Brittney says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 201011:13 am 

I went meatless for a month about a year ago, and it was one of the best things I've ever done. Like you, I only intended to do it for a month. I went back to eating meat, but I eat significantly less of it now than I did before. It really forced me to take a closer look at what I was putting into my body and see how what I ate impacted how I felt.

I only found it difficult to not eat meat while eating out; there are places where you will be lucky to find one vegetarian item on the menu. It's easiest to find vegetarian dishes at ethnic restaurants (Mexican and Indian food both have plenty of options). However, eating at home was super easy. Eating out will typically be cheaper when you aren't eating meat, which is a huge plus (and part of the reason that I often choose vegetarian options when I go out to eat now).

I'm not as big of a fan of meat as you seem to be, but besides for the limited options while eating out, the transition was very easy for me. I never felt any desires to eat meat during my month.

Good luck!

Beth says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20102:03 pm 

I didn't realize that vegetarians didn't eat eggs either, I thought it was just "meat." I think this is a challenge I would like to try as well. I notice when I eat no meat for a day, my digestive tract thanks me.

Kelsey says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20102:23 pm 

I have been a pescratarian for three, almost four years. The first few weeks were defiantly the hardest, but you'll find that pretty soon you'll just naturaly gravitate towards vegetables. I really don't even eat as much fish as I used to, only when I'm going out to eat. Also, as far as going out to eat, you can always ask for things without meat, like a chicken apple saled with no chicken, or mix and match side dishes. Some restraunts also have veggie burger options. Good luck with your challange.

Jen says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20102:43 pm 

I love this! I'm a pescatarian going vegetarian myself, more for environmental/ethical/the-American-food-system-is-effed-up reasons than anything else. (The book Fast Food Nation is a fine introductory source on this for anyone interested.) It can occasionally be difficult in restaurants, but it's definitely very possible (and rather delicious). What's really tough is when someone makes only meat entrees for an event you're attending; personally, I've let myself cheat in these situations occasionally. (That and what Melissa was talking about. Yikes. Your best bet is to stay away from processed food as much as possible.)

Also, don't vegetarians techincally eat eggs? After all, they're only the intended nutrient source for the would-be embryos of unfertilized bird eggs. They're not in any way meat. Vegans certainly don't eat them, though.

Anyway, good luck! I look forward to reading your following entries on it!

girlnextdoorfashion says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20103:21 pm 

I'm a pescatarian and have been for almost 10 years now.

I used to absolutely love meat, believe me.

But now I love being meat-free.

I admit I couldn't give up fish if you paid me because I really do love it and a lot of places don't cater for me completely meat free (I'm not big on pasta or cheese and that tends to be the order of the day). I'm a British student studying in the US and I've also found you guys over here are much less accommodating than at home.

But I love to cook and do whenever I get a chance. Going meat-free will really open your eyes the other options.

I shared cooking with my housemates last year and they were happy to cook meat-free for me (they preferred to use meat-substitutes, which was I perfectly happy with), but I introduced them to a world of beans and lentils, which they loved.

I hope it helps you to see food, and meals in a new light.

I'm really looking forward to seeing how you get on with this challenge!!

I would say get a vegetarian cook book as your first move though!!

Good luck!!

Charlotte xx

Jennifer says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20103:22 pm 

I've been a pollotarian for a month and a half now, and the most difficult situations are when I go to family gatherings. Often my family has group barbeques, which are great, besides the fact that it's normally just hot dogs and hamburgers, maybe some sausages on the menu. Occasionally there will be a salad, but never enough to substitute a full meal, so I usually end up having to consume some red meat or being hungry until I go home.

Melissa says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20106:22 pm 

Interestingly, Doritos aren’t actually meatless! They contain pork for flavoring reasons. Many foods are sneaky like that – it would be interesting for you to try to avoid products like Doritos that aren’t actually meat but still contain some for a few days this month. True vegetarianism is harder than it looks.

Linz says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20107:07 pm 

i've been a "vegan" pescetarian for four months now. The first week is the hardest but once you get used to it it's really easy. It's great to be able to avoid fast food places and many things that aren't really healthy. I also don't eat anything dairy because i am lactose intolerant. So between not eating meat or anything dairy I eat a lot of vegetables. And i also lost 8 lbs in the first two weeks which isn't to bad either. good luck!

