The Passion and the Hobby of Vegetarianism

The Passion and the Hobby of Vegetarianism

It is going to take some effort to make the transition to a meat free lifestyle and to be able to proudly say “I am a vegetarian.”  But instead of feeling intimidated by that prospect, what is called for is for you to not only make living healthy and without meat your passion in life, make it your hobby.

The distinction between a passion and a hobby is important.  Your passion in life is what drives you to learn all you can about your new lifestyle of vegetarianism.  When you first make the transition or are preparing for the transition, it is natural to become obsessed with not only the reasons for becoming a vegetarian but the lifestyle you will enjoy when you finish making the change.  You should allow yourself to let being a vegetarian a true passion of yours.

Its also easy to let your vegetarian lifestyle be a passion when you start to spend time with “die hard” vegetarians.   Their enthusiasm is contagious and their devotion to what they are doing is apparent.  Not only are the health reasons for making this change enough to make a zealot out of any of us, the ethics of not eating animals and the morality and even religious rationales for eliminating meat from your system can make your vegetarian lifestyle as important to you as love of family and devotion to God.

Now everybody who becomes a vegetarian gets to the zealot stage.  But it is a lifestyle that is so full of rich culture and the fun of exploring that culture as well as learning to cook and eat the vegetarian way can become something that you want to think about all the time.  When you get to that stage that you are living and breathing vegetarianism and that you are actually having a lot of fun learning about your new culture and lifestyle, then you will have gained the momentum to make the leap into a vegetarian life that will carry you to success.

A hobby is like a passion and many of us get very passionate about our hobbies.  But along with allowing your new meat free life to be your passion, make it a hobby.  The difference is that over time you can sustain your devotion to a hobby but at a more steady and measured pace.  Think of other hobbies like model building or bowling.  Devotees genuinely enjoy the time they spend in their hobby.  And for the most part that hobby is something they probably will be involved in for life.  But it isn’t all they live and breathe.  It is part of life not all of life.

Over time, your vegetarian lifestyle will move from a passion to a hobby.  But it should be such a integral part of your life that it can be a great hobby and one you go back to weekly if not daily to enjoy partaking in your lifestyle.  There is a lot of diversity in the vegetarian lifestyle that will keep you fascinated for months and years.  Between the shopping for great ingredients for your next dish to the cooking, preparing, presentation and dining experience to the quest for the next great recipe to the time you spend with other vegetarians, it really is a lifestyle as well as a diet choice.  So let it be a great hobby as well as your passion in life because the life of vegetarianism will make such a huge contribution to your quality of life that it will be worth your devotion to it.

The Lifestyle of a Vegetarian

The Lifestyle of a Vegetarian

One of the biggest injustices that the vegetarian movement has endured is that in popular culture, the image of a vegetarian is that of a fanatic hippy or cult member who is “off the deep end” and cannot think about anything else besides “saving a cow” and pushing vegetarianism on everyone he meets.  The truth is that the lifestyle of a vegetarian is not that different than everyone else in the culture.  In fact, the odds are that somewhere in your social circle at work, school, church or in your family and friends network, you already know several people who are quietly enjoying the lifestyle of a vegetarian.  So to help us get over the negative stereotypes to understand how a vegetarian actually lives, lets examine what is different about a vegetarians life.

The most significant difference in how a vegetarian lives is obvious because it is in how he or she eats.  You will not find any meat in a vegetarian’s kitchen.  Now this doesn’t mean that a vegetarian cannot live in a family and be at peace with meat eaters.  If the home has one vegetarian but others who are not, you will be able to tell from the presence of soy and perhaps more fruit and fresh vegetables in the refrigerator.  But the idea that vegetarians cannot be around meat eaters is false.  If anything vegetarians are peace loving and can live their lifestyle around others who are not of their belief system very well.

Grocery shopping with a vegetarian is an eye opening experience and one that is quite different in more ways than you would suspect.  Being a vegetarian isn’t just about what you don’t eat in that you don’t eat meat.  It is also about a completely different approach to diet and foods.  So you will not see a vegetarian buying food in the same way most people do.  There will be much more time spent in the fresh produce section of the grocery store.  The checkout basket of a vegetarian will give him or her away every time because it will be overflowing with fresh foods.

