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I camp all of the time. Fajitas are easy to make, foil packs as others have mentioned, stir fry (since you're bringing a pan) veggie burgers & dogs, grilled cheese/panini, baked potatoes w/fixings are easy, roasted veggies/kebabs, marinated tofu steaks or tempeh, lots of people love grilled mushrooms but I hate them, ask her before bringing them. Grilled pineapple is a nice dessert. If you want to do s'mores, you can knock her socks off and bring vegetarian marshmallows.

Being against taking a B12 supplement doesn't make sense, unless it really isn't available.

I bought enough B12 to last me almost 10 years. It cost under $25.

More gas than usual isn't uncommon for those switching to a vegetarian diet. Typically it takes awhile for your body to adjust to higher amounts of fiber (but not 6 months, I wouldn't think). It also could be a sensitivity to something that you've added into your diet, like soy, perhaps.

I tell this to virtually everyone on here, but it's really helped me - try using something like cronometer to track your nutritional intake. I track everything that I eat (down to the gram) a couple of days a month to make sure that I'm getting all of the nutrients that I need. In doing this I've changed my eating habits to include more fruits rich in vitamin C and I've started taking vitamin B12 and D supplements, because I was rarely getting enough of those nutrients.

As far as the empty stomach and stomach aches are concerned, it would help to know what your diet consists of. What are you eating in a typical day?

Chinese hot pot is know for the meat but honestly it’s so good without and way less greasy too.

For the broth I use the little sheep hot pot broth. They’re all vegan, tastes super good, and fast and easy to prepare. I use to make my broth from scratch but it’s too much prep.

Food: puffy tofu, firm tofu, Napa cabbage, winter melon, enoki mushroom, beech mushroom, and bok choy, vermicelli noodles

Sauce: Chinese vegetarian BBQ sauce , prickly ash oil, peanut butter

How to: bring the pot to a boil, add whatever ingredients you prepare, fish out and eat while more stuff is cooking.

This site has some good recipes for "one dish two ways" that cook things separately and add the meat at the end for the non-veggie https://www.kitchentreaty.com/category/all-recipes/one-dish-two-ways/

There's also a few cookbooks like this one that have a similar idea

https://www.amazon.com/One-Dish-Two-Diets-Meat-Eating-ebook/dp/B0787D7HJQ

I am very overweight on a vegetarian diet. A vegetarian diet can be an unhealthy and high-caloric diet. I would suggest a visit to /r/loseit, but more importantly: start tracking how much and what you ate, for example using the website and/or app myfitnesspal.

You might want to consider visiting your doctor for

1. tests to find a possible contributing cause of being overweight - hormone problems such as a slow thyroid
2. tests to look at possible deficiencies because of your diet - vitamin B12, folic acid (and these sometimes may contribute to your weight problem by giving you less energy to deal with your day and to exercise / cook meals etc)
3. tests to look at possible consequences of your weight and diet - tests for diabetes, hypertension, cholesterol levels

PS. I'm working on it, too. Good luck!!!

Peanut butter, french fries, potato chips, guacamole, hummus with tahini, chocolate and more... All of these foods are vegetarian!

If you are afraid to not being able to put on weight without meat, you could use cron-o-meter for a few days to track your food intake and make sure you are eating enough calories (while getting the right nutrients), and learn which of your usual foods are calorie dense.

Recipe credit: https://www.amazon.com/How-Cook-Everything-Vegetarian-Anniversary/dp/1118455649

This book is amazing, and it has really changed my perspective on eating a vegetarian diet. It's not as hard as I thought, but there are still some challenges.

Over the last couple weeks I've decided to reduce my meat consumption, beginning with replacing about 3-5 meals per week with something vegetarian. Some of the local restaurants are tricky because I'm not much of a salad person (I like salads, I just hate ordering them out), and outside of salads in the southern US vegetarian options are limited in a lot of spots.

Recipe summarized:

2Tbsp olive oil

1.5 lbs of your favorite vegetables (in this pic I used zucchini, yellow squash, broccoli, and carrots)

3/4C heavy cream

fresh grated parmesan

1 lb. of your favorite pasta (cooked) (we like the mini penne)

S/P to taste

Red chili flakes (if desired) - my wife doesn't like spicy, so I omit)

my modifications: fresh garlic to the mix after the cream and parmesan is added I also add dried oregano and fresh chopped basil

Oil in skillet

Sizzle the red chili flakes until fragrant

Add any root veggies if you're using them (you want them in there first to soften up) 5 minutes before your other veggies

Add other veggies

Cook and stir for 5 minutes - salt and pepper

Add in 3/4c heavy cream, 1c fresh grated parmesan, and however much fresh minced garlic you want (I use 3-4 cloves)

Cook until thickened

Add in 1 lb. of your preferred pasta (save 1 cup of the pasta water)

Stir it in, and add pasta water as needed to loosen the sauce

Garnish with parsley, or whatever you want (I use basil because I'm obsessed with it).

Have you tried a West African peanut soup before? SUCH a delicious (and protein-rich) soup for winter. I make it for the annual soup potluck at my work and it's a hit every year (even with omnivores). I basically use this recipe http://allrecipes.com/recipe/west-african-peanut-soup/ but don't measure exact amounts-- I adjust it to taste. So tasty!

They need to raise $40,000 first though. https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1553374632/earth-burger-plant-based-fast-food I eat at Green religiously ( at least once a week) and i cannot wait for this place to open.

Link's not there, but doesn't matter. Quinoa. That's all you'll need. Spice it up a bit and it'll go with any pairing. Especially in stuffed recipes and on top of veggies and salads of different types. Seems like it would go perfectly with your description.

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Curried-Quinoa-Allrecipes?columns=4&position=4/36

This is an awesome and easy one (make sure to sub the chicken broth for veggie broth!). I also like to add garbanzo beans (chickpeas) into my curry quinoa recipes. Good luck!

Hungry = not enough calories

What are you eating? Use cronometer to check you’re getting enough calories and a nutrient dense diet.

