Vegetarianism for a meat lover.

So how do veggies get round wine? Most of it is not veggie

Most beers are now though

Pizza, make yer own. Home made sugo, ye can make loads of it, and loads of bases too, mozzarella, rocket, parmesan and garlic oil.

Yum.

So how do veggies get round wine? Most of it is not veggie

One of:

1) Don’t drink wine.

2) Track down vegan-friendly wine.

3) Decide you don’t care and drink it anyway.

… pretty much the same as literally every other foodstuff on the planet, thinking about it.

I shall add a vegetarian haggis to the list of things to try

It’s pretty common in Scotlandshire, I’ve had it a couple of times and enjoyed it but I’ve never had ‘real’ haggis to compare it to.

Tbh I think I’d miss eggs and cheese more than meat, being a veggie wouldn’t be much of a chore, really. I’d have to work a bit harder a being Vegan.

I have thought about it. I don’t see the difference between been veggie and drinking non veggie wine and being veggie and eating beef!!! Your either a veggie or not.

Only if you’re aspiring to a label. And labels are for other people’s benefit, it’s easier just to say “I’m vegetarian” than to present someone with a comprehensive 15-page list of things that you do and don’t eat.

Plenty of people don’t eat red meat but do eat chicken and fish, for instance. You really can’t see a difference between trace amounts of finings and a steak?

I went “meat free” about thirty five years ago. I was living on my own and opened the fridge one day – the only contents were two (meat) sausages. So I fried and ate them and turned the fridge off*. I’d been cutting down on meat consumption anyway so it wasn’t that much of a leap.

Back then it was a lot harder to get veggie stuff in cafés, etc. but found various recipe books, Madhur Jaffrey for Indian recipes and Sarah Brown for “European” ones. At the end of the day it’s just finding interesting ways to put things together. It’s got easier over the years as vegetarianism has become more mainstream.

Having grown up on a farm I’m not against meat consumptions: if it was me or a cow then it would be “sorry Daisy …”

* The house had a cold slab so things like butter and cheese kept on that.

So how do veggies get round wine? Most of it is not veggie

http://www.barnivore.com/ is your friend

I’m not that fond of wine but the increasing availability of craft beer’s been a good thing for veg*ns. Real ale is generally fined with isinglass (fish) – craft brewers are pushing unfined, cloudy beers. Watch out for lactose which they are using in ‘milkshake’ IPAs, and some imperial stouts etc., but otherwise it’s almost all vegan.

I went “meat free” about thirty five years ago.

Probably about 25 for me, it would’ve been the early 90s sometime. But TBH I was never a big meat eater to start with so it wasn’t a huge change, I think I’ve always had a problem with it deep down.

I guess I’ve almost been vegetarian all my life, bar baby food. I’ve never eaten fish, a meat burger or sausages, I tried chicken once. I’d have things like chicken soup or oxtail soup, but I’d strain all the bits out and lace oxtail soup with tons of pepper. I’ve had hot dogs, beef gravy, Bovril, and that Spam-a-like deli luncheon meat stuff. That’s probably about it. Had a meat chilli once, drunk at a mate’s party, I think that was probably the last meat I ever ate.

My mum used to say that as soon as I was old enough to say “no,” I did. I was a terribly fussy eater as a kid (and I still struggle today but nowhere near as badly) but in hindsight I think meat was a big part of the problem.

Going back to @chrismac’s question; for me it wasn’t about poor Daisy or anything like that, rather I just find the concept of eating dead flesh revolting. I’d be squeamish about handling it / prepping it raw, and having someone take care of the wetwork to make it unrecognisable just seemed hypocritical. It took me until my late teens / early 20s to realise that if I didn’t want to eat the stuff then I didn’t have to, and I was lucky enough to live in a part of the world where I had that option.

That’s why I don’t have a problem with wine, it contains an animal byproduct sure but it’s not “meat,” I don’t have that same connection / revulsion. It’s also why the “yes but bacon” argument is moot for me, far from pining for a bacon butty I find the stench of frying bacon nauseating.