But shopping for food with a vegetarian means shopping in other places than the local grocery store.  It means buying grains and beans in bulk at a warehouse store because that is one way that a vegetarian maintains health by replacing the protein and other nutrients that the rest of the world gets from meat and replacing it with proteins from beans and other natural foods.  It also means shopping in farmer’s markets and even shopping in a vegetarian specialty store for some high nutrition meat substitutes like tofu.

The vegetarian movement is in harmony with many of the earth first movements such as the organic movement and the green movement.  So a vegetarian kitchen will have more organic foods on hand to reduce the presence of harmful pesticides and other substances in the diet.  Also vegetarianism affects the lifestyle beyond just the refrigerator and the pantry.  You will not find leather clothing in a vegetarian’s closet and you wont find fur there either.  That is became for the most part vegetarians are sensitive to animal rights and they don’t want to see the skin of animals used in their clothing.

The house of a vegetarian will also be a recycling house to do all that is possible to cut down on waste and to be earth friendly.  Along with recycling bottles and cans as you might expect, a vegetarian recycles a lot right at home.  A recycling home will often have a compost pile in the yard for food waste and it will also support a good sized garden to use that compost to grow at home organic foods to supplement a healthy diet.

For obvious reasons, a vegetarian will have vegetarian friends and belong to social groups and attend functions that support the vegetarian lifestyle.  Eating out with a vegetarian will mean going to more ethnic food restaurants and you will see a lot of creativity in how to order foods in a restaurant.  But contrary to popular opinion, vegetarian eating is more flavorful and diverse than the normal diet.

Just spending a day with a vegetarian will reveal to you a more harmonious lifestyle that is sensitive to the environment and at peace with itself.  It is a healthy and happy lifestyle and one that should be attractive to all of us.

The “How” of Vegetarianism

The “How” of Vegetarianism

Sometimes the real obstacle of making that big change in your life to becoming a vegetarian is not the “why” of making this big change in your lifestyle but the how.  Its not hard to find good reasons to eliminate meat from your diet.  There are moral reasons, spiritual reasons and above all health reasons that make the change a perfect fit for where you are in life right now.

But what really stops a lot of people from making this very positive change in their personal lives is not knowing exactly how to make the transition.  So its a good idea to think through what it will mean to become a vegetarian so we can remove the mystery from what you are about to do.

There is no sugar coating the fact that a significant change in diet such as you will experience switching to a vegetarian lifestyle is going to take some getting used to. It is also going to call for some self discipline on your part to make the transition.  Yes, you will be more healthy and probably feel better ethically when you can honestly tell the world, “I am a vegetarian”.  But the transition can be a challenge.

That is why one of the big steps in making the change is to be well in touch with your priorities and reasons for becoming a vegetarian.  This is the most important in the first weeks of your new lifestyle as you get used to the diet and the health effects on your system.  And since most vegetarian diets go through an adjustment period as you assure you are going to get enough protein and vitamins, you will have a lot of new sensations and things going on inside that will take some patience to get through.

So be sure of your motivations and go back to that “mantra” of why you decided to make this change in your life in the first place.  And like any great goal, if you truly believe in what you are doing, you will push through the rough patches because you want to live right and enjoy the benefits of eating and living in a way that is harmonious with the environment and with your own bodily needs.

Sometimes the reason we hold back from taking the plunge on becoming vegetarians comes from a fear that is grounded in lack of information.  So the obvious solution is to learn all you can about your diet and what to expect as you begin living the life of a vegetarian.  The top priority in your new education program is how to create a diet that meets your nutritional needs as well as provides you with sufficient variety to be satisfying without the presence of meat.  The good news is that there are a huge variety of web sites and books you can use to learn how to supplements your diet so you get what you need nutritionally to begin your life as a vegetarian.

A big decision to make and one you should think through before you start your path to the life of a vegetarian is how you will make the transition.  You may be enthusiastic and want to go “cold turkey” or a very harsh vegetarian regimen.  But is not advised as it will increase the chances you will experience more severe reactions to cutting out so much of your diet.  Remember your body is used to a certain level of eating.  So make changes slowly one at a time and ease into your new vegetarian lifestyle.

