What are /r/Vegetarianism's favorite Products & Services?

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You can get vegetarian marshmallows too

https://www.amazon.com/Dandies-897581000365-Vegan-Marshmallows-3x10oz/dp/B00DC4IV9I

Interestingly enough the original recipe for marshmallows is vegetarian, instead of gelatin they used to use ground roots of the marsh mallow plant as a thickener. If you can get your hands on some of that it would be cool to try making them the old school way.

B12, D, iron, and zinc are the tricky ones.

Protein is generally not an issue if you are eating a variety of foods and your calorie intakes are adequate.

You don't need milk; there are a variety of alternatives that are fortified: soy, almond, rice, oat, etc. I like to rotate between soy and almond. These supply B12 and D as well.

You can use the cronometer to track your micronutrient intakes.

https://cronometer.com/

IMHO the real problems with diets should not be "Am I getting enough protein?" but rather "Am I eating enough fresh fruits and vegetables?"

I used to make a lentil and brown rice pilaf for Thanksgiving. It was savory and seemed appropriate for fall and harvest time. I don't have my recipe, but there are several here.

Now, at my kid's request, we do fake turkey with stuffing. Not a good dish to take with you to add to a dinner.

This link does a much better job of explaining the study. Basically, there is a gene mutation that developed in some long-term vegetarian populations such as in India. This was beneficial until higher omega 6 oils were more frequently used, now it can be a problem for the carriers of those genes.

Being a vegetarian does not change your dna, this was a random mutation that was beneficial for vegetarians so was passed on. However, everyone should probably be more mindful of the oils in the foods they choose, and try to pick those lower in omega 6, which causes inflammation in vegetarians and meat eaters alike.

Just make your own bean burgers- they taste WAY better than that processed Boca stuff and cost a lot less. Eggs, beans, lentils, and yogurt suffice for me, and can all be had very cheaply.

You don't need nearly as much protein as people say you need; just pay attention to your body. If you're light-headed or have a lot of headaches, you may need to adjust your diet.

It's only been a month and you've had fish, your B12 stores are fine, and protein deficiency is very rare, relax. If you're female you better look out for iron, that one you're more likely to become deficient in.

There are online tools like Cronometer or the simpler My Fitness Pal where you can track the macro- and micronutrients in your diet. Play around with it a bit, find a few staple foods you like that are high in important nutrients like iron, vitamin C and B12, and broaden your horizon! There are tons of healthy, tasty foods waiting to be discovered by you.

I really like this advice. If going cold turkey doesn't help I recommend limiting eating meat to a couple times a week rather than every day and slowly taking a day off. You kind of mentioned it but in reverse.

So to add something that helped me become full veg and might help OP I watched my friends eat their burgers, listened to the sounds, and payed attention to the smells. Which really disgusted me and turned me off to meat. And I work at a theme park, and when the area is crowded with guests they turn on some vents that blow out specific smells to entice you to come eat that ice cream, that burger, that waffle, the hotdog, or whatever it is they're selling. At first I thought "omg I'm so hungry for that!" every single day. But then I really thought about the smell and it started smelling pungent and unappetizing to me, because the lunch I brought smells so much better. This thought process may work for you? Or I'm just weird.

Edit: Oh and to help track what you eat I recommend http://www.myfitnesspal.com/

The past few years I've made veggie lasagna with white sauce. Everyone loves lasagna and it's an interesting change from tomato sauce. http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-spinach-lasagna-with-white-sauce/detail.aspx

I found it at a thrift store but this is my favorite vegetarian cookbook. It features a lot of fresh vegetable recipes and isn't heavily focused on cheese/dairy based dishes which is what I don't like about other vegetarian cookbooks (or vegan cookbooks with a ton of cheese substitute recipes)

This is vegetarian, not plant-based or vegan, and a bit of an obvious choice, but Deborah Madison’s New Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone more or less taught me how to cook when I went vegetarian. It’s a huge book with a lot of variety, and the way it’s organized makes it really useful as a reference. Even my meat-eating parents have a copy and love it.

https://www.amazon.com/New-Vegetarian-Cooking-Everyone/dp/1607745534

[New] Samyang Ramen / Spicy Chicken Roasted Noodles , 4.93 Ounce (Pack of 5) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00P0ILI3K/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_1AEKYA0WW077PYAJ8X7N

I know it says chicken but it’s artificially flavored. There’s no animal product in it.

The other comment has some great advice. The app I use that is super commonly used is called cronometer, and you can check it out at https://cronometer.com . Youtube is great for science and motivation, as well as recipes. I suggest Cheap Lazy Vegan for basic day to day stuff, and Avant Garde Vegan for higher end cookery. Get a couple of those in your algorithm and go from there.

Cheese and other dairy is usually most peoples sticking point, so don't beat yourself up over it. My "going vegan" process occured over a few months and I've been strong for going on 2 years.

You absolutely need to supplement b12, just grab whatever your local chain has to start with. Consider a multivitamin as you learn how to rebalance your diet.

Good luck, you can do it!

1000 calories seems awfully low. You're just hungry and the TV ad got your attention.

What is your bmr? Here is one calculator. Start with that and adjust for exercise. Under eating may cause undesirable side effects and weight loss may not last.

I've read confusing information about Vegemite... Some say it contains B12, some say it doesn't (e.g. https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Vitamin-B12-if-You%27re-a-Vegan point 4)... Where did you find this information? :)

This is an old thread I know, but we've been making this at home continuously since we found it a few weeks ago. Seems a good candidate for a casual veggie restaurant.