Balanced meals are protein + fats + complex carbs + fiber (veggies or fruit) so for example a salad of all vegetables with dressing is just fiber + fats, but taco salad has all the components for a balanced meal

Some ideas: - breakfast: 1/2cup oats cooked in milk or soymilk, mix in 1TB peanut butter, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon chia seeds, and a chopped apple

• lunch: chickpea salad wrap (like tuna salad made with chickpeas, i add dried dill and sunflower seeds) and a side of raw veggies like baby carrots and sugar snap peas
• afternoon snack: plain greek yogurt and granola, apple and peanut butter, hummus and veggies and crackers, whatever
• dinner : thai tofu or tempeh veggie curry with coconut milk and rice, black bean and sweet potato enchiladas, lentil chili, veggie lasagna, grilled tempeh or faux meat and veggies and potato salad

It’s very possible you are having anemia. It’s very common in vegetarians and vegans due to the lack of B12 in non-animal derived products and often times too little iron.

Check out some of the symptoms . And it can’t hurt to add B12, iron and folate supplements. Many people who aren’t vegetarian don’t realize they aren’t getting enough.

If you don’t feel more energy after trying those supplements for a couple weeks, ask your doc to run a CBC and a basic metabolic panel. This will give them a good idea if you are actually anemic or if they should investigate other potential health issues.

I love spinach, mushrooms, and cucumbers, but they are not significant sources of protein. Please do your research before spreading misinformation.

There's around 3 grams of protein in 100 grams of mushrooms or spinach and there's 25 grams of protein in 100 grams of steak. A whole cucumber would give you 2 grams of protein.

Something like cronometer can help shed some light on what the food your eating is composed of.

Edit: Grammar

Use cronometer and look at what you’re eating NOW, then adjust accordingly to have a more nutrient dense diet. Muscle building is not exclusive yo protein, you need a caloric surplus in general- so if your body needs 2300 calories a day to maintain even if you eat all protein that doesn’t build muscle because that’s just the energy your body needs. So it’s the caloric surplus in addition to protein that helps build muscle.

Tofu, tempeh, seitan, tvp, and beans/lentils are all good options for protein, as well as any eggs or dairy that you include in your diet

So if your current diet is 60g protein a day then add in an additional meal/snack/larger portion with 20g or so protein like tofu scramble or snack on baked spiced chickpeas

Heh but the box of then takes up space ;-). You gotta buy those over and over too. Pyrex is cheap and better than Tupperware.

I snagged this at costco for $30 and has lasted us 5 years so far: http://www.costco.com/Snapware®-Total-Solution™-19-Piece-Pyrex-Glass-Food-Storage-Set.product.100157189.html

Not OP, but Ikea's packaged gravy is vegetarian. I use it on Celebration Roasts and potatoes. Amazon sells it (although it's more expensive) if you don't live near an Ikea. https://www.amazon.com/IKEA-ALLEMANSRATTEN-Cream-Sauce-Meatballs/dp/B004UCZVQW

Everything bagel flavored hummus is amazing.

Cronometer. As far as I know it's databases are still being built, so a lot of stuff isn't fully on there (if at all). So some things won't have the amino acid breakdown and what-not.

Most whole foods/grains are easily tracked with all the info, save for some breads.

Other than that, really useful tool.

As a new vegetarian you kind of have to relearn how to think about meals. Your meals may need to be larger than before as they are lacking meat which is nutritionally dense. I try to eat lots of whole grains (rice, quinoa, oats), beans (chickepeas and blackbeans mostly), soybeans (tempeh, tofu, tvp), fruits vegetables, seeds and nuts.

Every morning I eat a half of a cup of oatmeal with a tablespoon of chia seeds and a tablespoon of ground flax seeds with almond milk. Sometimes I'll add peanut butter powder. It's a decent, cheap breakfast that easily gets me to lunch everyday without being hungry.

I used to also eat a breakfast of eggs, quinoa, and avocado with sriracha. It was my go-to breakfast for a long time.

After maybe a year of eating a vegetarian diet and always being unsure of whether I'm getting all of the nutrients I needed, I used cronometer to see exactly what I was getting and what I should be getting more of.

It's something that I use from time to time, just to make sure I'm eating what I should be. I recommend it to almost everyone who is starting out. It's great for gaining/losing weight as well, as it keeps track of your calories and forces you to pay more attention to exactly what you're eating.

The perfect amount? That depends on your sex, weight/height, and activity level.

I use cronometer to occasionally track my nutritional intake to make sure I'm getting enough of everything.

As for types of food that have protein - nuts, seeds, beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, peanut butter, quinoa, oatmeal, among other things.

If you're ovo-lacto, you can find lots of protein in eggs, milk, and cheese, as well.

There's iron in a lot of the same foods. Today I'm at 200 percent of my necessary iron due to quinoa, peanut butter, chickpeas, chia seeds, and oatmeal.

If you eat a varied diet, and avoid eating pasta all of the time, it's really easy to get enough protein and iron.

> I've gotten about 5-10 lbs thinner. I also have had some lightheadedness and a foginess every now and then. I also have noticed a drop in my weight lifting, and it seems harder to improve.

It's hard to suggest anything when you don't tell what you usually eat.

Make sure you get enough calories (add fruit smoothies and nut butters to your diet, or olive oil if you can't add food anymore to boost calorie intake). Take B12 if you don't. Take D3 too. Check your iron levels. Track your food intake at cronometer.com (weigh your food, don't estimate) to see if you undereat or don't get any nutrients. I recommend getting 15% of calories from protein and 30% of calories from fat. If tracking shows that you get enough, then seek for other health issues.

I was thin too, and I've lost ~30 pounds before I learned to eat more.

There is! It's called "I'm Vegan/Vegetarian" and shows you how many animals, how much water, CO2, forest and grain you've saved.

Play store link

First of all - Macaroni and Cheese has been claimed officially in the name of Vegetarians everywhere. It is a vegetarian food, and we shall defend its honor.

If you expect and are comfortable with the texture of meat, give TVP a try. It comes in a few different form factors, and can be flavored to whatever you need it to be, having little flavor on its own. TVP is Textured Vegetable Protein, and is the solid remains of soybeans after the soybean oil is pressed from it. It comes in crumbles, like ground beef, bits like pieces of chopped chicken, and a bunch of specialty versions. You just rehydrate it with (generally) a 1:1 ratio of your liquid of choice - water, vegetable broth, beer, diluted flavorful liquids (apple cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, tamari, mushroom broth, etc)... the flavors are endless. I usually add some oil or butter to it, as well, because it has no fat, and fat is flavor. Once it's rehydrated, you can treat it like normal meat and put it in whatever you want - it even browns when sauteeing.