If there is any question about whether a vegetarian diet is right for you, seek medical advice before starting to make such a big change to what you eat each day.  Your doctor can help you make sure you are getting enough vitamins for ongoing health and that you are planning meals that give you sufficient protein and nutrients so your active lifestyle is not hurt by your new eating discipline.

By begin smart, consulting with your doctor and being aware of your nutritional and vitamin needs as you start to change your diet and lifestyle, you will gently ease into a vegetarian life. And as you do so, you can celebrate that you are not just moving away from a bad diet but moving toward one you will enjoy and one that will benefit your health for a long time to come.

The Good of Vegetarianism

The Good of Vegetarianism

Sometimes the only thing really holding you back from making the big step of becoming a vegetarian is to come to a firm grasp of what good you will get from it.  Too often we see eating right and cutting meat from our diet as a drudgery and something we “should do” but we don’t want to.  But becoming a vegetarian is a big life change and one that you should make with every intent of remaining a vegetarian for life.  The only way to make that kind of life change “stick” is to have some concrete and desirable positive outcomes that you will realize from the change.  If there is “something in it for you” besides being seen as a good person because you  “should” do it, you will embrace the change more enthusiastically.

One big advantage that a vegetarian lifestyle can bring you is that it is a lot less fuss to life as a vegetarian and it is far less expensive.  It doesn’t take a very extensive trip to the grocery store to realize that even a small slab of steak or a pound of hamburger is far more expensive than a head of cabbage or a bunch of carrots.  Your food costs can plummet if  you simplify your life and eat only meatless dishes.  And your food will last longer in storage.

One advantage that many new converts to vegetarianism notice but that don’t get much coverage is how much better their digestive systems will work without the heavy load that meat places on your insides.  Not only will you digest your food more easily, you will not feel that “heavy and sluggish” sensation and you will sleep better and even have better sex.  That is because the negative impact of animal muscle on your intestines will disappear. You will also notice it in your lower intestines and your elimination.  In every way, the functioning of your internal mechanisms will be much smoother when you only give it meatless meals to live on.

The health benefits are probably the motivation that convinces most people to adopt a meat free diet.  The simple fact is that science has proven that humans are not natural meat eaters.  Yes we can live on meat but our systems are not well suited to digest the heavy food that meat represents in your digestive system.

Many of the most chronic national health problems can be traced to meat consumption.  Everything from obesity to cancer to heart disease to aging seems to be linked to the consumption of meat.  Because meat is so much more difficult on our internal systems to digest, utilize and eliminate, the impact on your insides is devastating.  Vegetarians do not suffer with as high an incidence of colon cancer, heart disease or obesity.

As many high priced weight loss programs as there are, there may be no more effective one and one that can be done for virtually no cost is to just stop eating meat.  You rarely meet a fat vegetarian because there is just not very much in a nonfat meal to become fat.  Vegetables quickly convert to energy, deliver vitamins to your systems and the remnant leave your system without difficulty so your metabolism will naturally speed up so you lose weight.

The moral, ethical and spiritual reasons for becoming a vegetarian are also well known.  Many religions call for a diet of no meat and frequent fasting.  A vegetarian diet gives you much greater control over your appetite so you can observe religious disciplines that call for physical denial for a short time and get all of the spiritual good from them.

Besides the spiritual values, more and more people are becoming aware that eating meat is unethical or immoral.  It is not “kooky” or crazy to see that the raising of animals for us to kill and eat seems barbaric for an evolved culture such as ours.  It is easy to find horror stories of the gruesome ways that animals are slaughtered to become our food.  To become part of the solution rather part of the problem is appealing to many people who have a conscience.  And vegetarianism is part of the solution that if all of us embraced vegetarianism, it would be a better world for everyone.

Soup Skills of Vegetarians

Soup Skills of Vegetarians

If anything could be considered the heart of great vegetarian cooking it would be the soup.  Because soup gives the cook so much freedom to combine various vegetables and herbs, the variety of tastes and consistencies is virtually endless.  And because soups capture almost all of the nutrients of the cooking process in the soups stock, it is a dish that meets the highest of nutritional standards will being delicious, hearty and satisfying at the same time.

