For the Vegetarian with Soul  

How to Become a Soul Vegetarian

Ok, So some folks become vegetarian overnight, others make the change gradually. Do what works best for you.

Begin by “vegging up” meals you already eat, like spaghetti with some good ol’tomato sauce and by replacing the meat in favorite recipes, like greens, beans and chili, with beans or textured vegetable protein (TVP). Replace the beef in your tacos with beans or grilled veggies. Bake stuffed peppers filled with rice pilaf or couscous (a type of quick-cooking pasta). Top baked potatoes with margarine, soy “bacon bits,” or salsa. Use crumbled tofu instead of ricotta cheese in manicotti and lasagna. Use crumbled veggie burgers instead of ground beef.

Check natural-food stores for instant soups and main-dish convenience items, as well as regular supermarkets. Many canned soup flavors that you’re probably already used to are vegetarian, like black bean, minestrone, tomato, and vegetable. Flavored rice mixes can be made into an entrée just by adding a can of beans. Experiment with vegetarian baked beans and refried beans (don’t forget to check for lard!) and different kinds of pasta. Order pizza without the cheese but loaded with vegetable toppings, like peppers, mushrooms, or even artichokes!

Try meat impostors—veggie burgers, “ham,” “hot dogs,” and “turkey” made out of soy and other meatless ingredients. They taste close enough to the real thing to fool any die-hard carnivore, although you might want to try several different brands before you decide which one is your favorite.

Visit your local healthfood stores to find the best variety of vegetarian foods. Don’t be shy—you’ll find row after row of wonderful products that you never knew existed: microwave entrées with pasta and sauces, imitation-meat products that can be used in your favorite recipes or on their own, and soy-based “cheeses,” “mayonnaise,” “sour cream,” and “milk.”

Explore the many vegetarian foods that have been popular in other countries for many years, like hummus (a tangy spread made from chickpeas), vegetable curries, falafel (a spicy mix of beans that can be made into patties and ”meatballs”), tempeh (a popular, high-protein meat substitute), seitan (a flavorful food made from wheat that can be sliced, marinated, cubed, fried, or baked), and a host of other vegetarian items. You’ll even find desserts, cookies, candies, and snacks that satisfy your sweet tooth without the fat and cholesterol found in animal products.

 

Make a habit of reading labels to make sure you’re buying products that are healthy and humane. Crackers may contain lard (pig fat), rice mixes may contain chicken fat, and other products include animal ingredients you’ll want to avoid, like gelatin (from animal skin, hooves, and bones). You’ll soon learn which brands are “safe,” and checking labels will become second nature.

TEN SUGGESTED STEPS FOR MAKING THE SWITCH TO VEGETARIANISM

1. Adopt a meditation program, such as yoga, or sitting quietly with your eyes shut. Notice your breathing, thoughts, and emotions. Be aware of how your body feels, and any messages it seems to be signaling to you. Keep a journal of any insights you have.

2. Become aware of how you feel when you eat. Eat one food at a time so you will clearly see how that particular food affects you. Record the feelings and reactions you get for each food in your journal.

3. Note how you feel when you eat meat, and how you feel afterward. Record these feelings-without editing, judging, or censoring them-in your journal.

4. See how you feel when eating or drinking dairy products.

5. Purchase or borrow some vegetarian magazines and books to get new recipes and ideas for meat substitutes as you prepare to become a vegetarian.

IN this order: (recommendations only)

6. Eliminate beef and pork from diet.

7. Eliminate dairy products.

8. Eliminate chicken and turkey.

9. Eliminate eggs.

10. Eliminate fish.

The goal is for you to achieve success while being flexible and compassionate with yourself. For instance, you may want to transpose Steps 7 and 8. Remember, the goal is a process, not a destination. As you begin to change, this change will have a rippling effect on you and those around you, with the ripples eventually reaching everyone. Your friends and family will either embrace these movements, or show resistance and rejection. Honoring people's process of change is important, especially when we want to encourage others to join in our lifestyle change.

GRADUALLY BECOMING VEGETARIAN

Our attitude permeates everything, including when we make changes. Attitude places a lens on how we view and embrace life. If we think something is helpful, then it will be. Is love or fear your filter in life? Energetically, love leaves us open, while fear spins us off-center and ultimately shuts us down. Are you a vegetarian because this is a loving act for your body and the environment, or is it out of fear that you may have a heart attack as a result of a fatty diet? Love always heals fear and creates more love, while fear only creates more fear.

The most common reason why people switch to vegetarianism is to gain a greater feeling of well-being. This well-being is experienced as having more energy, feeling better, thinking more clearly, and having a greater connectedness to animal and plant life. Weight loss is a side benefit of a vegetarian.

Awareness, decision-making, and action (the ADA of change) may look different for each of us. Gradual change invites others to join us. When we go down the river too fast, we may leave our loved ones on the river bank, with no bridge to connect us. Honor the changeability in others, especially if it shows up in a different way from what you regard as right or appropriate. That is why changing for oneself, and not to please others, is so important. If others come along for the journey, that's great; otherwise, move on with a smile.

Having a plan and developing a routine helps to establish a foundation. From this foundation, you can build a bridge to reach your family and friends. Slowly introducing new food items to your loved ones is one way to invite them to step on to your bridge to meet you.

Your bridge can be constructed with some of the old, while incorporating the new. One practical example of this concerns making meatloaf. At first, you can make it with your usual recipe, using a meat source and adding a little tofu. Over time, you can replace a major quantity of the meat with tofu. Eventually, your meatloaf will become a tofu loaf.

When we first improve our diet, we usually reduce or eliminate junk food, caffeine, and sugared snacks from our meals. When we hear people talk about eating a plant-based diet, they usually describe how energetic they feel as a result. This makes sense, since most Americans eat two to four times the amount of animal protein that they need, which can led to fatigue. Animal-based protein has a nitrogen atom on it. This nitrogen needs to be processed with water, so it can be released from the body as urea.

Most people do not drink enough water. Water needs are increased when we eat animal products. When we don't drink enough water, fatigue is the end result. When we are even one percent dehydrated, we become fatigued. Once animal protein is decreased in the diet, the water needs reduce, and fatigue is less likely.

An inviting way to use the imagination is to remove all the rules, listen to your feelings, and follow through. The recipes on this webgroup, leaves room in our recipes for you to add your own creativity. You may find it helpful to follow the recipe once or twice to be aware of one possible way the recipe can taste. Once you gain confidence, you'll feel open to adding your own creative touches. This openness to add artistic license to someone else's recipe allows a flow to occur, which supports and inspires your creative energy. §