Amy says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20108:15 pm 

I tried meatless a couple days ago.. made it a 5 days… it's HARD. everything yummy has meat in it! I think I might start over again. this inspires me to try again. I wanted to do it for all the same reasons. I AM going to try again!

Amy says:
Sat, 2nd Oct 20108:16 pm 

*couple weeks ago

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Sun, 3rd Oct 20101:23 am 

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alexis says:
Sun, 3rd Oct 20102:45 am 

I was a vegetarian for 5 years and I’ve been vegan for 2. It’s ridiculously easy once you figure out how to cook, and I feel better than I ever have. All of my health issues have more or less vanished, I have more energy, and, because I kind of had to learn for it to work, I’m one hell of a chef at this point. I can also scan a list of ingredients with blinding speed and tell you within seconds if you’re eating animal parts, crushed beetle remnants, or just basic poisons. It makes for a great party trick. O.o

Anyway, I’ve got TONS of recipes I could send you, but my favorites are the simple ones. I’ll post burritos, a stir-fry foundation, and some mildly expensive options I’ve kind of been splurging on lately; let me know if you want more or have requests? I can figure out almost anything.

*burrito*
-black beans
-white rice
-peppers of your choice (I use bell and jalepeno) or tomatoes or both
-vegan tortillas (these are tricky to find sometimes, but since you’re not quite going vegan anyway, I imagine you don’t care)
-vegetable oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and Bragg Liquid Aminos if you can find it (soy sauce will work, too)

Cook the rice as you usually would, but sub out as much water as you can for the juice from the black beans. Looks gross, but boils out to an awesome flavor. Add paprika, a little oil, and bragg/soy sauce while it cooks. set aside.

Throw everything else into a frying pan on medium or high. Season to taste (I usually use everything I listed in the last ingredient point, but sometimes shunning spices works just as well), and add the rice just before everything is done frying. Finish said frying with rice, toast your tortilla, create le burrito, and enjoy.

*stir-fry basics*
[Since the practice of stir-frying typically consists of little beyond stirring and frying, I'll limit this to my favorite combinations.]
-cubed potatoes (leave the skins on), peppers, and tofu and/or black beans [to prepare tofu, slice into slabs, try to soak up moisture with a towel, and then cut to desired shape for frying]. Season with bragg, salt, pepper, sometimes garlic powder, sometimes paprika, and still other times nutritional yeast (this is mainly for the tofu; makes it sort of cheese-like)
-Brown (sometimes white) rice, celery, rinsed pinto beans, and sun-dried tomatoes. Season with salt, bragg/soy sauce (just the rice) and possibly pepper. I could eat this all day.
-The white rice variation of the aforementioned potato stir-fry. When I do use anything MorningStar, it’s usually meal starter chikn strips with white soy-sauced rice and peppers, topped off with a light sweet&sour sauce.

*lazy luxury options*
My vice for the past 24 hours, after attacking a nearby co-op, has been a vegan, toasted English muffin sandwich. On either side, you’ll find vegenaise, with fried tempeh (seasoned with salt and Bragg) topped with Follow Your Heart, meltable soy cheese filling out the middle. Orgasmic.
There’s quite a lot you can be lazy about when it comes to veganism if you have the money to do it, and it’s definitely best that I can’t afford to sit around eating these things all day. Tofurkey and vegenaise sandwiches are wonderful. Soy/rice/coconut milk ice-cream? god yes. Vegan boca burger with fries and a couple of juicy pickle spears? My PMS wet dream. But if we’re really being honest, nothing tastes quite as fantastic as my brilliant – albeit founded in very mildly eccentric ingredients – pineapple upsidedown cake recipe. Which I’ll now keep to myself until someone requests it. *evil maniacal laughter*

kelly says:
Sun, 3rd Oct 20105:37 am 

I decided to "try" being a vegan 3 and a half years ago, during lent. That easter was the last time I ever ate meat. Seriously, you will be surprised what it does for you and how good you feel.

