Various questions about vegetarianism

I'm curious about the vegetarianism lifestyle and what vegetarians eat daily. Since becoming a Jew I eat kosher food. Can vegetarianism be kosher? How difficult it is eating vegetables and fruits and no meat? I've been told vegetarians eat more then salad and drink juice all the time. Share with me the pros and cons on a vegetarian lifestyle and various recipes.

Wow thats a lot to answer in one post where to start?!?

Ive been veg ALL my life 32 years
its not difficult at all I find it very easy - even when I eat out... I never go hungry.

In regards to Kosher foods you could say my diet is kosher as while I DO take dairy (i'm not VEGAN) I refuse to eat cheese made with rennet or yoghurt made with gelatin,
I guess the only reason you could say my food is NOT kosher is if you are one of those rreally orthodox jews who believe the food has to be cooked and served by a sabbath observing jew. Other than that - yup I'm kosher.


IN regards to what I eat - my protein I get from Seitan (gluten) and sometimes soy though I try to avoid soy its NOT good for you, Legumes, nuts and seeds. You might be suprised to find protein places you never thought - such as Lettuce as a high percenttage of protein!

My meals look lke what I assume anyone elses would - but with meat substitiues.. because I have kids to feed our family meals include a lot of the following:

Spaghetti with Meatless Balls (gluten or soy_. Pasta bakes, Stir frys with Veggie meats, Vegie Burgers, Vegie Hotdogs, LOTS of INdian curries (hey its my culture)

Basically moto is : anything you can cook I can cook Vegie...
um except caviar ...never found a veggie sub for that yet ;-)

A lot of ppl think Vegos and vegans are skinny and anemic but many of the worlds top athletes are vego. A few of the UFC boys just went vego - it got a lot of press.
Check out this website for VEGAN BODYBULDING... yes its real and no they dont use 'roids... aside from learnign a lot about how to maximize your food potential they have AWESOME daily meals plans for all kinds of lifestyles
veganbodybuilding.com...


For recipes I would suggest:

www.kurma.net/

vegweb.com/

theres just too much I could write.. if u need anything else specific just ask.

Pro: Healthier, easier to digest, no constipation
Cons: Have to eat a lot of varied food to get all nutrients.

Generally there are 3 main meat substitutes that can be used in many dishes instead of meat:
- Tofu or
- Chick peas or
- Red kidney beans or similar beans.

Vegetarians should consider eating nuts, mushrooms and a vitamin supplement (eg Omega 3's)
Women need to be conscious of getting enough iron. Men not so much.
Be conscious of calcium. BIT don't worry about protein to much as protein deficiencies are rarer than publicised.

Easting fruit (eg fruit salad) as only type of food before 12 midday is a great rule to follow. Its easy to digest and gives lots of the right types of sugars for energy to start the day off

That's just some quick advice but seeing a qualified dietician/nutritionist is advised.

NB: Changing TO or FROM (both ways) a vegetarian can cause cravings or stomach problems for first couple of weeks after that everything should be normal

I have been a vege since I was a baby by my own choice and never have I been short of things to eat, actually its the opposite, I usually eat more varied than my meat eating opposites

Pro: No Antibiotic Resistent staphylococcus in 1.4 samples of VEGGIES