Another great thing about basing your vegetarian diet plan on soups and stews is that it fits so well with a busy modern lifestyle. Just because you are a vegetarian, you still are busy with work, family and social responsibilities.  But with a big crock pot, you can put together a soup for the family that is just as good as if you had labored over it for hours.  And when everyone has had their fill of soup, there is no waste because every drop of the excess can be refrigerated for another meal later or frozen be on hand down the road. All of these aspects of soups fill perfectly with the vegetarian way of life.

Creativity should become the guiding principle of your soup planning particularly if you are going to make soups every week for your vegetarian family.  Naturally you will have your favorite recopies that everybody will clamor for each week.  But every so often, start with a basic soup stock and then get creative from there.  You can use as a foundation for y our soup the basics of onions, garlic and the base vegetables such as carrots or celery.  But many vegetables will serve well as “surprise guests” in your soup of the week that will not show up every week. Such vegetables as potatoes, cabbage, peppers, cucumbers, watermelon, tomatoes and many more can add tremendous variety to your soup tastes and keep the soup concept constantly new and fresh as a staple of your vegetarian family meal planning.

One cooking skill you should invest some time in to become a top notch vegetarian soup cook is to know your spices.  A soup can get pretty bland even with the best of ingredients but the wise and clever use of spices can make a soup come alive with flavor.  Each soup ingredient interacts with spices differently.  And you can change the very nature of a soup with nothing more than the addition of a few spices.  With the addition of cumin and chili powder, a routine tomato soup becomes vegetarian chili.  With the addition of Mexican spices, a run of the mill bean soup becomes vegetarian taco soup that can be as  spicy as you want it to be.  So learn to experiment with spices and get to know what kind of personality different spices like oregano, thyme, rosemary, lemon extract, cilantro and parsley can add to your soup.

Soups are also a wonderful way to blend in lots of different ingredients that your family might not otherwise eat.  And since a big priority in vegetarian meal planning is to assure that your family gets the proper nutrition from each meal, you can add beans, rice, tofu and other staples from the vegetarian pantry to expand the nutritional value of your soup so it not only is delicious, it is filling and very healthy as well.

It is possible that at times your family may grow tired of soup after soup.  So you might want to experiment with thickening the soup so that by the end of the preparation process, you have a stew that is just as good as soup but has much less liquid broth to present to your hungry vegetarians.  Many cooks use cornstarch or flour to turn the broth into more of a paste before serving.  Another clever device is to use instant potatoes that are sold in packages of flakes.  By sprinkling a package into your soup, the flakes will soak up the soup and add that rich potato flavor to your stew.

Have fun with your soup creations and always be on the lookout for new and interesting soup recipes.  The vegetarian web sites and blogs are a constant source of new innovations on the standard soup idea.  But by being creative and vigilant in keeping your soups always new and fun, you can use the basic concept as the cornerstone of your vegetarian cooking for many years.

Low Fuss Vegetarian Cooking

Low Fuss Vegetarian Cooking

“I can’t become a vegetarian because I don’t have the time to work up complicated vegetarian meals.”

That is a common misconception about what it means to life the lifestyle of a vegetarian.  Oh yes, it is possible to become a fanatic about exotic vegetarian meals or to become so extreme about limiting not only meat but anything but vegetables from your diet that meal planning and preparation has to become the only other thing in your life other than work, school or taking care of your family.  But as is true in any area of life, there are the extremes and the fanatics and then there is how the rest of us live.

Most vegetarians are not full time devotees to their desire to live meat free.  So these hard working friends and coworkers of yours who have “gone vegetarian” have found ways to prepare good wholesome meals with little fuss so they can work a healthy diet into an already busy lifestyle.  We can learn a lot from how they do it so we don’t let the alleged “fuss” of being vegetarian stop us from enjoying all the benefits this lifestyle can bring.

In truth, vegetarian eating should by its very nature be easier than preparing meals with meats because few of us eat raw meat but most of us can eat raw vegetables and enjoy them.  So with some well thought out grocery shopping, you can keep the basics on hand so the vegetarians in your household can come home and put together a fast vegetarian meal with very little difficulty.