There are tons and tons of recipes you can convert to vegetarian with a couple of simple substitutions, but food is nutritious and flavorful on its own, as long as you add what it needs. Vegetables are pretty good, but salt and fat make them satisfying. A lot of newbies make the mistake of just eating salads without seasoning them, or making tofu without care for the flavor added. Use lots of seasonings!

I have a list of recipes that I use for when my omnivore friends are over. These are adapted from other recipes around the internet, and most of them originally had meat in them. Now they don't! Here's the list https://www.notion.so/80595a0a6acd43f59d1b9825ec7f0d3f?v=bb6fb2e08b1940e98ae668b3f2f797c4

Get lots of reasons why you should be veg*n. I suggest reading the china study (or listen to the audio book).

This is a good talk too:

http://www.ted.com/talks/mark_bittman_on_what_s_wrong_with_what_we_eat.html

Don't worry too much about vitamins and protein. Don't forget that the vegetarian diet has been around for thousands of years. It's been around before the word "vitamin" was even invented.

Next time you need groceries, don't buy meat. Pick beans, lentils, potatoes, rice, fruits and vegetables instead. If you need junk food, pick vegetarian junk food (there's plenty of options available). Try every veg*n option available to you! I would also highly recommend you to track your food intake for the first months to make sure you are consuming enough calories and other important nutrients. Cronometer is great for this! If you make a mistake, don't give up! See it as a learning experience, and move on. And finally, if going vegetarian has been that difficult for you in the past, another good option is to transition gradually. Instead of eating meat 3 times a day, eat meat ONCE a day, and after one week, reduce it to once every other day, then once every week. Use this time to experiment a lot in the kitchen and find what you like and you don't. Follow subs like /r/veganrecipes, /r/vegangifrecipes (I highly recommend this one) or /r/VeganFoodPorn to keep you inspired in the kitchen.

If you ate legumes, nuts and seeds, your protein intake should have been pretty high. If you didn't, start eating them.

Protein is really, really unlikely a culprit, unless you were starving yourself. But whatever it was, make sure you get 0.8g of protein per kg of your body weight, it won't hurt.

You should either get from diet or from supplements these nutrients: B12, D3, calcium, iodine, selenium and zinc.

• Take B12 (cyanocobalamin pills with 500mcg+ daily or regular hydroxocobalamin shots) and Vitamin D3 (2500UI daily. There are vegan brands, look for Vitashine D3) supplements.

• Eat fortified food or take calcium supplements to achieve a total intake of 1000mg daily.

• Check your iron levels (hemoglobin, ferritin) to see if you need higher iron intake from diet or supplements. Avoid drinking tea/coffee/cacao with meals, eat foods high in iron with foods high in Vitamin C and beta-Carotene (onions, garlic, citrus fruits, carrots, tomatoes) to boost iron absorption.

• For iodine, consume iodized salt, seaweed or take iodine supplements (100–150mcg daily).

• For selenium, eat a lot of whole grains, nuts and seeds, or/and eat one brazil nut daily.

• I recommend supplementing with zinc, since plant food is low in zinc, and absorption is lower than from animal products too. Vegetarians tend to have lower serum zinc levels. Athletes or people under heavy stress have higher zinc needs. I take zinc picolinate (25mg of zinc) daily or every other day.

• For other nutrients, track your food intake at cronometer.com for a week to make sure you get everything.

Of course you can buy some protein powder (peas, soy, rice), but it won't replace your poor food choices, and it's only a single piece of a puzzle.

>Vegetarian and vegan travelers can easily find a tasty dish suitable for them if they ask for mancare de post (food suitable for religious fasting). Because Romanians are in their large majority Eastern Orthodox Christians, fasting involves removing of all the animal products from their meals (meat, dairy products or eggs).

WikiTravel page on Romania

I went vegetarian at 10 and am still a vegetarian 15 years later! I am so glad to have had parents who supported me. Way to go for being that kind of a parent!

10 is definitely old enough to start learning about nutrition and to learn to cook some basic meals. My family's deal with me was that they supported me and would help me learn, but they were going to continue eating meat and so I'd have to cook for myself, at least sometimes. (They made an effort to do side dishes and meals that could be served without the meat, too.)

I got a couple of easy cookbooks aimed at vegetarians—I specifically remember liking the recipes in Vegetables Rock!, which appears to still be available on Amazon—and my parents made a point of cooking with me and/or alongside me. We made some great recipes and some great memories together. I think it made me more self-sufficient earlier on, and it certainly instilled a love of cooking and of healthy food.

One thing to be aware of is that kids get a lot of flak for being vegetarian, especially from adults who either think it can't possibly be healthy (you need your protein!! etc.) or who think it's a phase and tease. Some of it comes from kids, too, of course, but when I was younger almost all of the mean comments I got were from my parents' friends who would talk about dead lambs to get a rise out of me, or try to force meat on me out of some misguided perception of health. I am so glad that my mom was informed on the health front (and had made sure I was too) and that she was there to stand up for me. Other adults might not take your daughter's conviction seriously, and you might need to step in and protect her.

Edited: spelling.

This is the only book you need to read: https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Not-Die-Discover-Scientifically/dp/1250066115

TL;DR No animal products, organic, nuts seeds, fruits. He also has a daily dozen is what you should be having every day.

All his stuff if backed by science and there is evidence of Diabetes and other issue's been reversed.

Also check out tv show: Fat sick and nearly dead.

A. Grilled portabello mushrooms with a nice feta cheese sprinkled on top. Grilled asparagus and risotto.

B. or any veggie curry dish... me and my girlfriend are always throwing together lentil curries. my favorite would be a coconut milk, tomato, lentil, onion, garlic, potato, spinach, carrot curry. garam masala, cumin, coriander...

here is a recipe for an eggplant curry: good luck

usually cravings happen when you are lacking a nutrient. for fish the major nutrient is omega3 EPA DHA that you don't get in other foods. so maybe see if your omega3 intake is fine like in cronometer.com. for a plant source of it try algae based EPA/DHA supplements. for shorter chain omega3s like ALA, flaxseeds, chia seeds are the best sources. walnuts and soybans are also good.

Plug that all into Cronometer i think you’re missing a lot of veggies, and swapping in chickpeas or lentils or tofu into your lunch instead of the yogurt (or in addition to) will help bump nutrition as well. Maybe swap to grape nuts instead of corn flakes, grape nuts are fortified and have a lot of iron as well as other vitamins/nutrients

It's completely possible to be overweight and even gain weight on a vegetarian diet. There's plenty of fattening foods that are veggie, even healthy food in excessive amounts will cause weight gain or just lack of loss.

