I’ve started my journey to being a vegetarian. It’s not been easy.
Currently following the 4 legs to 2 legs to no legs to none method.

Vegetarians- how did you make the transition? How long did it take? Any tips and guides? Any must make recipes?

Non-veggies, feel free to take the mick and enjoy those pork scratchings 😀

Do the transition over a long period. Say 80 years or so.

Keep away from the smell of bacon!

Good luck by the way.

There are loads of brilliant recipes for making truly tasty food. A word of caution, do not make your own vegi-burgers and take em to a barbi, the bloody meat eaters take em all and tell you how nice they are while you suck on a lettuce.

Vegetarians- how did you make the transition? How long did it take? Any tips and guides?

Sorry to be flippant – but just go to bed and when you wake up the next day stop eating meat, it’s an overnight thing! No fazing required.

I’ve done it twice. Once about 20 years ago and then after going back to eating meat about 4 years ago again a few months ago. 20 years ago we hardly ate any meat anyway for financial reasons. This time I didn’t eat much because my wife remained veggie so I guess it was easy as I was mostly weaned off before making the change. This time the main thing I missed was the full range of the menu when going out and having a steak as a treat.

Only advice would be to stop the temptation to replace meat with cheese – sure way to becoming fatter as you switch. It’s so easy now – so much more choice in the supermarkets and when eating out than thee used to be. We still use some of the quorn style ‘substitutes’ once every couple of weeks but to be honest I think that’s just us being lazy.

it takes a while to see food you can eat rather than see food you cannot.

however it was so long ago, and i did it overnight, i cannot offer any practical advice.

Difficult depending on whether or not one has ‘food issues’. Otherwise instantaneous, it’s super easy to learn basic nutrition either online or a night in with a good wholefood/veggie book, a pad and a pen to write a shopping list.

Eating out has become much less challenging over the last two decades, but small town pubs are still mostly rubbish for veggie food

We cook recipes from amongst others Ottolenghi, Anjum Anund, the Palomar, Carluccio etc. If you use good flavours and have a mix of textures then life will be good all round. For example if you use Bulgar wheat in chilli then the texture is very satisfying.

cokie – Member
I’ve started my journey to being a vegetarian.

Out of curiosity; practical or ideological reason for such transition?

Cheers!
I.

Vegetarians- how did you make the transition? How long did it take? Any tips and guides? Any must make recipes?

Like above, made the decision and then stopped. However this does depend on how and what you cook, and who else is eating with you. The important thing is to make sure you’re still getting what your body needs, and every body is different. Certainly calcium and iron and the two that spring to mind as being plentiful in meat, but it’s not too hard to factor in. Depending on your reasons for it, don’t beat yourself up either.

Otherwise there’s loads of very good recipes out there; it’s a damn sight easier than it was!

Edit: This:

We cook recipes from amongst others Ottolenghi, Anjum Anund, the Palomar, Carluccio etc. If you use good flavours and have a mix of textures then life will be good all round. For example if you use Bulgar wheat in chilli then the texture is very satisfying.

Cheers for the advice guys.
I’m finding it easier than I thought. Big thing that I realize is how much processed food I used to eat when out and about.

I love cooking, so vegetarian dishes add a new dimension to it. Plus lots of home made soup.

I think it’s just the protein aspect I’m still working on. Rather easy to get fat and carbs in your diet. I’ve noticed my muscle recovery is suffering a bit.

Struggling with cutting it out full stop because I cook all the time with my better half and she loves meat.

IvanMTB- Ethical and environmental reasons for me.

Pulses, nuts (try toasting them) loads of stuff will give you protein. Don’t go carb heavy especially the poor quality pasta and white rice. We use a lot of veg often raw (a mandolin is your friend). Prepare brilliant tastes.

Marry one – then the decision is made for you

the protein aspect I’m still working on

This is a bit of a myth – unless you lift weights at a very high standard- as we do not need that much- and all the recovery stuff i have seen has been veggie

As for protein beans , pulses, cheese , milk, eggs and nuts or soya protein/whey powder or pea protein

Never try to explain your dietary choice to meat eaters – and you’ll be asked again and again – just smile and change the subject!

flexitarianism

Firstly good luck

Recipes: Curries !! Herbs & spices become more important, fresh produce too. A lot of meat based cooking is lazy just having the meat as the star of the show. So much great Italian too. Visitingg a few fully vegetarian restaurants is useful for ideas.

I am not vegetarian but eat meat maybe twice a week. Made the change pretty quicky. Note I do eat fish so maybe easier. Also as an fyi we eat virtually no pre-prepared ready meals.