… oh, and it’s also why I’m not a “preachy vegetarian.” I couldn’t give a rat’s arse what anyone else eats, that’s their lookout. Eat meat, don’t eat meat, eat hot gravel and broken glass for all I care. It’d be good if the omnivores returned that favour more often too, but hey, this thread is surprisingly troll-free so far. Which is nice.

I don’t see the difference between been veggie and drinking non veggie wine and being veggie and eating beef!!!

Can you really not see the difference?

I don’t see the difference between bean veggie and drinking non veggie wine and being veggie and eating beef!!!

Someone has a beef with the concept 🥁

I ate a ton of gnats last week for hypocritically going on a warm evening bike ride. Hypocritical. Then I ate a bag of scratchings with some ale. Didn’t even check if the ale was vegan as the wagon I’d fallen off was too high for to see the labels and anyway my high horse was already halfway to the next County.

Quitting meat is proving to be perilous in so many unforeseen ways 😬

Well I managed the week without a hitch, did have a tuna mayo roll one day mistakenly mind you. All in all a positive experience, I’ll certainly make a few of the things I tried again and will continue to try some more things I never got round to trying. Biggest surprise was the veggie pizza, normally it’d be some meat feast job but thoroughly enjoyed the veggies version. I won’t be going full vegetarian but will cut back majorly on the processed stuff and will try to contain the meat eating to one meal a day if at all. Still to try the haggis and chilli, as well as an Indian dish.

Nice one OP. Must admit since dropping meat off the menu I’ve been enjoying a much more varied diet and world of flavours/textures. As somewhat of a food-addict it’s really hitting the spot especially as I enjoy experimenting with cooking.

Put these king oyster mushroom ‘rashers’ on your list, they taste mouthwateringly good. In a BLT or with egg on a sarnie, or just for snacking, dipping in sauce etc.

mushroom rashers

Biggest surprise was the veggie pizza

Goodfellas (I think) do a vegan ‘falafel’ pizza which is really good. It’s in the frozen section and my local supermarket helpfully stocks it in an entirely different place to the rest of the pizzas. There’s no cheese on it, which suits me just fine, but there’s no reason you couldn’t lob a handful on if you so desired.

The greatest pizza known to man, the margherita, is what you want….😎

Cauldron sausages are good as others have said. Brush / spray with a little oil, bang ’em under the grill, then stick them in a giant Yorkie with a pile of mash, drown in Bisto Best onion gravy. Nom.

Stopped eating meat a few months ago on a whim and tried these this evening, bloody gorgeous. Not far off normal sausage action!

I’ll need to give those a bash. My 12 year old daughter would be horrified if she knew we’ve been serving up veggie haggis, she’s proclaimed it as ‘the best haggis ever’ last few times we’ve had it…. 😂

i see no reason not to resurrect this thread after finding it again today…..

i want to eat more veggie meals but am usually put off by the long list of ingredients in the recipes, which would mean a dedicated afternoon round the supermarkets acquiring them, and then probably never using them again…..

been looking at how to make seitan today, again, seems a bit of a faff.

getting back onto the OP and the ‘veggie for a meat lover’ topic, would you say that by going meat-free youre losing protein intake? or are lentils/split-peas/beans etc pretty much the same protein? i know its probably far more complicated than that with amino acid profiles etc, but in general can you reach the same protein macros?

thanks

been looking at how to make seitan today, again, seems a bit of a faff.

I can’t be arsed either. But mainly because I’m not a fan of seitan. I never worry about protein as long as eating a weekly balanced and varied diet of grains, leafy greens, fresh veggies, nuts and pulses. Also like neighbours hen’s eggs and eat about two or three a week. I add (B12) nutritional yeast flakes in recipes here and there.

When I ate meat and dairy it was pretty much all wheat, potatoes, cheese, pasta and pork, with regular milk chocolate treats. So was no-doubt deficient in a lot of minerals and nutrients. Since cooking more wholefood vegan/veggan from scratch I’ve enjoyed more variety and taste. When feeling lazy/time-poor and not bothered/haven’t time to cook I’ve learned to be smart and keep a small chest freezer full of batches I cooked earlier. Only two of us here so always cook enough for six or eight and then freeze the meals in all the empty takeaway tubs that I saved up over years of eating like a lazy manchild!

