8 Steps How To Become a Vegetarian

There are many possible reasons for becoming a vegetarian. Some people do it to improve their health, while others are concerned about the treatment of animals or a desire to have less environmental impact.

Here 8 Steps How to Become a Vegetarian
 
1. Consider your reasons for becoming vegetarian.
Sorting out your reasons for becoming a vegetarian and having strong convictions concerning your diet will help you stick to your new lifestyle. Knowing your reasons is also important to help you explain to other people why you are a vegetarian; having a ready answer for the inevitable questions makes the journey a little easier.

2. Reveal your choice to the world.
Start with those with whom you're close, such as your parents or partner. This will alert them to the need for dietary changes in the home and also gives you the first opportunity to explain your choice to people who are close to you and are hopefully likely to be supportive. Be ready for disagreement from some people. It is not considered the "norm" in many cultures to eat vegetarian only, and while few people ever ask a meat eater why he or she chooses to eat meat, very few people hold back on asking a vegetarian why he or she does not eat meat.

3. Find good recipes.
You don’t need to go out and buy a bunch of new cookbooks, although that’s certainly an option. But again, there are many great recipes online. Try GoVeg.com but don’t worry, you don’t need to decide on anything. Just look through the recipes, take note of a few that look really good, and decide to try a few of them. You have the rest of your life to test out other recipes!

4. Try one recipe a week.
Try one new vegetarian recipe a week. If you like it, add it to your collection of staple recipes that you eat on a regular basis. If the recipe isn’t that great, try another next week. Soon, you’ll have a good list of 5-10 great recipes that you love to cook and eat. And really, whether you’re vegetarian or meat eater, that’s probably all you really eat on a regular basis anyway (for dinner, at least). Most people only have 7-10 recipes that they cook regularly. Once you have that many vegetarian recipes, you are good to go.

5. Start shopping like a vegetarian.
You'll find a wide variety of vegetarian food available once you start searching for it specifically in grocery stores, health food stores, and farmer's markets. When you stop putting meat in your shopping basket, a new world of possibilities opens up

6. Research your nutritional needs.
Make sure that you're still getting enough vitamin B12, calcium, protein, and other vitamins and minerals that come primarily from meat. It may help to take vitamins and calcium tablets if you don't already, but aim to get most of your nutrition from good quality food.

7. Start with red meat.
I suggest a gradual transition into vegetarianism … although you can do it all at once, I’ve found that for many people, a gradual transition works better. There’s no need to give up all meat at once. Try a few new recipes, maybe eat one vegetarian meal for the first week, two for the second, and so on. If you do this, start with red meat, as it is typically the least healthy.

8. Make sure you eat enough food.
If you aren't getting enough food, you might start craving meat. There is protein in almost all kinds of food, so you can rest assured that you'll almost definitely get enough protein, as long as you eat 1200 calories or more a day. If you are trying to gain weight it is important to eat a wide variety of legumes, nuts, and seeds into your diet to make sure you get enough calories and healthy fats.