VeggieJews
How To Go Veggie The Easy Way
PETE'S PROGRAM FOR AN EASY 10 WEEK TRANSITION TO A VEGETARIAN OR VEGAN DIET
While some folks choose to transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet by just going cold turkey, that choice is not necessarily for everyone. For those who like a well structured and less radical plan, the following program for a transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet should hit the spot. This program is so simple and hassle free that most folks with any motivation at all should be able to accomplish it in only ten weeks. Here's how Pete's Program works:
There are 21 meals in a week. In the first week of the program, make two vegetarian or vegan ("veg*n") meals, for example, Sunday dinner and Wednesday breakfast. During the second week, those two meals will remain veg*n and two
more meals will be added. For example, Sunday dinner and Wednesday breakfast would remain veg*n and Monday lunch as well as Tuesday dinner would be added. During the third week, those four meals will remain veg*n and two more veg*n
meals would be added. The process would continue until the tenth week during which the last three meals would become veg*n and the transition would be complete.
Here are some additional guidelines and comments:
*All snacks, which are likely to be veggie anyway, are to be veg*n from the beginning of the program.
*If you slip and don't add a meal one week or even subtract one by going back to a meat meal, that's OK. Don't give up or start all over again. Just pick up the program where you left off and keep going. The worst that will happen is that you'll succeed later than 10 weeks, but you can still succeed.
*The point of phasing in a new veg*n lifestyle is to allow time to learn to substitute foods so that you can transition without a sense of loss. Successful
substitution (like having veggie burgers instead of cow burgers or meatless spaghetti sauce instead of meat sauce) is a key to a successful transition.
*Enjoy the new foods you eat. Get into the tastes that you never noticed before because your culture-driven taste for meat overpowered all else.
*Keep a list of the days and meals that you have made veg*n so you won't forget.
*Please note that chickens and fish are not vegetarian foods.
*If you’re going vegan, don’t forget to take a vitamin B12 supplement.
*Remember that real success is not achieved until you have successfully lived a veg*n lifestyle for a full year following the end of the transition period.
When that day comes, a celebration is certainly in order.
[For information on Vegan nutrition, check out Nutrition MD from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine AND Vegan Health from Vegan Outreach.]
While some folks choose to transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet by just going cold turkey, that choice is not necessarily for everyone. For those who like a well structured and less radical plan, the following program for a transition to a vegetarian or vegan diet should hit the spot. This program is so simple and hassle free that most folks with any motivation at all should be able to accomplish it in only ten weeks. Here's how Pete's Program works:
There are 21 meals in a week. In the first week of the program, make two vegetarian or vegan ("veg*n") meals, for example, Sunday dinner and Wednesday breakfast. During the second week, those two meals will remain veg*n and two
more meals will be added. For example, Sunday dinner and Wednesday breakfast would remain veg*n and Monday lunch as well as Tuesday dinner would be added. During the third week, those four meals will remain veg*n and two more veg*n
meals would be added. The process would continue until the tenth week during which the last three meals would become veg*n and the transition would be complete.
Here are some additional guidelines and comments:
*All snacks, which are likely to be veggie anyway, are to be veg*n from the beginning of the program.
*If you slip and don't add a meal one week or even subtract one by going back to a meat meal, that's OK. Don't give up or start all over again. Just pick up the program where you left off and keep going. The worst that will happen is that you'll succeed later than 10 weeks, but you can still succeed.
*The point of phasing in a new veg*n lifestyle is to allow time to learn to substitute foods so that you can transition without a sense of loss. Successful
substitution (like having veggie burgers instead of cow burgers or meatless spaghetti sauce instead of meat sauce) is a key to a successful transition.
*Enjoy the new foods you eat. Get into the tastes that you never noticed before because your culture-driven taste for meat overpowered all else.
*Keep a list of the days and meals that you have made veg*n so you won't forget.
*Please note that chickens and fish are not vegetarian foods.
*If you’re going vegan, don’t forget to take a vitamin B12 supplement.
*Remember that real success is not achieved until you have successfully lived a veg*n lifestyle for a full year following the end of the transition period.
When that day comes, a celebration is certainly in order.
[For information on Vegan nutrition, check out Nutrition MD from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine AND Vegan Health from Vegan Outreach.]
By Pete Cohon, founder
"G-d said, 'See, I give you every seed-bearing plant that is upon all the earth, and every tree that has seed-bearing fruit; they shall be yours for food.'" [Genesis 1:29]
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