Anyone torn between vegan or vegetarian and paleo?

[mel j]

Local raw honey would be a tough one for me to give up, that's for sure! It is delicious and I believe also super healthy. It's funny you mentioned that b/c I stopped using refined sugar and processed honey a few weeks ago, hopefully for good. I also passed on getting maple syrup (though we'd probably still get it, but since we're getting the raw honey we skipped it partly since I'm not sure it's the best quality anyway.) So raw honey is the only sweetener I'm using besides dried fruit - for now, anyway, and I'm trying to limit it. Curious to see any of your vegan recipes that were hits with your family! I've sort of been doing the same with sneaking in recipes to try (but not forcing my husband to eat a certain way) - some of the ones that I've tried that were hits include sweet potato black bean chili w/ quinoa, and last night I made honey lentils w/ veggies (just a little bit of honey added at the end.) My husband is definitely a carnivore and thinks he'd have trouble giving up meat, but he really liked those two dishes

I watched all of the food films I could find online free that I could - Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, Food Matters, Forks Over Knives, Hungry for Change, etc. and I recently tried to watch Earthlings but I couldn't watch some parts of it at all. I did watch some random videos on youtube about how animals are treated. So very sad. They definitely played a part in making me reconsider my own personal food choices - I used to be nonchalant about most of it, as long as I wasn't eating "too much" obvious junk food, I thought I was eating healthy. One of my vegan friends is always posting stuff trying to sway people to the vegan side and I'm always curious enough to check out her links, too...

I'm glad that most who have posted on this thread feel good/better with whatever path you chose

[Sakari]

This is such an interesting thread! What I find really confusing, yet really great - is that it seems you can find awesome success stories about any "method" you research. Someone out there loves it and has a testimonial about it! I mean, for me, it's been kind of paleo/primal, limiting dairy and grains and processed sugar, really amp-ing up the veggies ... but I have gone through a LOT of stages, and I'm not sure what I'd really call myself right now! and I'm sure it'll keep morphing.

DH (without knowing it) reminded me today that for awhile I had a thing for raw foods - and I think I need to remember that! I feel good with raw fruits and veggies. (and I love my juice! )

I really enjoy those food documentaries too. Maybe I'm "plant-based primal" right now?

[CherryPie]

I've been a vegetarian since I was 15-16. Had 4 big babies and nursed for several years on this diet and have very healthy kids.

That being said, I am not someone who tries to shove vegetarianism down other people's throats. I think if you stick to whole foods in general, you can't wrong- whether that includes meat or not.

[KaleidoscopeEyes]

Originally Posted by CherryPie I've been a vegetarian since I was 15-16. Had 4 big babies and nursed for several years on this diet and have very healthy kids. That being said, I am not someone who tries to shove vegetarianism down other people's throats. I think if you stick to whole foods in general, you can't wrong- whether that includes meat or not.

My biggest baby (10 Lbs 4 oz) was a vegetarian baby

[vjbakke]

I would recommend the documentary The Perfect Human Diet.

[mel j]

Thanks, I'll have to look that up!

Just stumbled on this article: http://jdmoyer.com/2012/01/03/paleo-...-of-straw-men/

[LandSalm0n]

Paleo works best for me. I don't do well without lots of protein

[iris0110]

I have been pescatarian for years (vegetarian except for fish) because I can't tolerate meat, I get sick any time I eat it. If I made a list of the foods I can't eat it would get pretty long actually, I have stomach issues. 2.5 weeks ago I decided to try out a plant based diet and eliminate soy and gluten at the same time. We just eat veggies, fruit, nuts, seeds, lentils and beans. My stomach problems have improved significantly after the initial cleansing process. I am assuming that I was reacting to something in my old diet. Eventually I will test back in some of the foods and I don't intend to stay on such a restricted diet forever. I do not feel like there is one perfect diet for everyone. There are plenty of really bad diets out there but I think you can eat healthy for your needs with or without dairy, meat or whatever. Personally I don't eat meat because I don't eat meat and I don't care if other people do. One day I hope to be able to eat fish again (I need my sushi). I would like to eat soy as well as I enjoy tofu.