Why vegetarian

Rosyrain

Rosyrain

Veteran
Joined
16 Nov 2014
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Location
Washington, USA
To all of those out there who are vegetarians, why did you become one? Some people do it for cultural or health reasons, while others just don't like meat? If you would not mind sharing your reasons, I would love to see the answers to this as I am trying to cut down on my meat consumption.
 
I am not a complete vegetarian but eat mostly fruit, vegetables and nuts because I do not like meat. Also it does cut down on my food cost as I eat alot of beans also to get more protein into my body.
 
The only reason I am not more of a vegetarian is because of the fact that I am not all that fond of beans. I can eat them and all, they are just not my favorite. If I can do without eating beans then I will not touch them. Are there other good sources of protein other than beans?
 
I became vegetarian for a number of reasons.
  1. the first being it would annoy the hell out of my parents (it did). I was 11/12 at the time, so we are talking 30 years ago now and it was not easy being vegetarian then.
  2. was that I didn't really like fish, never had done and never really had any interest in meat at all
  3. I didn't like modern farming practices and hated the cruelty to animals in particular caged hens and eggs.
  4. the main reason was as a result of a biology experiment at school. We hatched out a whole load of chicks which we studied and over one weekend they were all killed and fed to the biology teachers dogs.
Rosyrain said:
Are there other good sources of protein other than beans?
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pulses. Lentil and Dals. Have you tried them. And with beans is it just one in particular that you don't like? There are loads and loads of different beans. Chickpeas are a good source as well. Tofu is the obvious one, but you don't say what it is you don't like about beans... some do disintegrate, others hold their shape The same as with lentils and dals. There is a whole world of them out there that make for some stunning recipes and flavours and are filled with protein. And as a vegetarian you also have things like milk, cheese, butter and eggs for protein as well. It is vegans that don't eat dairy and eggs (plus honey). Vegetarians still do and dairy is a major source of protein.
 
Way to drive your parents crazy SatNav! And good for you for holding your ground even into adulthood. I tried the vegetarian thing myself when I was a teen, but succumbed to a steak at about 16 years of age because my parents were dead set on me being a meat eater again. I have found that I am starting to get turned off to meat again and was thinking about giving it up once again. Tastes change over time and I am starting to not like the taste of red meat or chicken very much.

It is mostly the pasty texture of beans that also puts me out. A lot of them are gritty. The only ones I do have much of a taste for are black eye peas and kidney beans. I think the issue is that I don't prepare them right. I soak according to the bag instructions before cooking them and they still turn out awful.
 
I've never had any be gritty. So you soak them overnight (normally this is the case but not all of them need this like black eyed beans (as we call them in the UK) your black eyed peas. Then you cook them as per the instructions? We have found that the cooking instructions can be taken with a pinch of salt. Chickpeas for instance, forget the 45 mins that the instructions say. In our house it is more like 1hr 15 mins and sometimes, if we are making hummus with them, then a lot longer 1hr 30 mins.
It's good you like kidney beans, they are good. Have you tried black beans? They are nice and smaller than kidney beans so the cooking time is shorter. Butter beans are wonderful (sorry, they are great northern beans for you). They are excellent made into pates. They are silky smooth to eat as they are as well. What else? can't think at the moment and need to take a dog for a walk. Sorry... will try to come up with some more for you whilst I am out on my dog/physio walk.
 
Thanks for your help I really appreciate it. I enjoy hummus, but have never made it myself. That is something that I always buy at the deli. I don't think I have ever eaten black beans before, so I will give those a try and see if I like them. My guess is that I am not cooking my beans as long as I should or something because they do come out tasting gritty, not pasty as they do when I buy them at a restaurant. I am always afraid of over cooking them because then they start to split.
 
I feel like this approach would be the best one for me especially as I have some health concerns but I can't seem to find a way to successfully make the tradition. It's proving to be such a difficult task for me. I just keep praying that I am not forced to adopt this lifestyle. I would much rather gradually embrace it. There are always useful suggestions in area when the topic comes up and I am thankful for that. It's just to put the suggestions to good use.
 
I've been vegetarian for 35 years. I realised, as an impoverished student, that I hardly ever ate meat and thought, "Why bother eating any at all?" So I gave up. Simple as that.

The most obvious thing since those days is that it's so much easier to have a veggie meal at a restaurant now. In 1980, you might, if you were lucky, get an omelette and a soggy lettuce leaf.
 
Duck59 said:
I've been vegetarian for 35 years. I realised, as an impoverished student, that I hardly ever ate meat and thought, "Why bother eating any at all?" So I gave up. Simple as that.

The most obvious thing since those days is that it's so much easier to have a veggie meal at a restaurant now. In 1980, you might, if you were lucky, get an omelette and a soggy lettuce leaf.
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You are absolutely right in the fact that many more restaurants are serving vegetarian dishes these days. I just wrote a whole bunch on restaurant reviews and was impressed by the number of them that had vegetarian options on the menu.
 
Rosyrain said:
You are absolutely right in the fact that many more restaurants are serving vegetarian dishes these days. I just wrote a whole bunch on restaurant reviews and was impressed by the number of them that had vegetarian options on the menu.
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times change as a restaurant in the uk we have to not only have a range of vegetarian meals we a have to adjust meals to take care of the ever growing range of diary complaints,I've had a classical group staying this week ,2 vegis,1 vegan,2 nut free,and 10 meat eaters,i don't mind cooking vegan but love a bit of warning,
every one has there choice of what they choose to eat now!
 
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