Many vegetarian families take a weekend afternoon and go to the store together to stock up on things they know they will turn to for meals throughout the week.  By making sure you keep wholesome breads, fresh fruit and vegetables and cereals around all the time, your family can grab a quick breakfast of toast and cereal which will serve them well all day long.  That night, anyone in the family can combine fresh vegetables and lettuce or spinach into a salad quickly and dine like a gourmet in a matter of moments.  Remember to keep the little extras that make a salad special on hand such as nuts, shredded carrots, cheese if your diet permits it and a good variety of low fat salad dressings so you always have a salad to fall back on for a quick and easy evening meal.

The crock pot is the savior of many a working family and the same is true for vegetarians.  Few vegetables do not go together well in a soup or a stew.  So with a little planning, you can put together a delicious blend of vegetables, beans and spices in the crock pot in the morning and have a steamy and delicious meal waiting for you when you walk in the door after work.  And with a couple cups of water, you create a rich and nutritious stock that goes well with the meal or can be used afterwards as the base for rice or another dish and that carries all the nutrients of the original crock pot soup with it with each new meal.

The microwave oven can also do a lot to help your vegetarian cooking be easy to do.  With a little low fat cooking spray, you can sauté onions, peppers, potatoes, garlic and many other ingredients that can come out of the crock pot ready to be used in a simple dinner recipe.  A fall back for easy dinner cooking is to prepare a good sized bowl of freshly warmed or sautéed vegetables and combine that with two cups of brown rice cooked in vegetable broth (from a previous soup) and a can of low far soup.  The result is a fast stew that will be gobbled up by your family.

There is no reason to avoid the vegetarian lifestyle because you are a busy family.  If anything by embracing vegetarianism, you are embracing a more simple way of life that works very well with an active work and family life.  And you will be eating healthier as well which benefits everyone along the way.

Living With Meat Eaters

Living With Meat Eaters

Sometimes the biggest obstacle you face when you make a decision to become a vegetarian is not adapting to your new diet.  It could be that an even bigger challenge is how to deal with your relationship with friends, family and coworkers as you make your new devotion to a vegetarian lifestyle known to them.  So it’s a good idea to think through the issues you may encounter so you can smoothly integrate your new passion for vegetarian living with your lifestyle in general.

When someone who is not a vegetarian learns of your decision, their first reaction may be shock and confusion.  You may remember when you first learned of the vegetarian way of life, there are a lot of misperceptions that becoming a vegetarian means you are converting to a strange religion and that you are no longer the same person you used to be.  You may see that reaction in the eyes of your family, friends or coworkers and mixed in with a concern that you have “gone off the deep end” is a worry that you will no longer be able to enjoy meals with them or, worst case, you will become pushy that they too join you in your new diet and belief system.

The best way to make sure your relationships with others is not adversely changed by your new lifestyle is to think out how you will tell others and how to manage their reactions.  Much of how you craft the way you present your feelings about becoming a vegetarian will reflect your reasons for adopting this new lifestyle.  If you are interested in vegetarian eating primarily for diet purposes, its natural we all have our own diet preferences.

A diet driven vegetarian regime is something that should not cause any uneasiness in those you are close with.  The key then is to present your decision to become a vegetarian so they know it is primarily a health and diet choice.  If they know that there are not large ethical or religious issues in your decision, that will take much of the “stigma” of becoming a vegetarian out of your time together, even during meal time.

Your openness about your diet decisions will be very important to the ones in your life who buy the food and prepare it.  If you can find recipes that can be integrated with the meat eaters recipes so the cook (even if that is you) doesn’t have to prepare two full meals, that takes a lot of the overhead out of living in a house of meat lovers and still maintaining your vegetarian standards.

If your reasons for becoming a vegetarian are ethical or religious, then the more you foster open communication will make all the difference.  First of all, decide where you stand on being with others who do not share your views.  After all, deciding to become a vegetarian out of your desire for ethical treatment of animals is a noble cause.  But we all have to deal with the fact that not everybody shares our views.  So if you are avoiding meat for that reason and a close friend or relative orders the steak at a restaurant, it really is more your responsibility to deal with that than it is for the meat lover.

