Plant-based diet for 6 weeks....

[*~Danielle~*]

So, we decided to go plant-based for our diet 95% of the time and have been doing it for a little over 6 weeks.  My children are 8, 6, and almost 4 yrs old and have had an omnivores diet with a heavy emphasis on meat their entire lives.  Making the switch for them is super crazy hard and I'm still giving them some meat things, yogurt, cheese and milk.  

But something that has totally surprised me is that the smell of raw meats makes me physically ill now.  This is completely bizarre because we raised our own meat and processed it ourselves up until 2 years ago.  But yesterday at the grocery, after I got all my produce, I passed through the butcher isle and almost gagged at the putrid smell.  I smelled death and it was nasty. Is this all in my head or has this happened to any of you???

[caiesmommy]

Happened and still happens. Years after becoming veg and I still can't stand the smell of the meat area. We try to avoid it all together but need to walk past it to get to the dried beans...sigh.

I also GAG like want to throw up in the middle of the store when I have to open the egg door to get Dh and kids their eggs. Dh is usually in charge of picking up the eggs. It's worse now that I'm pregnant but it's def an all the time thing. Smells like death and rot.
 

[sassyfirechick]

I was an animal science major (pre-vet) in college, and large animal dissections were a requirement.  Particularly the chicken made me stop eating chicken for a few years bc the smell was horrible.  I do eat meat still today, but it's minimal and I'm super picky about it and it has to have little to no smell when raw otherwise I can't touch it.

[Otepbunni]

That same thing has happened to me! 

I have been vegetarian for about 5 years now and the smell of meat makes my stomach flip. 

While I was pregnant ANY meat would turn my stomach and ruin my appetite. 

If you need any suggestions for great tasting Vegetarian foods and meat substitutes I would recommend Morning Star Farms. Me and my husband love their Bacon, chik'n nuggets, corn dogs and Chik'n strips. 

For dinner I make Mac N' Cheese with quinoa pasta and some Vegetarian Chicken Nuggets or Vegetarian Hot dogs wrapped in a crescent roll. They also sell lots of cook books with kid approved vegetarian recipes and Vegetarian times and whole foods have lots of recipes on their web sites for free. 

Good Luck!

[JonesiesGirl]

I think this is pretty common. Certainly it's the case for me, and my husband is sometimes a little bothered by the smell of meats as well. Good for you for switching to a healthy diet! You may eventually find that you have the same reaction to some of those highly processed fake meat products like vegan sausages or bacon or burgers (or you may not, it's totally individual). They're pretty bad for you, though, so it's not a problem!

[*~Danielle~*]

Glad to know that this is common and I'm taking it as a good sign that I'm really, truly avoiding animal protein and not just pretending.  I hope that makes sense.  My body is confirming to me that I'm making changes.  It is kinda a good feeling, even though strange.

[Doodlebugsmom]

My ds is 8 years-old, and vegetarian by choice (my dd is not vegetarian). He has always gagged when walking past the meat section in the store. He has resorted to holding his breath or breathing through his mouth when we're near that area.