In Seattle? Check out VegFest 2009

7 Responses to “In Seattle? Check out VegFest 2009”

1. Comment by Monthly Dividend Stocks

   Hey Missy,

   Are you a member of PETA? I am interested in vegetarianism but not so sure if I am ready to join PETA just yet. I want to their website and watched the slaughterhouse videos. Pretty disturbing stuff. It makes me not want to eat meat anymore.

2. Comment by Missy

   Hi, Ben:

   You don’t have to be a member of PETA to go vegetarian or introduce meatless meals in your life. Just start by looking into the various options available to you, as far as food choices. There are many. A good resource for beginning vegetarians is this one by Jolinda over at the veg About.com portal. And below are a few more resources for you to dig deeper into your new veggie interest. Let me know if these are helpful to you.

   1. Vegetarian Resource Group – Great all around resource for new vegetarians complete with nutrition info, recipes, diet info, and they publish a few books. I always recommend veg newbies here.

   2. Go Veg (for lots of recipes)

   2. How To Go Vegetarian (this one is funny) and remember to take my advice with a grain of salt, plus always do your due diligence and be sure to talk to your doctor BEFORE drastically changing your diet.

   You might also want to try getting your hands on a vegetarian recipes book from your local library. Try to find one that is recent. Good luck and feel free to email me with any specific questions or just leave another comment. Thx!

   Cheers,
   Missy

3. Comment by Monthly Dividend Stocks

   Missy,

   Thank you very much for all of the resources. I know that you don’t have to be in PETA to be a vegetarian, I was just saying I am interested in them but don’t if I want to become a member. Eating meat is something we have been doing for a very long time.

   If the animals are really treated like they show in the video then I might be for it. We are after all omnivores aren’t we? So is PETA against eating animals all together or just in a humane way?

4. Comment by Missy

   Hey, Ben:

   PETA is 100% vegan, which means a plant based diet with zero animal product in meals. Feel free to start your veggie journey slow, cut off meat gradually in steps. You could first cut out chicken, then beef, then fish, etc. I was never a big beef or fish eater, so it was abit easier for me. And i went veg cold turkey on March 1, 2007. So it varies for everyone.

   Are you a big meat eater?

   P.S. Oh and to answer your previous question on whether i am a member of PETA? No i am not. Not because i disagree with them or anything like that. Just don’t feel the need to.

5. Comment by Monthly Dividend Stocks

   Yes, I am a big meat eater. I plan to cut out beef first. I only have begun to eat chicken and fish more in the recent years. I have always had a high beef content in my diet growing up and

   I just want to start by not eating beef for a whole month.

   Beef is one of the main causes of heart disease so that is why I want to get rid of it all together if I can. I feel like I am addicted to it like a drug though. That is what sucks about it. It is going to be like trying to quite smoking, which I am proud to say that I have done. Smoking was not hard to stop once you realize just how bad it is for you and you feel the huge difference just by stopping for a month.

   Anyway, about this beef I have with beef. I just want to feel what it is like to not eat it for a whole month. I don’t think I have ever done that in my whole life.

6. Comment by Missy

   Wowza you have quite a story. Sounds good, though. I think that anytime you consume something for a long time, your body gets “addicted” to it. Whether its beef or beer or whatever.

   Hey, if you quit smoking you should totally be able to quit beef. LoL. It’s really not as hard as you might think. But motivation is important and i think your motivation is HEALTH. And you know health is wealth, right? Since you mention that you’re a big beef eater, i would start by simply reducing your intake of it weekly.

   Instead of 7 days a week, go to 6. And on that 6th day, eat something you really like, such as pasta or Mexican or whatever it is you like, but without beef.

   Try pizza. Order all the veggies you normally do, just hold off on meat. It’s important to eat foods you enjoy and truly like. Start there. You can do it!

7. Comment by Monthly Dividend Stocks

   You are exactly right. Motivation is the key. The problem I have is I have so many great ideas but I have a hard time acting on them. HEALTH is my motivation and I was doing so well for awhile.

   You know what it was that actually made me stop smokiing? Mixed martial arts training…

   After the first few classes I knew right off the bat I had found the motivation to quite. I had been thinking about it for like a year prior and then I finally did it. I can’t say that I have completely quit because there have been a few times where I smoked a cigarette or two while I was drinking alcohol but I just know that I am not going to go buy a pack and smoke it within two days like I used to.

   Quitting beef should not be a problem. I am sure I can do it cold turkey. I just need to pick the day to start and buy the right counter foods to make it easier.