Naturally you want to share your ethical or religious values with those you are close to.  But you cannot do that if you make them uncomfortable or make them feel like that want to distance themselves from you.  So be patient.  First help them accept your new lifestyle.  Then as they come to accept this part of you and they relax knowing you that you accept them in the same way you want to be accepted, they can express curiosity and you can share your feelings and values.  That is the best way to share your feelings and to help others understand what being a vegetarian is all about.  And who knows, you might even win some converts is you use an open and patient approach to showing others how you feel.

Little Secrets Vegetarians Know

Little Secrets Vegetarians Know

Most people who don’t know anything about the vegetarian lifestyle think that is must be pure drudgery being a vegetarian and giving up meat.  That is a misconception because even though meat is not a part of a vegetarian diet, it isn’t about what you are going without, it is what is in your diet and in your life that makes a vegetarian lifestyle work so well.  If you actually interviewed a vegetarian, the last thing they would say is that they are all about not eating meat.  Instead they are about living in healthy way in a way that is at peace with the environment and with their own bodies.

The body of knowledge about vegetarians that most people don’t know is pretty astounding.  Most people do understand the basic three reasons someone becomes a vegetarian which are health, animal rights and spiritual or moral reasons.  But there are a number of side benefits and little secrets only vegetarians know that if they became popularized, the flood of converts to vegetarianism would be overwhelming.  Some of those little secrets include…

.    Vegetarians are not depressed as much as others because they know some secrets to overcoming depression naturally.
.    Vegetarians do not struggle with weight issues as much as others.
.    Vegetarians are better informed about nutrition and know how to make the most of what they eat.
.    Vegetarians sleep better, are more energetic and need less sleep than meat eaters.
.    Vegetarians have a much reduced incidence of cancer, heart disease and digestive disorders.
.    Vegetarians live longer than meat eaters.

One secret vegetarians know that gets almost no press is the power of walnuts.  There is a little known chemical in walnuts called serotonin that is a powerful antidepressant.  Now you can get your doctor to prescribe an artificial anti depressant which can cost you a lot of money and put you at risk for chemical dependency.  Or you can make a nice hot cup of tea with walnut as part of the mix.  About half a walnut shell mixed in with your regular tea brew fills the drink with serotonin.  Taken regularly, you will feel the effects of a chemical pick me up that can combat depression very effectively.

Another little secret of vegetarians runs against the normal rules of dieting to get the full value of nutrients you might expect from eating a salad.  Diet theory would have you use no salad dressing or at very least a zero fat or low fat salad dressing.  Vegetarians who are more in touch with the effects of foods in their bodies know that the real value of eating salad are the natural nutrients in leafy vegetables called carotenoids.  But science has shown us that the best way to pull cerotenoids from green vegetables is to use a higher fat salad dressing.  So enjoy that fatty dressing because your vegetarian lifestyle will deliver plenty of weight loss value to you even with this small indulgence that can do you so much good.

Speaking of tea, green tea is often a staple of a vegetarians diet because of the little health secrets buried in this amazing drink.  Green tea has powers to help your digestive system, help combat depression and to accelerate weight loss that ancient cultures like the Chinese and India have known for centuries.  Vegetarians have caught up on this secret of health knowledge ahead of us so its time well learned from their wisdom.

These are just a few of the wisdom of the ancients that have been rediscovered by the modern vegetarian “craze”.  But it really isn’t a craze because once you start living a healthy life cashing in on these many benefits a vegetarian lifestyle will give you, you will never want to go back.

Life Without Meat

Life Without Meat

Becoming a vegetarian is about a lot more than just a change to your diet.  It is a lifestyle choice that influences many aspects of your life separate from just what you put into your body for food.  This is why the path from when you first considered taking on the life of a vegetarian to when you are finally ready to make that transition may be several weeks or months.  The journey to that moment when you are ready must not be rushed.  Because not only is it a physical journey toward a physical change of diet, it is a spiritual, ethical and emotional journey as well.

Life without meat will mean a new approach to meal preparation that means new recipes and new ways to shop for the foods you need.  This becomes additionally complex if you are living with those who have not made the choice to become vegetarians.  If you are charged with meal preparation, that means two menus per night.  If someone else is the primary cook of the house, that means you will need some accommodation so you can have a vegetarian meal while others are eating meat.  That is going to take some relationship building and some tolerance by you and by the meat lovers in your home so everybody can dine in peace.