As well as the usual already mentioned above, there are tons of meat substitue products in the supermarkets. Quorn and Linda Mcartney do a fair bit. Some are awfull whilst others are pretty good. Work your way througb the range and see what you like. Warning: the quorn scotch eggs are extreemly adictive.

the protein aspect I’m still working on

I wonder if this is sometimes also shorthand for ‘star of the show’. Depending on how traditionally british you tend to eat people are used to have a slab of high protein ‘star’ with a bunch of veggies in various stages of process arranged to the side to make up the full plate. Veggie meals don’t always quite work like that.

You need to find your own mojo, what works for some might not for others. Cut down over a period of time or go cold tofurky.

I like products like Quorn as it means you still get a protein stick or slab or chucks or whatever in a convenient format just like with the meat alternatives. Bangers and mash, hot dogs, chilli, spag bol, burgers with all the trimmings, etc etc. Part of this is just a mindset thing; you wouldn’t turn your nose up at a chicken burger because it’s not made of beef, so why should vegetable protein be any different?

OTOH, a friend of mine hates the texture of meat or anything vaguely resembling it he so won’t touch the stuff. He’s gone the other way (which is arguably healthier), lots of veg and grains and stuff. To my mind that’s probably better, but it’s a bigger leap from a carnivorous diet than just simple replacement.

Wafer thin ham? 😉

Never try to explain your dietary choice to meat eaters – and you’ll be asked again and again – just smile and change the subject!

+1

😆

Oh yeah – Tesco sausages. I wouldn’t normally condone shopping from them, but they do have a good ‘meat replacement’ veggie range and their sausages are my personal favourite.

I woke up one day and couldn’t face the idea of being responsible for death anymore and haven’t eaten meat again since that day. I recommend fidnign some kind meat alternatives so you don’t have to give up your favourite stuff. Some suggestions –

Sausages: Sainsburys Cumberland style and the Quorn one sare good. I quite like the Linda McCartney ones too but not everyone does.
Beige food: Fry’s and Quorn do great nuggets, escalopes, breaded fillets etc.
Mince: I reckon soy mince is nicer than Quorn mince but both are good. The Fry’s one is gross.
Burgers: Fry’s and Quorn are great again. Morrisons do a nice own brand one.
Crispy duck/pulled pork etc: holy shit the veggie versions of these are great.

Past that just cook whatever you used to that wasn’t just ‘meat + whatever’. Any kind of stew/soup/casserole/baked dish/stirfry/curry etc can be made veggie. You don’t have to start from scratch with a whole new set of recipes.

Ethical and environmental reasons for me.

When in uni (12ish years ago now), in the context of geography/demographics studies we were taught that eating meat helps reduce our (detrimental) environmental impact. This was based on a comparison of the square hectares needed to feed an individual if hunter-gatherer or vegetarian or meat-eater.

From an environmental point of view I think eating meat isn’t nearly as problematic as how the animals are reared, and how much we over eat and throw away.

Back to the point though – best way to eat veggie: find the sikhs and/or hindus in your area and learn from them. They make vegetarian food so good I could quite easily forego steak and lobster!!!

there are tons of meat substitue products in the supermarkets.
…
Some are awfull whilst others are pretty good

That’s a very good point. They do vary quite wildly both between brands and products. Stuff that replaces flavoured meats tends to work particularly well, as you can just replicate the same flavourings. The Tivall hotdogs are indistinguishable from (what I vaguely remember now of) Plumrose ‘pork’ hotdogs, for instance, and Tesco’s own brand aren’t far behind. The Quorn hotdogs OTOH, not that great.

Quorn mince is a handy staple to have on hand for stews and chilli and such, to add a bit of protein. The thing to watch though is you can’t boil it for a week like you might do with meat, or you end up with slurry. Either flash-fry it first (which is what I’d do for a chilli, along with a few drops of MSG / Marmite / soy sauce maybe) or chuck it in ten minutes before the end of cooking a sauce (eg, spag bol). The larger Quorn chunks don’t really suffer from this, it’s just the mince that can be a bit disintegratey if you overcook it.

Sorry to be flippant – but just go to bed and when you wake up the next day stop eating meat, it’s an overnight thing! No fazing required.
I’ve done it twice.

Seems like good advice

20 years ago we hardly ate any meat anyway for financial reasons.
This time I didn’t eat much because my wife remained veggie so I guess it was easy as I was mostly weaned off before making the change.

But you’ve never tried it personally 😉 😆

As an omnivore the only things that allow me to enjoy a vegetarian meal are tangy cheese and spices. And a little more salt than usual on the top.

