HOW random–I’ve been thinking about going back to vegetarianism, too.

Thoughts on getting protein–carrot sticks dipped in hummus, peanut butter on a rice cake with a bit of honey drizzled on top.

And I simply could not live without my rice cooker.

P.S. I am officially hitting “the wall” with Bikram. Every class is hard. Getting up is hard. Me no likey this teacher. Me no likey that pose. Whine, whine, whine.

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By Kate on 02.17.10 11:14 am | Permalink

My biggest tip on looking at easing off meat is you have to replace it with another protein source, otherwise you’re better off eating as you are. I’m a big fan of slicing up tofu & shake and baking it for inside sandwiches, I make big fruit shakes every morning with juice and frozen berries & I put a bunch of soft tofu in it to thicken it and make sure I’m getting enough protein.

If you’re going to try, start slowly by eating only vegetarian lunches for a while and see how it goes, then try adding veg dinners twice a week and transition slowly.

And honestly, it’s just not for everyone! But if you do it carefully you have a much better chance of finding a way that works for you. GOod luck!

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By Kyla Roma on 02.17.10 11:15 am | Permalink

When I first did this, it was totally experimental, which is one of the reasons I made sure to not only keep seafood in my diet, but to increase it (I also LOVE seafood and can’t imagine not eating shrimp! and crab! and fish!). I did this because I didn’t want to feel like I was lacking protein.

Kyla offers great tofu suggestions, and I’m DETERMINED to learn how to cook and prepare tofu. I just learned a great alfredo sauce recipe using silken tofu instead of heavy cream and butter, and not only does it taste awesome (we kept the fresh parm, obviously, and added in garlic and herbs), but it just felt so much better and more awesome than the heavy cream.

I love Kyla’s advice about changing a couple of meals at a time. I’m starting to dig up some info on veggies and their actual nutrients and benefits so that I make sure to get adequate amounts of what I need.

Good luck if you do this – and always feel free to email me or chat about ideas and recipes! I’m learning too, and would love to share knowledge

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By Doniree on 02.17.10 11:21 am | Permalink

i love love love.. tofu.
tofu curry. tofu soup. tofu pad thai.. etc

but I’d really miss barbecue, pork dumplings, seafood? does seafood count?, cheeseburgers, spagetti with meatsauce, lamb, eoitjeoaiejt

i couldn’t do it gives me panic just thinking about it

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By linda on 02.17.10 11:30 am | Permalink

I just commented over on Kyla Roma’s post about this. I’ve been thinking about going more towards a vegetarian lifestyle. I don’t know that I could ever do it 100%, but I believe that it’s a much healthier way to live, not to mention I’m a huge animal lover and anytime I think about the whole topic, I just want to cry! So I guess I’m where you are – contemplating, thinking, and being inquisitive. I’ll be interested to see if you do it. It might make me more motivated!

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By StaceyParadise on 02.17.10 11:36 am | Permalink

i’ve been eating less meat since i gained complete and total control over what is brought into the house, but i will never, ever in a million years say goodbye to bacon, steak and pork ribs. EVER.

that article on commitment? love it. total win. thanks for sharing.

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By verybadcat on 02.17.10 12:28 pm | Permalink

Pants says thank you!
That sucks that you have to wait and be stressed about getting laid off – we are also stressed over here about the same thing, and the budget and all that fun stuff. It is rotten.
I really recommend cutting out meat and dairy for weight loss. For some reason when I don’t eat cheese the weight just falls off, even if it is very sad to not eat cheese

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By Elizabeth on 02.17.10 12:31 pm | Permalink

I know it is counter cultural… but I would like to give up chicken and pork and keep red meat! Pretty much anything that comes from the adorable cow tastes delicious. I know that red meat is the worst for me, but YUM! We eat red meat only about twice a month for health reasons, but I would definitely eat it every day if I could!

You should see the things I first crocheted. And the best crocheter in my family is my 23 year old brother. When he was in high school his friends decided it would be cool to make their own snowboard hats. He has far superior skills than I.

Thanks for the article about commitment– it was a good read even for an old married lady like me! Sometimes we need a good refresher course. Happy Wednesday, lady!

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By Erin on 02.17.10 1:16 pm | Permalink

There is a Vietnamese place in Roseville / Rocklin that serves the most amazing vegetarian fare, I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it?? KT Noodles? I prefer the veg dishes to the meat! You should try it out! Plus, the food is cheap ($5-$6 per meal) and you walk out with enough for a whole second leftover meal!

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By Katy on 02.17.10 1:18 pm | Permalink

I feel your pain in regards to the job situation. I too am still kind of in limbo and unsure if I’m being kept on and every day it gets closer to the end of my term I get a little more anxious. I’m sending prayers and positive vibes your way! Also, Psychology Today? Total favourite of mine

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By Emily Jane on 02.17.10 1:45 pm | Permalink

If you’re thinking about vegetarianism entirely for health reasons, I encourage you to do a bit more research first. The book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, written in 1939, talks about isolated native populations and their resistance to disease and tooth decay (without toothbrushes/paste). How did they do it? Local, whole, organic foods. Fats are not bad for you, but processed or refined things are (and it turns out that many of our standard vegetable oils are heavily processed). There’s a great cookbook called Nourishing Traditions which uses the principles of that research to give you a lot of great options.