Being a vegetarian in a world of meat eaters may be one of the biggest adjustments you may have to make.  But be prepared for some cravings for meat as well.  At first, it might be wise to ease into vegetarianism so you still get some protein from meat while your body gets used to a lowered intake of that food group.  This is also important because it will take a few weeks or longer to find a diet that has adequate substitutes for the nutrients and vitamins you are taking out of your body because of your new diet.  By leaving meat in your eating schedule for a short time, you are less prone to feel run down or endure vitamin deficiencies during the transition to a full vegetarian eating regimen.

Many times a vegetarian lifestyle is part of a larger change of life which may also incorporate yoga, meditation or other spiritual activities.  If your sole reason for becoming a vegetarian is related to health, this may not be as much of an issue.  But if you are feeling drawn to a vegetarian life without meat because of ethical, moral or spiritual reasons, your desire to embrace vegetarianism is no doubt part of a larger spiritual quest or renewal that you are going though.  This is healthy and the more you fully embrace your new interest in this side of your personality and soul, the more your desire to be a vegetarian will fit a total change of life.

But one of the most delightful surprises you will enjoy when you embrace the lifestyle of a vegetarian will be the number of others who will join you in your quest for a cleaner and more spiritual way to treat your body.  The vegetarian community is a large one and it will welcome you warmly with community, support and all the help they can provide.  But even from the community of those who are not vegetarians, you will often find friends and loved ones very supportive of the change of life you are going through and they will seek to help you all they can.

It’s a Diet AND a Community

It’s a Diet AND a Community

Becoming a vegetarian is about a lot more than just changing what you eat.  That said, there is no question that making the transition to vegetarian eating is one of the most positive things you can do for your body from a diet perspective.  It will take some adjustments to make sure your vegetarian diet includes items that provide replacements for the proteins and vitamins that will no longer be part of your food intake when you stop eating meat.  But there is an abundance of help in the vegetarian community that can help you tailor your diet to meet all your vitamin and nutritional needs and taste good too.

The community aspect of the vegetarian lifestyle is one of the things that sets your decision to become a vegetarian apart from any other “diet” decision you could have made.  That is because vegetarianism is about more than just diet, it is about community and it is about lifestyle.  Its good for you to be aware that as you begin to explore your new life as a vegetarian, you are by far not alone and there is an entire subculture all around you that can be of help in what you are trying to do.

It is appropriate to call the community of vegetarians a subculture because, like any culture, there are various levels and “tribes” of vegetarians usually organized around the motivation for being a vegetarian in the first place.  Naturally, we know that many people start living a vegetarian lifestyle because of the health benefits.  But even without a lot of teaching or group activities to reinforce it, this one change to your diet is very likely going to change lots of aspects of your life that you might not ordinarily associate with diet.

There is a purity and a naturalness to the vegetarian way of life that generates health from the inside out.  Not long after you have gone completely vegetarian and you no longer are eating meat of any kind you will notice your sleep is deeper, you are more alert during the day and your digestion and elimination systems are far more effective and untroublesome.  It is well known that the physical body and that side of you known as the soul are linking so as you purify your body, you will find your ability to focus on spiritual or intellectual things more powerful as well.

When you find your life changing for the better in such unexpected ways, you will have joined millions who have discovered the “hidden benefits” of a vegetarian life.  And that huge subculture is one of the most encouraging and nurturing cultures in the world.  As you strive to perfect your vegetarian program, you don’t have to work on it alone.  By simply reaching out to the large vegetarian population locally, you will find encouragement, help, advice and support to help you “make it” through the transition from a life of eating meat to the purer approach to diet that is what being a vegetarian is all about.

The vegetarian community and culture is a rich one where you can enhance your new lifestyle with an amazing library of reading material, with an constantly expanding supply or recipes and with a address book full of phone numbers of new friends and groups who meet regularly to be together in their quest for  a better physical, mental and spiritual life through vegetarianism.  It will be a natural thing to seek out new friendships in these communities.  And you should feel free to explore and enjoy them fully.  These cultures will help you, encourage you and make your commitment to a vegetarian diet a lifelong one.