Who's vegetarian?

So, how many vegetarians are out there? I've found that dieting as a vegetarian can be as hard as that of a non-vege. With a pretty long list of things I need to eat on a regular basis to get the requisitie levels of protein, etc (and trying to avoid dairy) can be hard. I find myself carb-loading a lot, and with my desk job, I don't expend nearly enough energy to get rid of it all.

Hey. Im a veggie. I do eat dairy but lately I have hardly eaten any so
yes I know it can be hard! Honestly....nuts nuts nuts nuts nuts give
you the best protein. As well as tofu and rice and beans make a
complete protein. If you want some cool recipes I can send you via
email or we can start a  veggie recipe forum and get everyone in
on it!


... to edit. Im an ... 8 day vegan? I dunno I lost count but I changed over sometime last week. It's harder than I thought, but I feel GREAT!

I raise my own sheep, so while I am not a true vegetarian... I understand the idea. I consider myself an Organic, with perhaps wishing to be more Raw Organic. I grow all my own vegetables, only try to buy organic fruits. I get milk, eggs and cheese made locally. I really like the idea behind the 100 Mile Diet, which is a lifestyle idea of eating food produced within 100 miles of your home with 100% of the ingredients from within 100 miles of your home.

So far example, a chicken egg from a local chicken feed grain grown and processed locally. Most of us live in North America or Europe, so anything made with sugar is most likely not from within a 100 miles of our home. Being that sugar cane grows in a tropical climate. I love the writing style of the folks who tried this experiment for a full year. Here is the link:

http://www.100milediet.org/ 

I also try to avoid refined sugars and processed foods.

Hey ken. I'm near-enough of a veggie. More accurately, I don't eat cute
things.  I get a ton of my protein from dairy and nuts and tofu
and luna bars. oh, and whey protein, but I'm getting really sick of
that lately (though I use it instead of sugar or artifical sweetener in
just about everything cuz it's vanilla flavored). 

I eat no red meat or chicken... ever, have some nut allergies, so not too many of those (walnuts and pecans definite no nos) will occasionally eat some fish... very rarely, and very limited dairy.  I also tend to eat a lot of carbs.  (I think  because they are filling, and easy both.)  working on replacing the simple carbs with more complex ones, more fresh veggies, more salad etc.  do eat a fair bit of tofu or tofu products.

i suppose I am a veggie...as of this past year. I used to eat meat...but I just kinda stopped. Not really for any earth crushing reason. I just don't want it any more. I eat chicken when my folks make me eat protien, but other than that, I only eat fruits and veggies.

I tried a vegetarian diet last winter but I found that there was very limited options if you wanted to spend next-to-zero effort in food preparation. And I'd eat too much cheese and eggs. My mother was downright hostile about it, and didn't understand - one day I showed up at her place and she served seafood lasagne with asparagus (I was trying to avoid eating all critters, not just the ones with big soulful eyes). Now that I'm counting my calories I've discovered that asparagus has about 50 calories a pound. Great diet food but you can't make a meal of it!

I ended up eating the lasagne.

Anyway, I gave up - my diet was too boring. I'm eating quite a bit of meat now but I might go the veggie route again now that I'm cooking more.

Hi!
I eat seafood but not meat, pork, poultry, etc (some would say that is vegetarian, some not). I went veggie because I dislike the taste of meat. I was vegan for about 4 years but ended up coming back to being a pescetarian. I can't really stay away from seafood. Most of my family lives on Cape Cod. :-)
When I buy fish and dairy I do the local/organic/cage free thing. It's not so hard to do around here. Anyway, I'm glad we can all share recipes and stuff in this forum!!!!

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian and have been for about 14 years now. I too was vegan for a long time, but I had a hard a time getting enough protein.

I started off being all idealistic about it, but now it's just force of habit.

I am mostly vegetarian.  I will still eat fish and shrimp, but very rarely.  I'd eat cage free organic meat if it were available, but as a poor college student, it isn't.

Morningstar Farms makes great meat replacements - my roommates and I have affectionately renamed all of them to be "not-beef," "not-steak," etc.

At one time I was 100% vegan, but now I just have a vegan meal at least once a day.  I love cooking with fresh vegetables, beans and lentils and whole grains.  I simply don't like pretend meat or any other kind of processed food that mascarades as something it's not.  Besides, the veggie burgers are loaded with salt.  If I want meat, I'll eat it, but don't want it very often.  With the endless variety of vegetables and fruits, who needs it anyway?

Claire

Yay!  I'm a vegetarian.  I did it for three years, went off for a year and a half, and now as of four days ago, I'm a veggie girl again.  It's cool that they set up this forum!  I would really love to find some ways to make tofu, because I don't have a clue.

Hey, I'm a veggie, was vegan for 10 years and kinda slid out of it, I have tried to go back a few times but I miss GOOD cheese, and my husband gets a little frustrated with the cooking thing (he does all the cooking).  I a truly a veggie though, no meat, fish, no cheating.  I do frequently have vegan days (does not really count) when I am eating on my own.

I was a vegetarian for three years and now I am going completely vegan! I love soy so it is not too hard for me to eliminate dairy from my diet. I am eating tons more veggies and fruit and I feel so much better! I am also looking for some good tofu recipes because I have never cooked it before. Being vegan has eliminated a lot of the "junk" food that I used to eat all the time. I just joined a gym for the first time so I am hoping to lose some weight. This website totally rocks!

I am new to the site, and a vegetarian.  Although, I do eat occasional dairy products and eggs.

im a 4 year vegan and eating well :)

if you are intersted in recepies let me know.

As a vegetarian, I still do eat fish such as Salmon, Cod, and fish that I catch out of my own lake.  I don't eat any red meats, or chicken, pig, or wild game (other than fish, which I mentioned before).  I just can't eat that kind of meat, there is too much cholesterol and fat in it, things that I don't need.  I enjoy my alternatives such as veggie burgers, soy chick'n patties, soy milk, soy chicken, tofu, and all the other option we vegetarians get to choose from.

I've been a more or less observant vegetarian for 23 years - I say more or less because I tend to let other people cook fish for me when I'm close to an ocean, but otherwise not.  (and I live in Toronto, so I'm not ocean-side all that often).  The thing I'm finding hardest in eating and planning is
*keeping my protein intake high enough while
*lowering my fat intake while
*eating enough of the right mix of food to power my marathon training yet 
*losing weight at the same time so I'm lugging less of me around on my every-other-day training runs.

I started tracking my intake just a few days ago using the tools on this site, and I'm appalled.  Well, knowledge is power and the truth will set me free.  Right?

I am a Acutetarian too.  Thank you Phimegrahi for that.  Didn't know there was a definifition. hehe.  I am usually pose as a vegitarian during the mornings and afternoons, but not the evenings.  Evening blood lust i guess.

Hello all,

I was raised vegetarian (both parents are) I'm almost 30 and refer to myself (if asked) as a lazy vegan... meaning that I have a milk and egg intolerance so I generally don't eat dairy or eggs... but do eat honey and don't follow ingredients list religously to know if there is a by-product somewhere.

My biggest challenge is getting away from those tasty calorie loaded curries.... damn!

Hello to Kcarleton, fellow Torontonian... happy pride week!