Not to dissuade you from vegetarianism, but if weight loss is your primary goal, check this calorie calculator to see how many calories you should be consuming to lose weight. You can use My Fitness Pal to record everything you eat and they have a huge database of packaged and raw foods. /r/loseit is also just about one of the friendliest and most supportive subs you'll ever run across if you need a little pep talk, some tips and tricks, or encouragement from other people's struggles and successes.

There are tons of recipes at vegweb.com

My favorite dish is red lentil curry. It'll take about 45 minutes but definitely worth it. (that is if you like curry) It's really filling and extremely healthy http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/red-lentil-curry/Detail.aspx?prop31=1

If you want something quick, chickpea salad sandwich are always good lunches. It's the same as egg or chicken salad with mayonnaise, relish, and mustard but using canned chickpeas.
Homemade hummus is also really cheap and easy and good for hummus wraps, eating with pita, vegetables, etc.
If you are worried about protein, buy some Greek yogurt. throw some fruit and/or oatmeal in it for a quick snack. One cup has 25g protein.
I hope this helps a bit.

Good luck!

Weight gain comes from more calories than your body uses, reagrdless of if you’re eating slices of white bread or chicken breast or blueberries too many calories is too many calories.

That said why not start incorporating more vegetarian meals now? Sounds like using cronometer would be a good idea for you to get an idea of caloric density of meals. Generally including a lot more whole plant based foods will be higher fiber and much more filling- so although it will be voluminous meals will be lower calorie if that makes sense.

Look at r/plantbaseddiet and r/meatlessmealprep as well as r/vegetarianrecipes for lots of meal ideas

You have a few issues here that need to be addressed individually. First, there's health and nutrition and for vegetarians it's not really complicated at all. Secondly, there's weight loss. That has nothing to do with what you eat, so much how much you eat.

A calorie is a calorie and it takes approximately 3500 of them to equal a pound of weight. It doesn't matter what you eat, you could have a bag of Cheetos washed down with a Mountain Dew every day and if that's all you ate, you'd most likely be under your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) and you'd lose weight. Of course, you'd be missing out on vital amino acids, vitamins, and minerals and would be very unhealthy, but you would lose weight.

On the other hand, it's entirely possible to eat way too much of a good thing, like avocados, legumes, coconuts, bananas, fruits, and nuts. They're loaded with lots of essential nutrients your body needs, but they're also very calorie dense and can pack on the pounds if you don't keep an eye on consumption.

To find out how many calories you should be eating, check out this calorie calculator and enter your information and goals. Then track the calories you're eating with something like myfitnesspal. Eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight. Guaranteed.

The third issue regarding health and what to eat (dietary allergies or sensitivities notwithstanding) is fairly simple. It's good to aim for lots of vegetables and legumes, some fruits and nuts, and few refined grains and sugars. That's a balanced diet and will give you everything you need. For meal ideas check out /r/VegRecipes or /r/TonightsVegDinner. There's lots of delicious and creative dishes there.

The reason restaurant tofu is so good is often the result of "dry-frying" before marinating or saucing.

Give it a shot and see if this doesn't get you closer to that "restaurant taste".

Count calories (cronometer.com). Replace low calorie food with high calorie food. Make smoothies, drink liquid calories. Snack on bananas, dates, raisins, nuts and seeds.

Can't suggest anything specific because I don't know what and how much you usually eat. If you elaborate, I could try.

I'm cooking it so often.

Here's what it looks like : https://keep.google.com/media/1ANvcNX5ySKyqeIcOHDJytPIiRKHjBg

Let me give you my own recipe:

Intregents: (doses up to you) >Rice >Onion >Garlic >Green,Yellow and Red Peppers >Tomatoes >Tomato Paste >Mushrooms >Green Peas >Vegetable Stock >Saffron or Turmeric

How to:

First you gotta soak your rices (on a slightly warm water about 15mins). Then put about 3 or 4 tablespoon of olive oil into a large frying pan. Chop the onions (one or two, depends on how many people you cook for) as small dices and mash the garlic (3 or 4 pieces). You can put the onions and garlic into the pan after the oil gets hot. Wait until them gets pinker then put the peppers. More colors of peppers makes your paella look much more beautiful.

Fill a small glass with hot water o put your saffron/turmeric innit (both works aight) Now it's turn of tomatoes! You can put a lil bit of hot water into the paste and mix it and put it into the pan. Slice the tomatoes into small cubes and put them into too.

Dry your rices. They go in. About 5 mins later your little glass of saffron goes in. You need to put about 3 glass of vegetable stock into the pan and start boiling all of them until the water evaporate. After water get evaporated, lower the heat a little bit and put shrooms and peas into your paella. You need the check it until the latest intregents gets cooked.

My advise is eat it with garlic yoghurt. Enjoy it!

There’s one cookbook! Here it is. It’s definitely geared towards kids- very simple recipes, nothing groundbreaking in terms of unique vegetarian dishes. But I pull it out when I want comfort food (I used to love making the creamy pasta recipe) or something fairly easy.

It's really similar to an egg roll, but it also also served uncooked sometimes, in a soft translucent rice wrapper.

Sweet chili sauce can be purchased at most grocery stores, like walmart, or an any asian market, and it's usually pretty cheap. I think I pay about 3 bucks a bottle.

Here's an example of the sauce (leads to a 6 pack of the sauce on Amazon):

https://www.amazon.com/Thai-Kitchen-Sweet-Dipping-6-57-Ounce/dp/B0072DGTFS/ref=sr_1_11_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1470257748&sr=8-11&keywords=sweet+chili+sauce

> On a side note, I wish I had also pursued the meditation thing but it seems like every time I try I just can't get too far into it. Oh well.

Meditation is just exercise for your brain, like stretching for your muscles. Unfortunately, it's difficult to get into the habit, just like it is for any other kind of exercise.

I have an app on my phone which helps. It times your meditation and plays bells when the time is up. It also keeps track of the number of days in a row you've meditated. Once you have a "top score" (say, 5 days in a row), you can try to match or exceed that score. This is a motivational technique which was popularized by Seinfeld, who claimed that he used it to become successful.

It works okay. Better than anything else I've tried. Like a lot of things, you just have to keep working at it.