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By Scott Nonnenberg on 02.17.10 2:00 pm | Permalink

Ooooh, continued good thoughts/wishes/prayers are being sent your way from me! I hope everything works out with your job. I know that being a teacher in California can be a bit precarious these days, I’ve got several teacher friends who go through the same anxiety every year. Keep your chin up!

And I so agree, about the sunshine. Oh my gosh, it makes me so squeely and giddy! I love it!

Good luck if you do go vegetarian! I myself have pretty much cut out red meat. I’ll still eat it from time to time but mostly I just stick to chicken, turkey, and seafood. Obviously for health reasons as opposed to moral ones, sigh. I had a year long stint with vegetarianism when I was 18/19 and got really sick because I wasn’t eating right! Haha, but it was an adventure!

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By Lisa on 02.17.10 2:23 pm | Permalink

Not a vegetarian here but I eat a lot of vegetarian meals. Beans, legumes and eggs are good sources for protein. As is tofu if you’re into that. (I’m not.)
There are so many dishes that you can make without meat. What I usually eat is combine pasta or rice with vegetables. (I do like my carbs.) Eat a big salad (with egg?). If you still eat fish, you could add tuna too. And of course you could always do fish & veggies dishes if you want to avoid carbs (I don’t eat fish though, so I can’t give you any advice on that). Or venture out into the world of tofu and soy, vegetarian hamburger patties and sausage. There is also vegetarian “ground meat” that tastes pretty decent that you can use for making a bolognese sauce.
I personally don’t think I could live without meat and I don’t want to either, but as far as healthy food goes, meat has never been my problem as I don’t cook with meat very often (being that my brother is vegetarian, I essentially grew up eating almost exclusively vegetarian food at home, with the exception of lunch meat).
Crossing my fingers for you about your job!

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By Karen on 02.17.10 5:44 pm | Permalink

I wouldn’t be a good blogger! LOL. But I appreciate the sentiment and the shout-out it made my day! I’m always happy to share a great read. xo

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By *M* on 02.17.10 6:09 pm | Permalink

I think about being a vegetarian a lot–mostly because of all the crap you read about that supposedly lurks in our meat! I think I could give up red meat pretty easily, but I don’t know if you could take away my chicken and eggs anytime soon. Or sushi…

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By Amy on 02.17.10 6:39 pm | Permalink

Sorry to hear about your job thing, I must have missed that and you’re right – don’t worry about it, just keep on doing your thing.

Love the sun over here too. And I like the pic you’re using above, makes me smile.

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By Ari on 02.17.10 6:48 pm | Permalink

I work with animals, and I could never be a vegetarian.

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By cuppycakes on 02.18.10 12:55 am | Permalink

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By VegetarianLives.com on 02.18.10 2:50 am | Permalink

Oo girlie! =) I actually am really happy with vegetarianism — and I’m not the world’s biggest fan of vegetables, believe it or not! One of the big things to note for not only vegetarians, but anyone, is iron intake. Most folks tend to associate iron with red meat and then assume they get plenty and that is why you hear horror stories about anemic vegetarians. Little known fact? There are oodles, OODLES, of vegetarian sources of iron that actually contain more than red meat. My favorite, because I’m apparently from the 1930′s? Cream of Wheat. With cranberries. And flax. And brown sugar. In my tummy. (gets distracted)

Another one you’ll hear about is complete proteins, but folks forget that you can eat combinations of foods within a few days of each other and get complete proteins. My faves? Black beans, corn, rice, etc. I love things with taco seasoning, LOVE THINGS, so one of my favorite easy meals is Spanish rice (hello Uncle Ben’s 90 Seconds to NOM) with black beans, corn and taco seasoning and sour cream. ::rolls in it:: In fact, you can even get Taco Bell vegetarian. Friday night is TBell night up in our house and we get Mexican Pizzas w/o the beef, or swap the beef in crunchy tacos with refried beans (which are not refried in lard, believe it or not!), bean burritos. Can you tell I haven’t had breakfast?

Anyhoots, it’s fun when you put your mind to it. Weight loss lunches are easy (cheese & avo sandwiches or there are tons of SmartOnes and LeanCuisines that are meat free and actually tasty!). And, much to MY delight, if you stroll down the frozen section, there are now oodles of meat-less thin crust pizzas. Margarita pizzas, 4 cheese pizzas, an all-white pizza.. even a spicy Caesar Cheese pizza at Target I think? And Sunday nights we do Avocado & Bacon burgers with fries, all vegetarian!

Okay I’ll shut up now before this whole comment turns into a “Things I’d like to be Eating” list care of yours truly.

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By Brittney on 02.18.10 10:27 am | Permalink

I’m thinking good thoughts for you and your school district.

I’m a vegetarian who never eats tofu. I can’t stand the stuff, but my husband likes it in Asian dishes. I’m seeing lots of great tips that I’ll probably steal, but my biggest one, if you really want to go all the way, is to read all ingredients on prepared food–beef broth gets slipped in more than you could ever imagine.

I still eat eggs and cheese, and those do have a good amount of protein. Oh! And lots of homemade yogurt and beans.

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By Her on 02.19.10 10:30 pm | Permalink