This is one other issue i have is becoming a vegetarian. I was not raised as one and I now have to train myself to become one if i want to follow KC. Does anyone have any advice on how I should start? I know becoming a vegetarian does not happen over night. I just need to know what I can substitute those foods with to be a vegetarian. Thanks!
Best thing to do
If you can, the best thing to do is to get yourself a cook book. This way you can get the right ingredients and eat nice food.
Have a look here for some books. You probably find the second hand if you cannot afford new ones.
http://food.krishna.com/node/414
You can also start here:
http://food.krishna.com/recipe
where you will find a whole bunch of recipes we have put on-line
There are many vegetarian recipe sites and books you can also access. It's the best way to start.
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Visit the Food Channel @ Krishna.com
For some things can be
For some things can be overnight and others it may take some time. Prasadam is VERY powerful. What is prasadam, prasadam is vegetarian food cooked with love and offered to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna. That can be the first step, offering what food that you eat (make sure it is vegetarian plus one small thing, no garlic no onions), offer that to Krishna. In addition if you are near a temple or devotee try to get some prasadam at the temple. Most devotees are expert cooks and eating such prasadam can burn away the desires of previous habits.
Association, associate with those who eat prasadam or who are a least vegetarian. Any type of association that we take has a powerful affect on us. An you will find that most people who are vegetarian are so because very intelligent reason. Hear from them their own realizations can be a source of inspiration.
Education, please read our book, The Higher Taste, which is a cookbook but it also covers vegetarianism from many different angles. There are also many other books out there as well.
Chant Krishna's Holy names and that also will change ones taste of happiness. One will loose taste in old stale habits as new relish for powerful spiritual tastes arises in the heart.
Thank you for the advice!
Thanks so much for helping me with this. I am going to try to buy more fruits and vegetables in this coming week. There's also a small India store right on my street but it's farther up the street. I'd have to take the bus to get there. :) I just have to watch what i eat because I cannot really handl the hot spicy foods.
starting out
To start out vegetarian, first think of it the same as you eat now, just without the meat!
For nutrition, instead of meat: ADD good grains, and beans (or lentils). Add both to your diet. Make pilaf, or just plain rice. Cook lentils and rice together. Season the way you like. Be creative -- make a tomato pasta sauce with cooked lentils instead of meat. Try different beans and see which ones your system digests well. Lentils are usually easy to digest. Read labels and see which beans require soaking. Soaking makes for easier digestion.
If before you had a meal of (meat), corn, and salad --- now have (beans, rice), corn, and salad. If you were going to have apple pie for dessert, you can still have apple pie for dessert.
You can feel good about the change, knowing it's better for the health to go without meat.
If you're careful to also avoid eggs, and ingredients that come from dead animals (ingredients from living animals like milk and cheese and butter can be used), you can put some of the food on a plate and offer it to Krishna!
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna!
I agree. Becoming pure vegetarian is not an over night thing.
What you can do is set some rules and regulations for yourself. Something like meat just 3 times per week. Then after a week or so it would be twice a week. Then meat only on alternate weekends. Then may be once a month. This is just an example to tell you that regulation is important. If you try to stop eating meat altogether, you might start craving for it after some time. So its always good to regulate it first and then give it uo totally. But remember you have to strictly and sincerely follow the regulations. You can also set some punishment for yourself if you happen to break any regulation. Something like giving some extra charity to nearby temple or anything that will motivate to stick to your rules and regulation.
Along with this, you must sincerely follow what Nityanadchandra prabhu and abrennan prabhu has suggested. Altogether will help you become vegetarian.
Good luck.
Haribol!
Snehal
Thank you for all the tips!
Thank you friends for giving me advice on becoming a vegetarian. I plan on making it my goal for 2009 to become one. :)
I do love most fruits and vegetables even though there are some i don't like. I have to try tofu again to see if I remember if i liked it or not and soy too. I know they have soy milk or something like that. I'm not crazy about spinach or beets and I don't care much for onions either but once in awhile I have them on a sandwich but eventually I'll cut the onions out all together from my diet...and for fruits I'm not crazy about pineapples or lemons. I could eat a whole big container of strawberries and blueberries though lol!