This Savvy Vegetarian report is formed by almost 40 years of experience and observation as a vegetarian, and ten years of helping others go vegetarian. Often there is 'scientific evidence' to back up what I say, but mostly this is my personal experience talking. I don't claim to be scientific, and I don't make any guarantees. It's up to you whether you accept what I say - I'm a firm exponent of healthy skepticism. But, if you'd rather not re-invent the wheel, these practical observations might be useful to you as a place to start going vegetarian.
Ten Tips For Getting Started Going Vegetarian
1. Keep it simple, go slowly, and don’t strain
You're going too fast if you feel deprived, tired, stressed or overwhelmed. Don't strain. Cut back on red meat first, then gradually eliminate it, then start the same process with chicken and fish. At the same time, gradually introduce new vegetarian foods to your diet. When you're starting out as a vegetarian, it's normal to go back and forth between veg and non-veg, sometimes for many years. If you crave an animal food, eat a bit, until you're satisfied, then work your way back.
2. Go organic as much as you can
Organic food may cost more, but it’s generally tastier and more nutritious (that varies with the quality of soil used for growing). Regardless, you won't be poisoned by pesticide & herbicide residues. Go totally non-GMO (genetically modified organism) unless you want to be a subject in an illegal frankenfood experiment. Find lists of non-gmo foods is at truefoodsnow.org, or greenpeace.org. Books to read are "Seeds of Deception", and “Genetic Roulette” by Jeffrey M. Smith, and "Genetically Altered Foods and Your Health" by Ken Roseboro.
3. Get yourself a basic vegetarian cookbook, to start with
Your new cookbook should have lots of information about vegetarian nutrition, ingredients, basic cooking instructions, and a variety of easy recipes. I recommend:
- Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone
, by Deborah Madison;
- Heaven's Banquet: Vegetarian Cooking for Lifelong Health the Ayurveda Way
, by Mariam Kasin Hodari (Ayurvedic);
- Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking
, by Yamuna Devi;
- The Vegetarian Family Cookbook
, by Nava Atlas
All these cookbooks have excellent recipes, clear directions, and lots of supporting details. The authors have long careers as professional chefs, cookbook authors, and teachers.
I also recommend "The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet
4. Buy A Bit At A Time
Instead of rushing out and buying all kinds of new foods, buy a bit at a time until you know what you like, and have found reliable, economic sources. These days, most cities of 100,000 or more have at least one natural food store, especially college towns. Whole Foods and Wild Oats are opening new stores all over the place. Food co-ops and buying clubs are everywhere. Most supermarkets have natural food sections, including bulk. There are also farmers markets, and online sources of whole foods.
5. Avoid sugar and junk food, including soft drinks
When you're a vegetarian, most of what you eat should count, nutritionally. Be sure to eat a well-balanced, widely varied, nutritious diet, to get all the essential vitamins and minerals. Processed food is substandard nutrition - leftovers in a box, always, even when it's vegetarian.
6. Drink mostly water and other clear fluids
It'll help the inevitable de-toxing. Plus, there's more bulk, or roughage in a vegetarian diet, and you need plenty of liquid to keep it all moving through your digestive system.
Make sure your water has minerals in it - add trace mineral drops to RO or distilled water, which is stripped of all content other than wet. Or get an inexpensive filter for your tap water.
Caffeine is a diuretic, so if you're drinking several cups of coffee, tea, or other caffeinated drinks, cut way back.
Soft drinks, even if non-caffeine and unsweetened, contain many harmful ingredients: artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors, and preservatives. Carbonation interferes with your digestion.
Contrary to popular notions, it's not necessary to drink four glasses of milk a day - there are better sources of calcium and protein, with less saturated fat.
And, according to ayurveda, milk shouldn't be combined with other foods, except for maybe rice and wheat, and cold drinks put out the digestive fire.
7. Listen to your body
Food cravings, excessive hunger, fatigue, depression, circles under the eyes, bruising – may indicate vitamin or mineral deficiencies, allergic reactions, digestive disturbances, or an underlying health problem. It isn’t normal to feel tired, weak or ill on a vegetarian diet. If you do, there’s something wrong, and it may not be the diet.
Get regular checkups, and go to a doctor or nutritionist if you're not feeling well. Your health will most likely improve on a balanced vegetarian diet, but never assume that because you're vegetarian, nothing can go wrong.
By the way, many medical doctors will tell you to scrap your vegetarian diet, because most of them know almost nothing about vegetarian diets. Smile sweetly and promise to consider it. Then go to someone more knowledgeable and sympathetic.
8. Stay away from extreme diets
I mean diets such as high carb, high protein/low carb, no fat, raw food, etc., at least for the first few years, until you are more experienced. I include macrobiotic or vegan as extreme diets for beginning vegetarians, because they require more advanced knowledge of vegetarian cooking and nutrition.
9. Don’t worry
Vegetarian food takes some time to get used to. It has different tastes and textures, and it's lighter than a meat-based diet. You may not feel quite full enough, at first. But, if you overeat, it'll interfere with your digestion, and perhaps make you gain unwanted pounds. So just take it easy and don’t worry too much about what you’re eating or not eating. Follow these general guidelines, and remember if you look healthy and feel healthy you're probably doing okay.
- Eat three meals a day – yes, just like Mom always told you! They don’t all have to be big.
- And, as Mom always said, chew your food well to help your digestion process all that fiber.
- Be sure to have protein from several different sources every day, other than egg and dairy.
- Try a variety of whole grains, and fresh vegetables, and different combinations of foods.
10. Enjoy your food!
If you don't like something, or it doesn’t seem to like you, you don't have to eat it! Of course be adventurous, and try new things. But, there's such a variety of food available for vegetarians, enough to satisfy everybody's tastes and nutritional needs. You don't have to eat something just because it's good for you, or it's trendy to eat it.
I remember when millet was in with vegetarians, during the seventies. I couldn't stand millet, but there it was, everywhere I went. After a while, I wouldn't have it in the house, haven't eaten it since, and have done very well without it. But millet is very nutritious, and I know other people like it - I still see it in the bulk section of natural food stores. I prefer quinoa, which some people I know don’t like. Each to his own!