Lentils are always cheap and easy. Here is a lentil burger recipe that'll give 6-10 burgers (depending on the size) Pan frying is the best way to cook them. http://vegweb.com/recipes/best-ever-lentil-burgers. Here is a good dahl that I love, if you like Indian food. http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/red-lentil-curry/Detail.aspx?prop31=1 Just add rice. They can both last 10+ plus, and if you don't have an ingredient, it can usually be omitted or substituted. Red/green lentils are both fine. $.99 per pound. Chickpea salad sandwhich is also a decent one, which is similar to egg/chicken/ham salad sandwhich. But with garbanzo beans.
There are tons of great cheap recipes, so hopefully you can expand your cooking base. check out vegweb.com for awesome recipes.

Really it's simple. You need to eat healthier. There's a million recipes out there, so it's impossible to tell you where to begin. It's just a matter of finding the willpower to change your habits. Someone posted this recently, it's vegan but you can modify recipes as you see fit (in fact a lot of them call for vegan versions of things like milk and cheese that you can easily replace with the real thing, although eating vegan is a lot better for you). You need to learn about nutrition - where to get protein (beans, nuts), iron (beans, leafy greens), etc. - and make sure you're getting everything you need while avoiding things that are bad for you. It just takes some education and empowement.

Do you have a CSA or any other sort of organic produce co-op around you? Those are great for eating healthier because they deliver to you, usually once a week, and you're forced to figure out what to do with all this food. It takes the choice out of it, where you otherwise might buy all that horrible processed food at the store. You'll get a pound of parsnips and go "what the hell are parsnips and what am I supposed to do with these?" so you google some recipes until you find something that sounds good and suddenly you're eating something you otherwise wouldn't have.

Carole Raymond's Student's Vegetarian Cookbook It's also available used for less on alibris.com or at some local libraries.

Later reply but you still may find it helpful, look for Carole Raymond's Student's Vegetarian Cookbook It's also available used for less on alibris.com or at your local library. It's all about getting started as a vegetarian and not having a lot of time or skills yet at cooking. Yes, it's a good idea to go vegetarian, usually it provides a great combination of protecting health, saving money and making cooking easier. Also r/budgetveggie, r/EatCheapAndVegan, and vegetarian or meatless monday threads on r/EatCheapAndHealthy have a lot of food ideas. And you can always come back here with questions.

Use cronometer for a while and see if you can swap some refined carbs like white rice to complex carbs in smaller portions. Lentil or other legume based pasta is a good option

Don’t panic yet, no reason to eat animals. Get another test

Relook at the protein bars, some are very high sugar

• be sure you are eating balanced meals, protein + fats + complex carbs + fiber (veggies or fruit) so for example at breakfast have two scrambled eggs (protein and fats) with whole grain toast and a banana or other fruit
• if you’re not used to a lot of veggies or fiber that takes some time to adjust to, drink plenty of water and spread high fiber foods through the day. For example don’t eat two cups of beans in one meal if you have never done that before
• use cronometer to check you’re getting a nutrient dense diet
• crispy baked tofu is a great low fiber high protein easy to make option, absolutely learn how to cook tofu and try it lots of different ways
• watching documentaries about the factory farming industry will make eating meat less tempting, also certainly buy faux meats once in a while as a treat there are tons of options now

Indeed. Mark Bittman has a talk much like this where he claims to eat mostly plants. I think Mark is smart enough to know that if he says he is a vegetarian, most people's brains will just turn off and disregard what he says.

His TED talk is very good.

Sadly, I know this mentality all too well. Before I was a vegetarian I would disregard most of what vegetarians said about food. I was young and stupid at one time.

You can make this really good bean patty type thing the night before and then turn it into a burger/sandwich for lunch. Or, if you're feeling lazy, a peanutbutter and banana sandwich is always amazing. I'll usually carry around some grapes in tupperware which are nice and easy to much on during class.

Taking a multivitamin everyday can sometimes work as a safeguard to prevent deficiencies, and it can help some people feel safer, but it is not essential on a vegetarian diet unless advised by a doctor to treat a deficiency. If you have a balanced diet and your blood work shows you haven’t developed any deficiencies, your diet should provide all the nutrients and calories you need. You can use tools like cronometer to check if your diet is reaching your daily requirements. If you see something lacking, that means you might need to adjust your diet a little (for example, eating more lentils for protein and iron, or adding some sunflower seeds for extra zinc and vitamin E).

I would include some unsalted nuts as snack between the meals (just a hand full). They are pretty satiating, are a source of healthy fats and include fiber too. Did you ever track your diet at cronometer? It could be helpful when you are figuring out if your diet is complete in all nutrients and to identify the nutrients your diet could be structural lacking.

Haha got it. Well, Ubud IS really pretty and attracts a better type of tourist than Kuta, Bali. You'll get to bike around and meet interesting people. Maybe your parents will change their mind once you see Ubud more but at the very least, you'll have a nice time and eat good veggie food.

Kintamani is only an hour away, so if you get a chance to show what you've "researched", here are some details: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g303952-d676508-Reviews-Mount_Batur-Kintamani_Bali.html

Hm. I see your point. Upon a touch more research, most definitions appear to specify human body or at least indicate that the word is intended that way. Example 1, example 2. Since language is fluid, and culturally influenced, I'd point to these as 2 of the most commonly used references. Again, since language evolves, I'm not gonna call you wrong, just saying it'd be hard to contradict the point I've just made. I realise you're beyond caring, but since you replied, I had to back up what I'd said. In any case, I, for the most part, agree with what you first said, but I think it's very important to understand that simply belittling or making fun of meat-eaters does not help our cause, it makes us look like the jerks we are trying to point out.

Tofu's great if you dry fry it first. http://hubpages.com/hub/How_to_Cook_Tofu_Like_the_Pros

As far as processed foods, I dig pretty much all of the fake meats in stir fries. Just pick up any "chikn" type stuff and it'll work great.

Huh, it seems really odd to add gelatin to milk.

Edit: I just did some googling and I think this is the product. For those who don't know, you should be careful with anything that has added omega-3.

Just calculate. If you are going to get all calories from tomatoes, cucumbers or lettuce, you'd have to eat 11–14kg of them. Cabbage—8kg. Spinach—8.7kg. Broccoli—5.7kg. Compare that with oatmeal—3kg, beans—1.6kg. Still too much. Dates or raisins—700g, most nuts and seeds—350g.