Main meals this week have been 1. chilli and wild rice, 2. bubble and squeak topped red lentil shepherds pie, 3. Linda Macs cheat-burgers (own hack) on brioche, crinkle cut oven chips 4. homemade chunky coleslaw (Mrs P’s coleslaw recipe is basically a meal), 5. fresh pasta and mushroom ragu, 6. Bowl of winter veg soup with turmeric and ginger and a baked spud on the side.

Breakfast have overnight oats with fruit and nuts or a fruit salad,or toast and peanut butter. Lunch (that isn’t just an apple or a muesli bar) is a rare thing but I’ll once in a blue moon have fry-up brunch with Richmond vegan sossies or the Cauldron ones mentioned above/or oven-roasted oyster-mushroom slices, beans, mushroom, local egg, sourdough toast

Will try and post up recipes 1-6 if I get time. Some are mentioned on STW elsewhere

i want to eat more veggie meals but am usually put off by the long list of ingredients in the recipes, which would mean a dedicated afternoon round the supermarkets acquiring them, and then probably never using them again….

Except once you’ve got a stocked larder this problem will go away.

would you say that by going meat-free youre losing protein intake?

The 21st Century Western world generally eats more protein than it needs anyway, because it’s easy to do so.

This is an absolutely terrific book for any diet:

I don’t really enjoy thinking about eating animals’ organs and innards these days and vegetables, cheese and fruit are much more complex and interesting than meat. All that cheap post-Brexit growth hormoned meat and $2 chickens will devastate health, run for the hills!

i want to eat more veggie meals but am usually put off by the long list of ingredients in the recipes, which would mean a dedicated afternoon round the supermarkets acquiring them, and then probably never using them again….

That really makes no sense (unless you are planning never to cook again!)

Also, supermarket herbs and spices, dried pulses, etc etc are generally a rip-off Buy at local wholefood store/market/and/or asian supermarket/and/or online from similar for considerably better quantity and quality.

1. Best Damn Vegan Chilli. I use reasy-cooked refried/pinto beans (Luchito brand from supermarket) buckwheat grits and red kidney beans. Dial the chilli powder down on the recipe unless you are Texan/Mexican!

https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/soups/best-damn-vegan-chili-ever

2. Red lentil stew. A good staple. Versatile. Easy to make. Economical. Very nutritious. Really tasty. Tip – eat any lentil dish with rice or other grains for a ‘complete protein’. Not necessarily together. Although this is v good served with rice.

Also v handy for cottage pie filling, I just make the stew with slightly less water/stock (1.5 cups vs 2) Then make bubble and squeak by frying a diced onion til soft/browning then adding 50/50 mash potato and greens (for greens I use 25% boiled then mashed brussel sprouts and 25% boiled shredded cabbage)

Put the mash in the frying pan with cooked onions, mix, flatten with spatula and fry gently turning frequently when bubbling. About 5 mins each side. Put the red lentil stew in oven dish and top with the bubble and squeak, raking with fork into high ridges. Cook in oven until bubbling and browning on top.

https://www.produceonparade.com/produce-on-parade/copycat-amys-lentil-soup

3. Gourmet cheatburger

Vegan recipes

Deep fried everything and fine dark Belgian chocolate.
And gin
Source: have been vegan forany decades.

I went vegeterian a fortnight ago.

TBH I dont miss “meat” at all. Plenty of other stuff tastes nice, you can grill/fry/roast just about anything as the centrepiece of a meal, why limit it to the same chicken/beef/fish/pork options every meal?

The things I miss are just that “things”, like pork pies. Gregs might make a decent vegan sausage roll, but you cant juat walk into a deli and find a choice of 10 flavours of chickpea pie, theres 10 pork pies, and one vegie one.