From an environmental point of view I think eating meat isn’t nearly as problematic as how the animals are reared, and how much we over eat and throw away.

Yes. Most studies seem to talk about intensive US style beef. I’d like to know the environmental impact of hill-reared Welsh lamb (since you can’t really do much else with the land) compared to flying legumes around the world.

Wafer thin ham?

I’ll say one thing for the carnivores, they never cease to come up with original and witty jokes that we’ve never heard before.

I think the issue for many people (me included) is that simply replacing the meat with beans just isn’t satisfying. Maybe some find it easier, maybe that’s why some people complain about veggie food and others don’t. Perhaps we have different guts and different brains.

Hence why I try to find things that do make it satisfying, as mentioned in my earlier post.

I think the issue for many people (me included) is that simply replacing the meat with beans just isn’t satisfying.

Don’t do that, then.

I don’t, that’s what I was talking about.

Ah! Misunderstood your meaning, sorry.

Yes. Most studies seem to talk about intensive US style beef. I’d like to know the environmental impact of hill-reared Welsh lamb (since you can’t really do much else with the land) compared to flying legumes around the world.

I went down this route – a meat eater who only ate responsibly and ethically reared meat from locations that made sense environmentally. Or as other people liked to say, a fussy f****er. It was just so much easier to go back to being veggie – took the thinking and rationalising out of it. Especially when I really only ate meat when at friends houses or at a pub/restaurant.

If I every get to own a welsh hill farm (or bit there of, or even next door) I’d go back to eating it then. Ideally it wold have a river with trout and salmon at the bottom of the valley!

Thinking about it.. plain unadorned meat stuck in a hot pan can be one of the most incredibly savoury and amazing experiences. Vegetables just aren’t like that.

The only veg ingredients I can think of that are as amazing in their pure form are cheese and spices. I think mushrooms probably could offer such a complex taste experience, but personally not much of a fan.

If I every get to own a welsh hill farm (or bit there of, or even next door) I’d go back to eating it then

Just buy Welsh lamb or free range chicken from Asda, if you want to. Or your local farm shop. Not trying to persuade you, just saying that local more eco-friendly options are available. You can probably get wild meat too.

Just buy Welsh lamb or free range chicken from Asda, if you want to. Or your local farm shop. Not trying to persuade you, just saying that local more eco-friendly options are available. You can probably get wild meat too.

As I said though – I don’t eat it at home so only whats available in restaurants etc. Which to be fair is pretty good now. And then friends see you eating meat and then you turn you nose up when at theirs as their meat is ‘not good enough’. That’s how it’s perceived anyway.

Free range chickens – covers a variety of conditions that.

Eating out has become much less challenging over the last two decades

Yep, I went vegetarian about 35 years ago and it was a bit harder to find stuff.
If you want to know what it was like back then just vists middle America.

Agree with the overnight approach though, but all depends why you are vegetarian. If it is moral/ethical enlightenment then why not immediate. If for health/other reasons then I suppose it doesn’t really matter.

What is disappointing is that the number of vegetarians doesn’t seem to be any higher (in % terms) than it was 40 years ago. Thought a few more people would have cared by now.

Thought a few more people would have cared by now.

Well that’s quite a combative statement….

and lo it did come to pass that the thread became about molly

For the last few years I’d give up meat from my birthday in mid-November to Christmas – six weeks. This year I carried on into the new year. Now I don’t miss meat at all. Not even bacon butties!

I suspect it’s like fags. Once you nail 6 weeks the attachment is purely psychological. Maybe meat is just a bad habit too…

For sure. “We’ve always done it this way” is a poor but very compelling reason for doing things.

I had it for a while with alcohol. I got into the habit of having a drink whilst making tea. It got to a point where I didn’t think about it, didn’t necessarily want it, it was just my routine; stick my headphones on, pour a drink, start cooking. I’ve knocked it on the head now, but breaking that habit was surprisingly difficult – not because I was an addict per se but because it was just part of the routine then all of a sudden when I stop I’m denying myself of something. I suppose smoking is the same; if you always have a cigarette after a meal say then you’ve got this “x then y” mentality and that’s hard to break.

Rather than viewing it as depriving yourself of something, look at is an opportunity to try lots of new things. I was never a big meat eater in the first place so it wasn’t a massive change for me, but my diet is immeasurably better since I went veggie. It took a lot of the trauma out of eating (in hindsight I’ve always had an issue with eating meat), I’m a lot more experimental in the kitchen and am making and eating things I wouldn’t have dreamed of in my 20s.

Fajitas for tea tonight.