I'm not saying that broccoli and spinach aren't nutritious. They are. And you eat them exactly to get the nutrition, but to get calories you need to eat more calorie dense food, or you are going to end up with calorie deficit and weight loss.

If you focus your diet on vegetables, it's easy to undereat. It's not rare to see people there who complain about weight loss. Try cronometer.com and come up with the amount of food you eat for calories and the amount of food you eat for nutrients to suit your individual needs.

I usually eat 100—150g of nuts and seeds, 50–100g of dried fruits, 200g+ of fresh fruits, 200g+ of legumes, 200g+ of whole grains, ~500g of various vegetables daily. If you translate that to calories, it is 600—900kcal of nuts and seeds, 150—300kcal of dried fruits, 200–400kcal of fruits, 200—350kcal of legumes, 200—400kcal of whole grains and 200—250kcal of vegetables, resulting in 2000—2300kcal daily. It's all approximates, but you can see what is the largest source of calories there.

Well, most people are addicted to sugar and refined carbs. Just cut them altogether and eat fruits and whole grains instead, you will get used to it after some time. Though it can take months, but you will certainly stop craving them.

Black Bean and Feta Huevos

Ingredients (1 portion):

*two corn tortillas *1 egg *olive oil *canola oil *half can of black beans *quarter cup of water *a handful of feta cheese *small red onion (chopped) *3 roma tomatoes (diced) *2 cloves of garlic (smashed) *half of a green serrano pepper (chopped) *half of a poblano pepper (chopped) *cumin *salt *pepper *half of an avocado *sour cream *hot sauce of your preference

Directions:

1. heat olive oil in a pan, over medium heat. sauté the chopped onion and peppers, until they start to brown a bit
2. add in 2 out of the three tomatoes. cook for a minute or two until they start to soften.
3. add in the garlic, cumin, hot sauce, salt and pepper to taste
4. add in the black beans and water, and smash the mixture with a fork. continue to heat a few minutes until everything thickens.
5. in a separate pan, fry an egg in olive oil, sunny side up
6. in a third pan, deep fry the tortillas in a quarter inch of canola oil.

To set the plate we stacked the two tortillas, poured the black bean salsa mixture over the tortillas, put the fried egg on top, and we added sliced avocado on the side. We then topped everything with the uncooked diced tomato, hot sauce, a little bit of sour cream, sprinkled feta cheese, and crushed black pepper. My boyfriend and I tried these out yesterday and they were very filling! Also went great with some mimosas.

I've been ordering vegan parmesan on amazon, I've already bought this twice and will continue doing so indefinitely. So good! Here is the link, if you're interested: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076XR11WH/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_glt_fabc_8HN886K4R42BCVHK0399?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

It has a texture I like, bumpy with beans instead of soggy eraser-esque like tofu. I eat it sort of regularly. I maranade it over night in a ginger/garlic sauce and serve over farro with broccoli.

I don’t know where you are and there are lots of fine choices, but fwiw this is the kind I buy.

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07J1YF39N

Something from the McDougalls, maybe. They have a low-fat and weight control aim, but are also starch & veggie focused. The McDougall Quick and Easy Cookbook: Over 300 Delicious Low-Fat Recipes You Can Prepare in Fifteen Minutes or Less

I have a home made press that needs some upgrades to work better. I am looking at making a dutch press as well. But this is the one I use the most. https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B084P17M3C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I put hand weights on the top of it and increase the amount of weight as it cools.

This one. I just switched from a different style and I love it. Easier, quicker, and barely any clean up.

Check out The Indian Vegetarian by Neelam Batra or Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking by Yamuna Devi. The latter is often available in public libraries. Both do a great job in introducing (North) Indian vegetarian cooking. The first book is especially good in terms of modifying and simplifying things for folks who are new to Indian cuisine.

No, fish-free versions are available and most vegetarians are used to reading the small print.

I found Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott to be useful if you like making recipes from scratch.

Alright here we go! (Here's how I like em)

Thinly sliced red peppers

Julienned carrots (Get one of these if you don't have one!)

Mint leaves

Baked tofu strips (cut them into long strips 1cm x 1cm x length of the brick. Toss in hoi sin and soy sauce, then bake at 425°F for 15 mins, flip for another 15 mins. Allow to cool)

Ghetto peanut sauce (Peanutbutter, a splash of soy sauce, a bit of hot water, and a bit of chili powder, stir it up til it's saucy!)

Rice paper wraps

Rice vermicelli (the broad kind, looks like fettucine noodles)

Place the rice paper on a cutting board and run some hot water over it. Give it a few seconds and run your fingers over it so it softens. Dump on the tofu, peanut sauce, mint, carrot, red pepper, then some vermicelli and seal the wrap.

Before you have your dog go vegan/vegetarian check with your vet.

Some dogs, just like some people, will need extra attention after going meat free. Some dogs might also be grain intolerant!

I know natural balance(vet recommended brand) has a vegetarian canned dog food. I've got a chihuahua and she tends to go on hunger strike in the middle of a veg can more than any other variety. Each can usually lasts 4-5 days. Nothing bad happens to her in the short term on the veg food. If anything it's the least hard on her stomach judging from poop quality.

So I mean, you can feed them commercially available dog food that's just as balanced as normal dog food. You might have a dog with grain intolerance which mean these veggie formulas likely won't work out for you, but if you consult with your vet before switching over they can tell you what to look out for.

Edit: Here are some amazon links if you want to read up on this brand or the food.

Dry: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Balance-Vegetarian-Formula-28-Pound/dp/B000634HD2?ie=UTF8&*Version*=1&*entries*=0

Wet: https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Balance-Canned-Vegetarian-Recipe/dp/B004HFRMFA/ref=pd_bxgy_199_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=2PJRCKWEG5SJEYGJ6H18

I've only seen it on Amazon, and it ain't cheap there. But I also have a cold and broke down and bought some because it is comfortingly like chicken soup.

I am a lover of the America's Test Kitchen Vegetarian Cook Book. There are a ton of options without citrus or nuts. This book helped me to be a better cook and a healthier vegetarian. Link to Book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UGBBWFK/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

>Is anyone else here a 'double trouble' person? ... dairy is one of the few things left I can eat.

Quinoa, amaranth, cassava, sweet potatoes, taro, yam (available on Amazon), malanga, buckwheat, millet? There may be many foods you just haven't found out about yet.

