Calling all Vegetarians! How do I become a vegetarian yet not inconvenience my family at meal times?

I'm 13 and I want to become a vegetarian. The rest of my family, however, loves meat and we have it a lot in our dinners. When we have a dinner that is basically meat (meatloaf, steak, pork chops, etc.) what should I do? I was thinking of having a stock of veggie burgers on hand. Does that sound okay? Any other ideas? ThanksCalling all Vegetarians! How do I become a vegetarian yet not inconvenience my family at meal times?
13 years old eh? That's not too young, but not really at the "right" age to make a life-style change like this.



Here's my advice.



First- Tell your parents. Make sure they know why and how you will do this.

Second-Tell your parents that you CANNOT EAT ANY MEAT. Yes, very self explanatory, but most parents will ask you if you want to eat meat a little bit or cut down, it's very frustrating and difficult to shut them up.



Third-Research. Why? Because you will have to know what you need with the absence of meat. Mostly the 3 key things you need are

1-Protein-You can acheive eating protein by having fake meats on hands (veggie burgers, veggie chicken nuggets, beans, broccoli, etc.) (The "veggie chicken nuggets" are not chicken, though they taste like them.)

2-Iron-Easily obtained by eating veggies like broccoli, or eating cereal like rice krispies.

3-Vitamin b12. You can get this by drinking Soy Milk or eating eggs. or...drinking regular milk



Ok, next. You will have to decide what vegetarian you want to be.



1-Some vegetarians eat eggs and drink milk

2-Some vegetarians eat eggs but do not drink milk

3-Some vegetarians do not eat eggs but do drink milk

4-They do neither-This is a vegan, though.



Read ingredients on whatever you buy.

The most common purchased item for snacks contains gelatin. Gelatin is animal bone and connective tissue. This is disgusting. This is in gummy bears and snacks like that, also yogurt. Please. PLEASE read the ingredients before you buy something. Gelatin is not the only thing hidden like this, there are more. Research them.



Tofu, eat tofu. it's delicious!



Veggiepatch.com



Lightlife.com



Very good foods^^
Veggie burgers are ok if you just feel too lazy one day to make food, but they get super boring after a while. Volunteer to make dinner for your family, or just help out in the kitchen and suggest foods. Pasta dishes always work well for having that optional meat on the top of theirs if they feel it necessary. You can put tons of veggies into alfredos. Roasting veggies is always easy and you can make any flavor combos you want and share with the family. It really is not difficult to live in a household of meat eaters, just be sure to get in there and help out!Calling all Vegetarians! How do I become a vegetarian yet not inconvenience my family at meal times?
im a vegetarian have been ever since i was 8 and now im 13 and its been really hard at first my family didn't accept m being a vegetarian so they would try to make me eat meat at every opportunity and my dad still is quite in denial over it. Think about why your becoming a vegetarian is it important, is it worth potentially upsetting your family and changing you life forever? If you really do want to become a vegetarian im sure your family wont think of it as an inconvenience but i would say your best bet is too cook your own meals and buy the ingredients cos that way you no your parents aren't secretly putting meat in your meals.

-hope this helps and good luck
You can learn to cook your own meals. There are some easy things you can learn to cook that wouldn't be too time consuming. You could also go the easy route and just buy a bunch of processed food to eat but that can get super unhealthy after a while.



http://www.chooseveg.com/

http://www.vegcooking.com/Calling all Vegetarians! How do I become a vegetarian yet not inconvenience my family at meal times?
yea also subway sandwiches are greatttttt
You're not too young to cook your own meals. It's fun and a lot better for you than eating veggie burgers at every meal.
That's my exact predicament. I think I'm just going to cook my own meals.
That's not a bad idea--but do remember there's more than just veggie burgers. Gardein makes all sorts of amazing analogues that you use in recipes much like animal foods. There are some analogues you can just heat in the microwave. There are also frozen dinners--Kashi has a few vegan varieties, and I recommend the Mayan Harvest Bake (yum)--that you should keep on hand. Several companies make vegan deli slices. If your mom can make the sides vegetarian, you can heat up an analogue to go with it.



You might also want to volunteer to cook once a week, even if you're only boiling pasta and heating up sauce. Tofurkey makes excellent veggie sausages that you can just pan fry (don't overcook them!) and serve with the pasta. You can also make stir-fry dishes with lots of veggies and meal starter strips, tofu, or tempeh.



I'm the only vegan in a family of carnists (but I live far away, as I'm an adult). One time I was visiting, my mom made a vegetarian casserole that called for cheese. She split it into two portions, one with dairy cheese and the other with vegan cheese. Some of my family tried (and liked) the vegan version. If your mom has a recipe for a casserole, perhaps she can do that for you. Or you can find vegetarian casserole recipes.



Talk to the person who does most of the cooking (I made the assumption that it was your mom, and if I'm wrong, I apologize) and offer to make things as easy as possible for the family. When the person who cooks next goes grocery shopping, go with that person and try to find analogues to keep on hand.



Good luck!