help me

The easiest way to go is to work out a menu for the week. Have a whole list of what you're going to eat at breakfast, lunch and dinner. Since you're living at home, it is a little harder, so i'll try to help you out. (If you're going vegan, tell me. I will customise a list fo vegan ideas instead of vegetarian ideas )

Breakfast:
>All different types of cereals - Coco pops, corn flakes, weet bix, frosties, fruit loops.
>Toast with vegemite or peanut butter
>Baked beans/canned spaghetti

Lunch:
>Vegemite or Peanut Butter or Jam Sandwhiches
>Also, if you go to the super market you can find all sorts of quick meals; 2 minute curry meals, noodles and heaps of frozen food.
Salads - so many different kinds.

Dinner:
>Pasta - If you're family is having pasta for dinner, just ask if you can have your pasta, sauce and cheese before you're Mum adds the meat.
>Sausages and mash - If you go to the supermarket, you can find vegetarian sausages from Sanitarium. Just swap these in for the meat sausages - I'm sure your family won't mind.
>Soups and bread - All sorts of different kinds of vegetarian soups.
>Vegetarian pizza
>If you're having tacos, just swap canned mexican beans in for meat.
>Roast- If you're having roast, maybe on Sunday night or something, you can have mock-roast. Again, look under the Sanitarium section in the refrigirated section for the fake roast. Then just have that with everything else; potatoes, carrots etc.
>Subway veggie patty
>Hot chips
>Vegetarian sushi

There are SO many different things - just google for ideas. For example: "Vegetarian meal ideas."

Dessert:
>All sorts of things lol - ice cream, apple pie, etc etc

P.S -
It might be a good idea this weekend to talk to your family about your decision to go vegetarian. Show them this menu and let them know your serious and this is a mature decision not a 5 minute fad. If your parents want to know why, ask them to go to AnimalsAustralia.org.au or Meat.org

Ask your parents to sit down with you. Have a 7 night menu on hand to show them you're HEALTHY ideas for the week - emphasise it is a healthy diet.

You have to make sure your parents know the reason why you want this.
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Always remember everyone on this site is behind you!  After a few months your parents will know you are serious and will accept your decision. In fact, I'm sure they will help you out with it!!

You can go to VNV.org.au for more help.

GREAT post, Matt!!

There is also a heap of information for new vegetarians or vegans (and 'old' ones too ) here on the Unleashed site under the "What to Eat" section. Here are a few quick links:

WHAT TO EAT
www.unleashed.org.au/change_the_world/go_veg/what_to_eat.php

SHOPPING GUIDE (lots of suggestions for replacing meat products here)
www.unleashed.org.au/change_the_world/go_veg/shopping_guide.php

EATING OUT
www.unleashed.org.au/change_the_world/go_veg/eating_out.php

RECIPES
www.unleashed.org.au/change_the_world/go_veg/vegan_recipes.php

Post any questions you have -- me and others here will do what we can to help you out! And congratulations for wanting to give up meat. It's seriously the best decision I ever made (and easiest, once I knew what to eat ).

P.S. if your parents are concerned about nutrition, you can send them here: http://whyveg.com/nutrition.php

There are so many fake meats these days it makes it so easy!!!

Sausages, bacon, chicken fillets (well I'm sure that's what they're meant to be LOL), mince, kebabs, deli luncheon, schnitzels, burger patties... it's easy to slip these in where your family having the real deal. Sanitarium make some incredible substitutes. These usually hide in the fridge section of your supermarket (usually near the tofu). Also look our for Fry's (in the freezer section) they make an awesome cottage pie!! You may pay a little more for them, but if it is saving a cow or pig I think it's worth it!

Even tofu comes flavoured! This is great to add to salads... mmm tofu salad....

Beans! Beans will become your new best friend! Think outside the square when it comes to using beans. I use red kidney beans the most. I put them in curries, pasta, nachos, tacos, on top of potatoes with cream and chives. And beans are so cheap! At any one time I may have up to 5 tins of red kidney beans, borlotti and chick peas hidden away in my pantry.

If you sit down with your family and explain why you want to do this, you never know, you may just swing them over to our side!

And always remember we are all here to help! We have all been there before.

Best of luck  

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM  

I was going to have potato and beans tonight but I didn't have any pre-cooked (I buy mine "raw" and boil them myself) *sigh* so I had risotto instead haha.

ha i had the same problem when i went vegetarian. Now i either cook my own food or tell mum to give me my food before she adds the meat in. I find it really easy infact!

My fave vegetarian recipe is Spinach and Feta rolls
It's really easy to make. Just buy frozen puff pastry from woolies or coles, cook some spinach miz it with crumbled feta, place on the  unfrozen puff pastry, whack it in the oven for 20 mins and voila!
Sooooo yummy!

the absolute best vegetarian food (i think) is vegie lasagne.

eggplant, chickpeas, corn, peas, broccoli, tomato...

yumyum, it definitely tastes better than plain old mincemeat-lasagne.

and it's so easy to make, you just layer the pasta sheets, the vegies and a milk-flour-cheese mixed up sauce, and chuck it in the oven. if you make a big one, that's dinner for the whole family for 2 nights!

thanks everyone thats helps alot the stores should put a huge sign saying vegitarian section!!!