Side effects (if you decide to stick with it for more than a month, which you should!):

1. I lost probably around 30 pounds. AMAZING.

2. I rarely get sick anymore (hello, vegetables have a TON of vitamins!)

3. more energy

4. once you read more articles and things about it (which you should do, if you want to make sure you are still getting enough nutrition and doing things the right way), you will learn a lot and then when people start discussing things like this, you will be able to defend your position and sound smart about it. This, I think, encourages other people to try it out.

5.you realize what common foods are actually made of. I never read labels until I went vegan. So many things contain small amounts of milk or eggs, and it really is sort of surprising. you also learn that some foods you thought must contain dairy, don't (hello oreos!) and it makes you branch out and try new things. Before I went vegan, I pretty much ate only chicken, pasta, pizza, and tacos. Now I LOVE all sorts of ethnic foods, things I never would have tried before. I've also learned how to cook for myself.

I really do think that if everyone just tried it for a short period of time, they'd realize it's not that hard. And the more people that become vegetarians, the more options will start showing up at restaurants and grocery stores, and the easier it will be for all of us

Anyway, I was raised as the type of person who thought that if it didn't have meat in it, it wasn't a meal. Oh boy, how things have changed. I thought I'd only do it for a couple of weeks (me and my freshman year roomate had a bet who could last the longest…she lasted a week), I can't imagine going back now.

Rachel says:
Sun, 3rd Oct 20108:45 am 

Being pescatarian isn't "going meat free" really. A true vegetarian wouldn't eat fish. Fish have meat on them…so you shouldn't be eating fish if you're going meat free. If you're going vegetarian you also have to avoid gelatin in things like frosted pop-tarts, gummy candies, and obviously Jell-O. And vegetarians *do* eat eggs and drink milk if they're lacto-ovo vegetarians. Vegans eat no meat, or eggs, and do not drink milk. Most also avoid honey as well although to some that's a personal choice. I'm vegetarian myself for animal rights reasons, and soon to go vegan.

Anita says:
Sun, 3rd Oct 201012:48 pm 

I love that you're doing this and, while you're just going pescatarian, I think that's at least one step in the right direction. As a college-budget vegan, I find myself doing lots of veggie burritos (hell-o Chipotle!) and tofu stir-fries from the on-campus Asian place.

Also, you'd be surprised what things you can find at the store that are vegan. For example, I know a lot of people who were convinced that Oreos had lard in them until I proved that they're actually vegan – the inside is all soy!

Try doing tofu, tempeh, or other non-fish centers at your meals as often as you can. I used to love fish, but just living off of that would have bored me to tears, so be sure to spice up your almost-veggie life as much as you can!

Roxie says:
Sun, 3rd Oct 20101:10 pm 

I've been a vegetarian for 12 years now (I stopped eating meat when I was 13), and it really does get easier the longer you are a vegetarian. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. I do eat eggs, though, but I always buy organic, free range eggs because you don't want all of the chemical crap injected into factory-farmed chickens.

In all honesty, I don't think I'd be able to cook if it weren't for my decision to be a vegetarian. My parents were supportive, but my mother wasn't going to make a special meal just for one person, so I had to learn quite quickly. Vegetarian females have to be especially careful to balance their sugar and simple carbohydrate intake because a diet rich in those items can lead to digestive problems.

misnomer says:
Mon, 4th Oct 20104:57 am 

I've given up meat for shorter terms and its very difficult while living on campus. If you eat in the cafeteria, cheese pizza will be your best friend, although you can probably find other toppings as well. Also, oriental ramen is the only flavor of ramen without any meat products, so thats a good standby as well. Peanut Butter and jelly sandwiches are a good idea, especially if the bread has some protein in it. Originally, I thought I could supplement my protein with protein bars, but in addition to being pretty disgusting, I also figured they cancelled out the enviromental impact I was going for. Check out about.com and ehow.com, they have good advice for college vegetarians in particular, and if you do a search on amazon you will find titles like vegetarian meals for two and the teenagers guide to going vegetarian, as well as the starving vegetarian student's cookbook. Good luck.

http://studentswhostillhavesouls.blogspot.com

heartonfire17 says:
Mon, 4th Oct 201011:59 am 

Congratulations, Emmy! I'm really proud of you for taking on this challenge. For a carnivore, it's not easy; for someone raised around dairy farms in the Midwest (me), it wasn't a picnic, either. But it's true – once you get the hang of identifying ways to get around eating meat, it gets a lot easier to actually do it. Training your mind (and your stomach) is the hardest part.