I have many food sensitivities and allergies, and probably celiac disease, and have explored many unusual foods so I can have a varied diet. I don't eat in restaurants at all.

The deets:

Banza chick pea pasta (Amazon price is way inflated, I can get a box at Target for like $3 and a bulk box at Costco for closet to $8)

The sauce is a mix of marinara, milk (I used oat milk and it was fine), red pepper flakes, and some basil. I sauteed some garlic before adding these ingredients to the same pot I used to make the pasta.

Veggies: zucchini, red pepper, and kale. (Normally I love a combo of tomatoes, broccoli, and mushrooms but I was trying to use up what I had in the fridge)

Topped with Parmesan cheese (which can easily be substituted to make it vegan)

Once your sauce is combined and heated through, add pasta and veggies to the pot and stir gently.

I don't know any recipes, but I buy Louisville Vegan Jerky and it is delicious and addictive. I get it on Amazon sometimes and they have all kinds of flavors. I definitely recommend it!

​

There is a little blurb on the bag that basically says it's created out of soy protein (not sure what kind) that was flavored and overcooked by accident, and that's how the jerky is made.

I use Paprika. You can create your own recipes, or import from literally any site or blog out there (which may involve manually highlighting the various items of the recipe), rate them in a 5 star system, tag the difficulty level, mark recipes as a favorite, add tags for sorting, sync with other devices, add notes, email recipes, etc.

It's a paid app, but I use it almost daily and think it's definitely worth the $. The downside is that if you want a PC version, that's a separate charge and it's quite a bit more expensive than the smartphone app.

Paprika Recipe Manager (Play Store)

Start with a great cookbook. I own this one and recommend it highly (not an affiliate link): https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Vegetarian-Cookbook-Foolproof-Recipes/dp/1936493969

I found this because I'm creating an app to help everyone be healthy for longer and I'm currently collecting data on which habits can reduce breast cancer risk. Hope you find this useful! In case you're interested, you can find the prototype here.

Yes, chickpeas make for an excellent mock tuna salad. I also add granulated kelp to give it a tad more of a fishy flavour.

Ever made Kale chips? http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-kale-chips/

Also, learn the pairings that make complete proteins. For example: beans and rice combine to make a full protein. Same with beans and corn. Peanut butter + bread is a cheap, easy one. Hummus and pita make one...learn these pairings and you'll find that you can fill yourself up with whatever is on hand in your kitchen.

I generally stick to easy, cheap, simple recipes because I'm lazy and still relatively new to cooking. Here's a couple of my go-tos (usually once a week)

One is an Egg White and Avocado salad adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe (details can be found online). In short, you hardboil/hardbake/etc., peel the eggs, a chop the whites (you can use yolks if cholesterol isn't an issue) into chunks. Then you chop up an avocado, a granny smith apple (finely), and mix all of it together with a two tablespoons of light (or regular) mayo, a tbsp of parsley, a couple drops of lemon juice, with a dash of cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Serve it over lettuce (or wheat bread if you want the carbs/whole grains). That should make six servings at 7g of protein per serving, 12 carbs, 150 calories, and 10g of fat with 5g of fiber. It's balanced, light, very tasty, etc. If the fat is concerning, reduce the amount of avocado or go to free mayo.

The other was one I found on Allrecipes a while back and it's a great dinner recipe. Hot and Spicy Tofu, and I subbed out the chile pepper for mushroom slices. The whole process is here

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/hot-and-spicy-tofu/

With mushrooms in place of the hot pepper, two servings (out of four) comes out to roughly 500 calories, 26 grams of fat (if you include the peanut oil as its own ingredient, probably doesn't work that way), 33 carbs, 29 grams of protein, and a lot of good vitamins. It's pretty filling, reheats well, and the texture is reminiscent of Chinese restaurant tofu as long as you pan fry the tofu well.

Deeply apologize for the long link, am on mobile. I love this cookbook. Easy, delicious indian food. Very spicy though, don't be afraid to cut back on the peppers by a lot. It often calls for 6-8 serano peppers. I'll put in 2 or 3 jalopenoes lol

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/mobile/p/indian-slow-cooker-anupy-singla/1100997872/2675090059399?st=PLA&sid=BNB_DRS_Marketplace+Shopping+Books_00000000&2sid=Google_&sourceId=PLGoP2246&k_clickid=3x2246.

No joke, I use the Apple Genius Response: Feel, Felt, Found.

> "I know how that feels. I felt this way too back when I was eating meat, but then I found our protein requirement are way smaller than what people think it is, and it's really no problem since veggies, beans, rice, peanut butter all have lots of protein, and I love peanut better. Plus, I found out that the saturated fat in meat is actually really dangerous -- it gives people heart attacks. So I switched."

I’ve had success with the paper towel tube balanced on the edge of the counter method:

https://lifehacker.com/make-a-diy-no-kill-mousetrap-with-a-toilet-paper-roll-5451065

I then took them and released them in a park.

It did take some time to clear them all out (I dunno if we just had a huge infestation or they were coming back) but eventually they were all gone.

I'm a lactose-intolerant vegetarian and these are the vitamins I take:

• Generic adult multivitamin, every day or as remembered. Most multivitamins have 100% B12 in them.
  
• Calcium, since multivitamin only has 20% Ca. This puts me up to 80% RDV, I figure I'm good there once you factor in food. I take this everyday.
  
• Super B-Complex which has a boatload of B12. I take this a 2-3 times a week. There's a lot of scaremongering about absorption of B12 so I figure I'm safe with the multiV + this. Smells real bad though.
  

Honestly, I don't think you need a expensive specialty vegan vitamin. You could probably even consolidate all the vitamins you take into a multiV just about. Since this is nutrition, YMMV and every person will recommend something different for you.

Welcome!! That’s awesome!

