My best friend became a vegetarian almost five months ago when she decided meat was unhealthy and she wasn't going to eat it any longer. I'm not a vegetarian, but I applaud her efforts and support her. I am concerned, though, that she is not getting enough protein and possibly other nutrients in her diet. She mostly eats salad, potatoes, and fruit. She does not care for beans, but has tried them a couple of times in the last few months. She has not tried tofu and really isn't interested in trying it. She is very, very picky about food and usually won't even try something if she has never seen it nor heard of it before. The only sources she is getting protein from is nuts and cheese, and occasionally an egg, but she doesn't really care for eggs and only tolorates them. She is already quite thin and doesn't need to lose any weight.

Her birthday is coming up soon and I would love to get her a book on the vegetarian life-style and possibly a cookbook. She has three teenagers so a cookbook would need to be family friendly even though she still cooks meat most nights for them and her dh. I know there are seasoned vegetarians on here and I am hoping that some of you have suggestions for a really good book or two on the subject.

By Ginny~moderator on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 06:49 pm:

Nuts and cheese and eggs have a reasonable amount of protein, but she really should be looking at tofu and beans. I'll ask Scott for some recommendations - he is a good cook and has, off and on, been a vegetarian. Problem is, vegetarian cooking does mean actually cooking, not just grabbing food from the frig.
Does she at least eat peanut butter?

By Amecmom on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 08:45 pm:

We've been doing a 21 day detox diet that does not allow us to eat any meat, eggs or dairy. My big concern when I started it was the lack of protein and calcium. We do drink a shake three times a day that has protein and I was surprised to find out that some veggies do have protein in them.
Maybe she might consider eating protein bars along with her vegetarian diet?
A cookbook is a great idea. I don't have any suggestions though.
Ame

By Shellyg on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 10:11 pm:

I've been a vegetarian for over 10 years. There is a great cook book called "Skinny ••••• in the Kitch" Tell her to check it out. Awesome, healthy recipes.
I did become anemic when I first became a vegan, and started eating fish on the advice of my Dr and am now a vegetarian.

By Shellyg on Tuesday, April 15, 2008 - 10:12 pm:

Oh the blocked word rhymes with Kitch buts starts with a "b".

By Colette on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 06:30 am:

My dd became one at age 10, she was adamant and it was fine with me as long as it was not all pizza and pasta. She is now 17 and very healthy. Vegetarian times is a cooking magazine for vegetarians that is pretty good, I also have "The Clueless Vegetarian" cookbook for her.

By Tunnia on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 07:26 pm:

Thank you! I will check out those books and that magazine! Anyone else have any more suggestions?

Ginny, yes, she eats natural peanut butter.

By Chai~latte on Wednesday, April 16, 2008 - 08:44 pm:

The best book is called "Becoming Vegetarian", it's not recipe based although it has a few recipes. It is written by registered dieticians who are themselves vegetarians and it talks about all aspects of becoming a vegetarian through all stages of life and how to ensure you are consuming adequate nutrients and how to handle friends and social situations diplomatically. If she is avoiding eggs and dairy you may want to consider buying "Becoming Vegan" as vegetarians and vegans have slightly different nutritional needs.


Here are a few book suggestions:

How to Cook Everything Vegetarian - a good beginner’s book

The Vegan Kitchen - good if she's trying to avoid dairy and eggs as well.

Veganomicon - is the hottest newest Vegan cookbook on the market

A fun cookbook would be: Vegan Cupcakes are taking over the World

One-dish Vegetarian Meals by Robin Roberston - this was my favorite for a long time she also has one called Meat and Potatoes for Vegetarians - a really good one for beginners.

I'm so happy that you are being supportive of your friend, one of the most difficult things for me when I became vegetarian/vegan were well intentioned friends providing advice about something they knew very little about; I almost had to end a friendship because of it. I think buying a book for her is a great idea, it shows you care but is not overly intrusive.

I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about vegetarian or vegan diets.

By Tunnia on Thursday, April 17, 2008 - 07:33 am:

Thank you for the suggestions, Chia~latte! I know she has the Veganomicon, only flipped through it once and hated it. I'll look today to see if she has any of the other books you mentions, but I don't think she does.

She says that some day she may go vegan, but she doesn't feel inclined to do so now.

Thank you all again! I am not vegetarian and have never researched it so I have no idea which books are good and which are not and I want to get her one that she will really sit down and read and learn from because I do believe that becoming a vegetarian requires some knowledge and not just stopping the intake of meat.