That said, here is my advice:

1. Balsamic vinegar on grilled vegetables is unbelievable. Try it.

2. Tofu, when cooked properly, is really very good. I learned to cook it with some of my Taiwanese friends, so grab someone who cooks it regularly and ask them for cooking tips so it's not so … rubbery.

3. Lentils are surprisingly filling and easy to make.

4. Make sure to keep up your fluid intake. You'll be spending so much time making sure you avoid meat, you may forget about getting enough to drink. Hydrate, woman! (Cuervo doesn't count.) Fruits are an incredible way to stay hydrated. Whenever I'm riding the train, walking the dog or out doing something for an hour or two, I have an apple or a bag of grapes with me and munch on that, so that I get some hydration and my belly is full, but not weighed down.

5. Experiment with seasonings. You'll be surprised what throwing in a little feta cheese or paprika powder can do.

6. Research different non-meats that have protein (and if you're also forgoing dairy, calcium) in them.

One of my favorite no-meat things to make is a loaded veggie pizza. Coat a pizza crust with a tomato sauce-Italian dressing mix, throw on some onions, tomatoes and bell peppers, and then top with mozzarella, feta cheese and breadcrumbs. The flavors run together so well that you won't even notice it has no meat.

*Peta's Vegan College Cookbook is a great source of easy-to-make recipes.

Good luck to you!

Taylor says:
Mon, 4th Oct 20105:31 pm 

I've been a vegetarian for eight months, and it got easier as time went on. I went back to eating poultry for three months – other wise I would be at eleven months now. I stopped, because I forgot how sick meat made me feel.

Nat says:
Tue, 5th Oct 201011:18 am 

Any effort that you make to help animal suffering and the environment is commendable, but most people don't realize that the egg and milk industry is just as cruel to animals as the meat industry, and milk cows are slaughtered very early in life when they become less productive for things like dog food. Just a thought… If you cut down on meat only to up your intake of milk and eggs, it is certainly better than nothing, but not the best choice for animal welfare

Topaz says:
Wed, 6th Oct 201012:01 am 

I moved out of my parents and immanently gave up 90% of the meat in my diet. I thought I was doing a good job replacing the proteins and such but ended up having giving myself an iron deficiency. Good thing my college had a good health center that was able too see me and tell me what was wrong and how to fix it.

Sarah says:
Wed, 6th Oct 20108:46 pm 

I stopped eating ground beef in 4th grade, it was just yucky. Now I'm a sophomore in college and I've been an ovo-lacto-pescetarian for 4 or 5 years now. It was never really a problem until I left for college, and now my daily options are: pizza, pasta, salad bar, bagel, or overcooked boca burger. Not okay for an entire semester. So my skin looks awful and I get huge when I'm at school…at home I feel wonderful though best decision I ever made.

Sev says:
Thu, 7th Oct 201011:37 am 

I generally stopped eating red meat around the age of 6 or 7 because it was "icky" and gave up chicken at about 12. It wasn't hard at all because whenever I'm even near meat I know its just like eating a corpse. And its easy to get by without it. There's pasta, salad, rice and a lot of other things that act as my staples.

Also, check your blood type. I'm not sure which one it is but one or two of the types can be perfectly healthy without a lot of protein- so you may not even have to worry about supplements.

Celia says:
Thu, 7th Oct 201012:06 pm 

I'm not quite a vegetarian, but I'm not a real big red meat eater just because I really like variety. But! Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern cuisine is filled with all kinds of filling and yummy vegetarian dishes that are chock full of protein and other good for you things. Hummus, baba gonoush, imam bayeldi, fuul, and falafel are all vegetarian and totally delish. A hummus and veggie sandwich on fluffy Greek pita is one of my favorite things in the world right now and it's SO good for you!

Lunch Bags · says:
Wed, 3rd Nov 201010:53 pm 

protein bars always come in handy whenever you need lots of protein after a heavy exercise _

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