the time (I cook for them). Eggs are perfect protein. Like for breakfast this morning they had fried eggs, whole grain bread, oatmeal, baked butternut squash.

I have read that some dogs don't thrive on a vegetarian diet, but I suspect that is kibble being discussed. Vegan would be much, much more difficult ... esp as dogs are not supposed to have soy according to several sources I've come across.

 

[Organic]

The definitions for vegetarianism and vegan is exactly the same (no meat, dairy or eggs). Vegetarians do eat eggs and dairy. The other definitions are for vegetarians who choose also to omit eggs or dairy.

no, not really.

there are all sorts of varrying degrees of veganism as well. it's not as simple as no eggs or dairy. no honey, no wool, silk, no medicine that's in capsules, etc.

 

[seanutbutter]

The definitions for vegetarianism and vegan is exactly the same (no meat, dairy or eggs).

Not true - vegans avoid using animals and animal products for essentially anything, while vegetarianism mainly is to not consume animals/animal products.

 

[kateelle]

I have dogs and they eat vegetarian much of the time (I cook for them). Eggs are perfect protein. Like for breakfast this morning they had fried eggs, whole grain bread, oatmeal, baked butternut squash.

You feed your dogs human food?! I find this so odd.

 

[misssakura]

What's the definition of human food? Cooked food?

 

[Whitelinen]

You feed your dogs human food?! I find this so odd.

Did you know that the pet foods specified for ie dogs can cause allergies easily? After I started to feed my dog with "human foods", the side effects from pet food, ie throwing up, went down to minimum.

You should not feed all your food to dogs though ... for example soy and chocolate are poisonous to dogs.

I usually feed my dog with meat, rice, carrots, whole grains ...

 

[lostinemotion]

your dog eats better than i do

 

[kellyisazebra]

YAY FOR BEING WITH VEGETARIAN! SAVE THE ANIMALS!
Hahaha I want to be a vegetarian, I basically am..but my mom MAKES me eat meat a lot of the time.. I absolutely hate it though. It's such a sad idea, even though I know it's nature.

 

[misssakura]

Ungh, came back from the doctor feeling a little bummed out today. My weight has plummeted from 47kg to 43, leaving me with a stupid BMI of 17.3. I don't think it's necessarily not eating meat as I was losing weight while I was still eating meat. But that's a rate of 1kg a month loss, which is worrying. I'm always under stress and food is so expensive I maybe don't eat as much as I'd like. At the same time I don't usually feel particularly hungry.

So now it's mission GAIN WEIGHT Avodaco! Avocado oil! OILLLLL! IN EVERYTHING....gotta get up to 50kg.

Sorry if this counts as weight discussion but It's not really a discussion. It's a dangerous BMI, I know that. I just need to figure out how to gain weight on a vegetarian diet.

 

[Whitelinen]

^ Let us know how it progresses

 

[ibimus]

I'm so excited. My 1-year anniversary as a vegetarian is coming up in March (the 22nd, to be exact.).

Everything has improved since I went veggie. I did it for health, ethical, and the fact that I don't like the taste of most meats anyway. I've turned into a major health freak, and it's fantastic! My skin is better, I feel better in general. I have more energy, my mood is improved, and I love knowing that I'm doing something good everyday by saving an animal.

Yep. I love it. I'm never going back.

Missakura, proteins! Proteins are the healthy way to put on weight (not junk food. those are just empty calories that do nothing for you.) Try some unsalted nuts, avacados, bananas, etc...Remember that the dark and leafy, the better. I believe spinach is packed with protein.

 

[kellyisazebra]

I just need to figure out how to gain weight on a vegetarian diet.

Haha, if you ever figure that one out let me know... I really need to gain weight too, I lost a lot of weight randomly and I don't know why. I HATE MEAT TOO.. so that doesn't help.

 

[Velony]

Wow, it sounds like one side effect from becoming a veggie is losing weight? I must say that I have stopped eating meat 12 years ago and neither did I lose weight nor did my skin clear up or anything. I also don't feel that I have more energy (on the contrary, I feel tired most of the time). And I eat pretty healthy, so no junk food or anything. Plus I did have my blood tested a couple of times and it turned out everything was fine. I wish I would lose weight without actually doing anything. Do you guys work out a lot?

 

[misssakura]

I don't work out at all, I'm really sedentary. But bear in mind I don't think it's necessarily a diet thing, it's a lifestyle change too as I'm so so stressed and worried all the time, I'm sure it affects my weight a lot.

 

[Velony]

You're probably right. I'm hardly ever stressed because I have a lot of free time besides school.

 

[FashionGrrrrl]

misssakura - I would encourage you to go see a nutritionist if you can, I'm sorry to hear you're having trouble. As for food being expensive, I hear ya, maybe try things like beans and brown rice...bananas are cheap and healthy...again, I'm not really sure of the effects on your weight so I would go talk to a nutritionist to help plan your diet.

I've been vegetarian for 10 years now and I've finally figured out how I need to eat to keep my energy levels up, my stomach full and my weight at a healthy level. I switched at first because of moral reasons but these days I think it's mostly that anything coming from a dead animal disgusts me, and I could never go back to eating meat. I also find eggs a little disturbing but don't completely avoid them, but I couldn't eat an omlette because my stomach reacts badly to a lot of egg and I have no clue why. I love beans, tofu (especially from P.F. Chang's *drool*) and drink soymilk for more protein, though I still eat dairy. I just find it to be such a healthy way to live if done right and so good for my body. The only thing I seem to have issues with is getting enough iron, I had my blood tested last year and had to start taking iron pills. I'm trying to eat lots of broccoli and stuff as well but maybe I just have trouble absorbing it from vegetables.

 

[ragtag]

^ PF chang's tofu is indeed the best tofu dish i've ever had! with the brown rice it's the most perfect meal... i like it better than everything else on the menu.