Anyone transition from vegetarian to TF?

[wish]

I have been vegetarian for the last 18 years.  I use vegetarian loosely, as I have been what I call a "french fry" vegetarian. Sure, I don't eat meat, but I certainly don't eat healthy. I have always been drawn to TF diet, something about it just clicks in my head.  Lately, health problems are really inspiring me to make changes. Lab results show I am nearly pre-diabetic.  Time to cut out the soda and crappy carbs!!

We are already drinking raw milk, but I'm interested in learning more about the soaked grains, eggs, fermented foods.  As a family we feel this is a change we can all make to improve our health.  I even had a veggie soup tonight in a chicken broth dh made from a local chicken we got....and I hate to admit it....that broth was delicious!!

I not looking to start adding tons of organ meats to my diet or anything, just to be open to the idea of eating more traditional foods.  I'm scared of trying to wrap my head around eating meat....but clearly what I'm doing now is not working for my body.

Anyone else used to veggie and convert over?? How did you start eating meat? Do you feel any different?

TIA

[Koalamom]

I was vegetarian for 8 years. I tried it into my first pregnancy and was so sick. I then tried some chicken and have been eating meat ever since. The sickness went right away and I felt so amazing. I was kind of into TF even before eating meat but went full into it after I had my babe and learned slowly. I did end up overdoing it on the sourdough breads and soon found out that I am allergic to gluten. (runs in the family)
So now I am grain free TF and my kids are just gluten free TF.

[jess in hawaii]

I was veg for more than 20 years. My first two kids were veg, then when my third was about a year old, I started craving meat. I had NEVER wanted it all those years; I ate very healthfully and I knew all about getting the proper nutrition, although I never did feel like I got enough protein no matter what and I was chronically anemic. The very first meat I ate was venison provided by a dear friend at a Solstice sweat lodge, very clean, literally and energetically. After that I got some lamb from my neighbors who were culling their sheep. As in, I could see the animals from my kitchen window, knew they were happy, healthy and humanely slaughtered. I didn't eat meat often initially, maybe once a week, probably more like every two weeks. It was strange and slightly gross at first, but I felt so much better in a way I hadn't ever (I became a vegetarian when I was 11 and hitting puberty). I really tried to honor what my body was telling me, even if I still had a mental block. Now, 10 years later, we eat meat regularly, sometimes every day, sometimes not, but always several meals a week.  The hardest part was learning how to cook it, since I had only ever cooked vegetarian, but a few basic cookbooks helped with that. A TF diet really does feel good, but I'm still haven't worked up to the organ meats (don't think I really want to, honestly). Oh, and yeah, homemade chicken broth is the best! Sometimes when I haven't been able to eat anything else, I have craved and eaten it and instantly felt better.

[bodhitree]

Yes, I was vegetarian for 15 years and am now what my DH calls a "mea-gan." lol I started eating meat last spring after cutting out a lot of foods to try to figure out food intolerance stuff. Now I truly wish I had started eating meat a LOT sooner, as I believe vegetarianism caused many health issues for me and for DD (including DD's congenital heart defect). From everything I've learned over the past year, I now think of quality animal products as the cornerstone of a healthy diet (but of course veggies and good fats are also major components of my diet).

I'm not going to lie, it was really weird at first to be putting meat in my mouth and eating it. The weirdness has more or less worn off by now (nine months later), but I'm still working on learning to cook meat well. I started with bacon, as I remembered liking it and thought it might be a good "gateway" meat. That worked pretty well. Then I ate a lot of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for a while, since they are the tofu of meat. Now I'm branching out to various kinds of meats and am getting better at the cooking part. I'm pretty strict about avoiding gluten, and I won't eat factory-farmed meat, otherwise I would have gone to restaurants to try out different meats.

Currently I eat about 80% Primal and would love to get closer to 100%. It has made a huge difference in my health and appearance. Even my mom, who thinks I'm nuts to be eating the way I am, says I look healthier than I've looked in forever. I'm sourcing most of my animal products from local farmers, and I love my weekly delivery of raw goats milk and pastured eggs.

If your DH eats meat, you might have an easier time than me, since my DH is more or less vegan and neither of us knew how to cook meat. I've had to figure it out pretty much on my own. The Mark Bittman cookbook "How to Cook Everything" has been really helpful in learning basic stuff. If you've been a french-fry vegetarian, I wonder if you're eating enough veggies. Increasing the amount of veggies in your diet while you figure the meat stuff out might cause some positive changes in your health too.

[wish]

Thank you for the advice!! I definitely need to increase my veggies, no matter what diet I am on. I am going for overall health.  I am being drawn to TF, which surprises me as a vegetarian. But I think you guys got it right in saying we need to honor what our bodies are saying. I'm planning to take things slowly...anything I jump into too fast never works out. I love the idea of starting with bacon!  I always loved bacon.  I think the best way I can wrap my head around eating meat is to only eat meat that is local, organic, happy and humane life and death. Luckily we have quite an abundance of that here.  Quality over quantity. I don't know why this seems so scary for me, but it also seems like an adventure to healing. I love hearing the stories!

[jess in hawaii]

Originally Posted by wish 

Thank you for the advice!! I definitely need to increase my veggies, no matter what diet I am on. I am going for overall health.  I am being drawn to TF, which surprises me as a vegetarian. But I think you guys got it right in saying we need to honor what our bodies are saying. I'm planning to take things slowly...anything I jump into too fast never works out. I love the idea of starting with bacon!  I always loved bacon.  I think the best way I can wrap my head around eating meat is to only eat meat that is local, organic, happy and humane life and death. Luckily we have quite an abundance of that here.  Quality over quantity. I don't know why this seems so scary for me, but it also seems like an adventure to healing. I love hearing the stories!

 Yes to all of that! 

[craft_media_hero]

Yes, I did come over to tf from veg. I started craving meat in my pg then when hit his 3mo growth spurt and was bf constantly, my body went in overdrive demanding meat, like thats all I could think about for weeks!

I started with a whole organic chicken--I knew if I wanted to do it, then I needed to do it myself and not shunt the meat prep work off on omni dh. Soo I had been dreaming of bone broth, rinsed and cooked the whole chicken and put it on tostadas with lots toppings and got right down to the business of making bone broth!

This month is about 1yr in TF after 7 veg. I would say start with foods you enjoy and def get right on the bone broth if you are doing this for health benefits. Eggs, sushi, chicken were easiest for me but I made a goal to let go of my former food prejudices and really push my comfort levels and have since enjoyed carapaccio, brats, pate, you name it, I will try it coz I want to be open to all of the food choices that will nourish me.

I definitely feel a major difference in my mood/energy but not rly sure if there are measurable outward effects (well my skin is a lot less dry and my teeth/jaws no longer ache) coz visibly I have always appeared in good health.

I dont think you will regret this change. Take yourself out for sushi or steak and really dig in!

Seems like starting to soak/sprout grains/legumes and making a point to include good fats and cultured foods can have an immediate positive impact, too--pretty easy, like soaked beans cooked in bone broth on tostadas with real cultured sour cream; or brats on sprouted slice of bread drizzled with the pan cooking oils and top w cultured sauerkraut (the kind in the can at the gocery store is n ot cultured, but you can buy Bubbies brand or its rly easy to make at home too).

Also, I wanted to say that you probably do not NEED a tf book to get into the foodways--you can learn everything you need to know from reading online and honestly listening to your body. I have never read Nourishing Traditions or others like it and have heard mixed criticism from folks concerning it. This forum is a huge wealth of knowledge as aremany of the tf blogs/forums like Nourished Kithen and CookingTF and Culturesforhealth and many others.