Mexican Chocolate Tofu Pudding: https://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/20/dining/201mrex.html

That's how I started, using that app for about the first couple weeks regularly. Then I got an idea how many calories were in each of the meals I was preparing, and I almost entirely stopped using it now. Make sure you're meeting your caloric and nutritional requirements and you're good. Another amazingly detailed resource is https://cronometer.com/ if you want to be very thorough.

Congrats on the switch, enjoy the new meals available to you!

When I was in college, I would go to my mom's house or use the communal kitchen in my dorm. I'd make large batches of stuff like chili, soups/stews, burritos, lasagna, etc. and freeze them in individual portions. I'd put them in my little fridge's freezer and microwave them when I was hungry.

You could microwave any kind of beans until they are warm, then use them to make burritos or tacos.

Here are links to recipe pages that could be useful: http://www.food.com/recipe-finder/vegetarian,microwave http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes-Advanced.aspx?ST=All&CM=255&Veg=1347&SortBy=Rating&Direction=Descending

The samyang buldak ramen is artificial chicken flavored. I believe it is the ramen that is usually used in these type of challenges, there is a double spicy one. Ive looked at the back and they seem to be vegetarian despite being “chicken” flavored.

Samyang 2X Spicy Hot Chicken Flavor Ramen, 4.9oz (Pack of 5) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075VM9N96/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_HEDWW9FQYVQFPYF9YCY6?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

You can look at the ingredients for yourself here

My favorite is Indian Cuisine for the Busy Vegetarian. There are some substitute type recipes, but most are simply vegetarian. They’re also all quick to make and make great use of pantry items so you don’t need to go shop for specific ingredients you’re only going to use for one or two things. I make things from this book at least once to twice a week and everything always comes out great!

One thing that we can appreciate here is, you made some efforts to reduce meat consumption kudos to that, and by this, you're also directly helping to reduce livestock production and indirectly increase in usable land for food production for human consumption (helping tackle issue of hunger).

Hope you are able to find answers to this.

You can also share such sustainable ideas on IKU which helps communities come together and support such sustainable efforts.

I buy dulse from Amazon. The price is comparable to the Whole Foods near me so it's not a "deal" probably but I am addicted to it, I fry it up like bacon at breakfast!

Will Amazon ship these where you are? These are D3 from lichen.

https://www.amazon.com/Essentials-Vitamin-Cholecalciferol-Extract-Tablets/dp/B07D4NLD4Z/ref=sr_1_3_sspa?gclid=Cj0KCQiA0ZHwBRCRARIsAK0Tr-pj6f9aTpLMSjx0tow1Tl28Ddgg9hHXVdVkn5-f_w8d_73Z3p5JYxcaAstAEALw_wcB&hvadid=238270527073&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9053084&hvnetw=g&hvpos=1t3&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15739268908666771735&hvtargid=aud-837858999240%3Akwd-316899502553&hydadcr=21218_9335136&keywords=vitamin+d3+for+vegans&qid=1577378437&sr=8-3-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzN1BWWVlXT0JIOFdLJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUExMDE4NDE1MzU1NEg1TDdZVDdBVyZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwOTM2MTE1M01ZSDM1RVpVM0pLNyZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

Budget bytes has a very robust vegan/vegetarian section with easy to find ingredients and simple recipes. Definitely recommend for someone looking to expand their repertoire. Also, Veganomicon is a massive vegan cookbook that would give you tons of ideas and skills to learn.

My go-to healthy meals are just simple pairings when I'm busy: quinoa or brown rice, some type of bean or lentil, some roasted vegetables with seasonings, a green (usually kale, baby spinach, or collard greens, maybe fresh cilantro or parsley, topped with a homemade dressing to compliment the seasonings on the vegetables, like a cilantro-jalapeno-lime vinaigrette with fajita seasoning. If I feel more inspired, I might make buffalo cauliflower wraps with tofu ranch, or mushroom fajitas. Or I'll see what's on sale in produce and Google "Healthy recipes with (said ingredient)." Healthy and interesting don't always have to be complicated. Hope that helps!

The Love and Lemons Cookbook by Jeanine Donofrio is excellent! It is sorted by ingredient - you'll be sure to find a tasty recipe for whatever you have on hand.

I regularly use vegetable peelers for squashes. Far easier than a knife!

As for a knife I like this general purpose knife but it is a bit on the large size: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B000IBVD4I/

Buy a good vegetarian cook book. Go through and cook all of the recipes that appeal to you.

My favourite book is the Rebar: Modern Food Cookbook

https://www.amazon.ca/Rebar-Modern-Cookbook-Audrey-Alsterburg/dp/0968862306

There are a lot of good ones and some crappy ones. Just find one that you like.

I got it on amazon, only a small amount for 8 dollars or so, and I think it was pretty expensive. I’m pretty sure it is manufactured in Thailand. If you have a really amazing SE Asian market nearby you MAY be able to find it?

Edit: upon a cursory google search there are snacks like this for $3.29 and the pure cricket powder which you dilute with flour for $10.

I got this book for my vegan SIL a couple years ago and recently bought it for myself. It's been great for easing me into veganism

https://www.amazon.com/Homemade-Vegan-Pantry-Making-Staples/dp/1607746778

Part of it might be the targeted demographic. Obviously every Vegan is different, but I know I'm not the only one that attempts to avoid 'stuff' that isn't functional to my life and world view as my thoughts on materialism and other cultural issues shifted. Why would I buy something that's going to sit on a shelf when I could expend my resources on food/clothes/shelter/education/someone else? I have bought a single stuffed toy in the last year for a nephew, so I can see it coming up occasionally, but I don't know that I'd pick any of these items as appropriately cute/engaging for a 3 year old currently in love with Angry Birds when I could be buying fun educational material instead.