It sounds like you’re enthusiastic about the weight loss, so perhaps you have excess weight to lose, but regardless make sure you’re getting a nutrient dense diet. Use cronometer and check you’re getting protein, fats, complex carbs and fiber (veggies or fruit) at each meal. A lot of new vegetarians lose a lot of weight and don’t realize it’s because they’re not eating a balanced diet which eventually becomes a problem (ie hungry or tired all the time)

Be sure to follow the r/meatlessmealprep which is a fantastic way to make sure you have easy tasty meals on hand. If you’re not cooking with tofu yet that’s absolutely the best easiest cheapest most versatile option there is and there’s tons of ways to cook it even if you didn’t like it previously. Eating plenty of lentils, chickpeas, edamame, quinoa, and veggies will help you feel awesome

not directly related but ya - cravings can happen when you are not eating a balanced diet and are not getting your daily nutrient needs met so you crave food rich in those nutrients. maybe try cronometer.com it really helps with that.

try cronometer.com to see if you are eating a balanced diet and getting all your daily nutrient needs met. if you are lacking something search for vegetarian sources rich in it and add it to your diet.

also what is your docs recommendation? maybe try another doc for a second opinion?

1. Try cronometer.com to see if you are eating a balanced diet and getting all your daily nutrition needs met. if you are regularly lacking some nutrient just search for veg sources rich in it and add that to your diet. you should be able to get an idea of how your new diet should look like in in 3-5 days.
2. Explore different cuisines especially with traditional whole food dishes. For that, having a few spices, herbs and sauces can go a long way and helps you try different cuisines. they tend to stay fresh for a long while. if you have access to "ethnic" stores you get good quality for better prices.
3. Supplementing is not something you have to worry too much about especially initially. it's more an issue for vegans but long term it can be worthwhile looking into a few nutrients that a significant percentage of vegetarians as well have been known to be low in - Vitamin B12 (especially this), algae based omega3 EPA/DHA as an alternative to fish oil, and maybe Vit D3.

If you want recipe suggestions depending on which cuisines ingredients you have access to let us know.

try cronometer.com to see if your diet is balanced. if you are lacking some nutrient regularly, look up veg sources rich in it and add that to your diet.

generally, a significant percentage of vegetarians tend to be low in Vit B12 which has some pretty big health consequences so that is something worth considering supplementing. Other than that an algae based omega3 EPA/DHA supplement as an alternative to fish oil as those are otherwise only fouind in fish that eat algae. Vit D3 maybe to an extent worth considering looking into especially if you are not getting much sun, there are no plant sources of it.

if you do add any supplement to your diet, always check with a doc first.

check cronometer.com to see if your diet is balanced and you're getting all your nutrition needs met. if you are lacking something just search for vegetarian sources of that nutrient and add it to your diet.

you should see if your diet is balanced using cronometer.com. usually when people don't have a balanced diet and are consistently missing out on some nutrients that's when they have cravings because their nutritional needs aren't getting met. I wrote a bit on general tips here. see how your current diet looks like using cronometer and make any changes if needed.

One thing that happened when I went vegetarian that I didn't notice was I ate less frequently and I ate less junk food (I can not have milk added to that). My meal sizes stayed the same but my unhealthy eating and snacking went way down, just because I was more aware of what I was eating.

What may work if you want to try it, figure out what you need to eat or rather your TDEE

Then track everything you eat for a week on My Fitness Pal or some other calorie tracker and make sure you're eating enough. Do not change your diet for the first week. If you feel you should be eating more, do that, wait a week, see how you feel.

For the week you track, track everything. Cooking oil, that mandarin you had after school/work. The sucker you ate from the receptionists desk, everything.

Feeling tired all the time for a while is kind of normal but worth keeping an eye on. It can be as simple as not enough sleep, your diet, not enough water, exercise, stress and the weather.

If things persist or get worse, see a healthcare professional

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Quinoa-and-Black-Beans/Detail.aspx I made this recently and it was pretty damn good but not plain ole rice n beans. Even better with sliced avocado and cheddar cheese on top. Would probably be good with grilled chicken on the side, sliced or something, if your concerned about making a meat for the meat eaters. Tyson has some good precooked grilled chicken strips you just heat up if you don't want to cook or handle raw chicken. My hubby is strictly veg but I eat meat sometimes, though for cooking convience I usually eat veg too.

I came to say the same thing. "Meat" actually means solid food, the use of the word to mean specifically animal flesh is more recent.

So technically OP's son was more correct than the teacher.

Just make sure each meal has protein/fat/carbs and either veg or fruit- so if you’re having multiple meals missing one or more of those components that deficit will catch up with you. Tracking everything is super annoying but using cronometer for a few days will help you see exactly what you’re getting and missing. I use it one random day every week or so just as a touchbase

Make sure to track your nutrition if you start out. Try cronometer.com, free site that lets you enter your stats (age, gender, height, activity level) and tells you how much of a certain nutrient you need. Just eating whatever may leave you prone to deficiencies, be sure to avoid that! Feel free to ask any question regarding nutrition!

MyFitnessPal is a free website/free mobile app that lets you track your food intake. It has a huge database of foods, but the best part is that it takes the numbers you give it and tells you how much you've eaten and how much you have remaining for a number of things, including the three macronutrients fat, protein, and carbs. (The mobile app even has a pie chart to show your macronutrient balance.) I use it for weight loss and diabetes prevention, but you can just as easily tell it you're looking to gain weight.

Make sure you check the ingredients on the taco seasoning as sometimes those types of mixes like to sneak in meat byproducts to make their flavors "tastier." It all tastes like salt to me. Here's a recipe that won't fry your taste buds with sodium; there are a ton out there if you google "taco seasoning recipe": http://allrecipes.com/recipe/taco-seasoning-i/

Thanksgiving for vegetarians is actually a lot easier than you may think! I usually do a mostly vegan thanksgiving with a bunch of omnivores (I'm the only veg there).

My tip is to focus on side dishes. You can make wonderful (and EASY) roasted veggies , green bean casseroles (vegan or lacto-ovo version, whichever you like), mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, stuffing... The family I dine with still makes a turkey for the rest of them, and I just simply don't eat that, but we make the side dishes vegan. They do make separate gravy and stuffing sometimes, so there is vegan and omni options for those. It's a great compromise that they have yet to complain about. :)

vegetarian: 2. Consisting primarily or wholly of vegetables and vegetable products: a vegetarian diet.

I do not know if it makes him stupid for playing fast and loose with the word. If his diet is mostly vegetarian, he is linguistically correct to say he is basically vegetarian.

Again, vegetarianism isn't black and white. It is gradients. Technically, a slaughterhouse worker can be a vegan.

Be careful about judging people by loading words with your own interpretations. If you want to criticise him for his actions, knock yourself out. Calling him stupid is simply a thought terminating cliche.

My go to for this topic is the original Diet for a New America.

Documentary version.