I have thought about it. I don’t see the difference between been veggie and drinking non veggie wine and being veggie and eating beef!!! Your either a veggie or not.

How can you tell if someones vegeterian?

They’re the one being lectured to by some pedantic so and so who probably shares too many bacon memes on facebook.

If you really want to be that pedantic, the fish guts are decanted out with the yeast.

You may as well argue that beer isnt vegan as the spec for grain contains an acceptable level of rodent droppings and hair!

Just been to Green’s in West Didsbury… worth a trip for meaty not meat dishes to inspire you… so full now though.

The things I miss are just that “things”, like pork pies. Gregs might make a decent vegan sausage roll, but you cant juat walk into a deli and find a choice of 10 flavours of chickpea pie, theres 10 pork pies, and one vegie one.

Ah yes, the ever-popular “vegetarian option” which is take what you’re given or **** off.

And I appreciate it’s supply and demand, they’re not going to sell 12 different varieties of hummous pie. But it irks me when they do this in restaurants with things like burgers, there’s just no reason for it. They’ll have a list of half a dozen different configurations of burger and then the “vegeburger” at the end. It’s just swapping one patty for another, why can’t I have the Tex Mex burger or whatever only with a soya (or chicken, fish, lamb) burger in it instead of beef?

Aside, I visited my mum today. She told me she’d been into town earlier and at her age there’s only three shops she really needs any more: Specsavers, Boots and Greggs.

Specs and drugs and sausage rolls.

Gregs might make a decent vegan sausage roll

No chance! It’s as bad as their meat one 🤣

Cornish Bakehouse are worth a go IME

If I want old-fashioned 1970s party-style sausage rolls then just bake some frozen Linda Macs. They are really good! Also good cold.

https://lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk/our-food/frozen-range/vegetarian-sausage-rolls/

Not a proper meal though. More of a fatty snack.

Quick masoor daal (red lentil daal) always goes down well.

With rice/nan.

Or tarka daal

As a strictly speaking non-vegetarian, I resent not having the hummous pie option as I would go for that over industrialised gristle and subcutaneous fat any day. These places serve up cheap face fillers to help employers who pay cheap wages and provide no canteens.
Have a good look at the people in the queue to help you plan your future self.

getting back onto the OP and the ‘veggie for a meat lover’ topic, would you say that by going meat-free youre losing protein intake? or are lentils/split-peas/beans etc pretty much the same protein? i know its probably far more complicated than that with amino acid profiles etc, but in general can you reach the same protein macros?

Over the summer for around 8 weeks I tracked my macros. Protein goal was 111g which is probably over what a sedentary person needs but I’m fairly active on the bike.

The challenge I found keeping the protein high was finding solutions that didn’t put me well over in fat intake. There’s quite a lot of veggie protein options, but many are high fat.

I’ve been on/off veggie for 30 years… usually tempted back onto meat by getting drunk with my brother and eating bacon butties as post beer munchies… Personally, it’s all about balance, good home cooked food, decent quality whatever you’re cooking and non of the processed, high fat/salt/sugar false meat alternative shyt – though appreciate it’s got its place…you can get fat being a veggie too..mmmm cheese.. Do like some of the Bosh recipes, Hugh F-W’s are good, original Cranks books, look online too – Cookie & Kate blog is fun, try food deliverers such as Mindful Chef, Abel & Cole, Gousto for all breeds of tucker. Experiment, add spices, herbs, vinegars – make cooking fun and start small. Mushrooms chopped small are good for bolognese sauces, base for veggie burgers and a pastry trapped wellington with other veg and nuts. The Bosh veggie lasagna for example is awesome, but take aaaaaages to make! If you love meat, you could find the texture and ‘something to get your teeth into’ missing with veggie food, see how you get on…I love curries (paneer for extra protein – see Curry Guy veggie book), halloumi as salty goodness, homemade soups, omelettes, risottos. Happy cooking and eating, let us know you get on!

Stopped eating meat a year ago. Killed most of my own, cut back on shooting so decided to bin meat . My oldest tried it with me.
It’s actually easy enough and there are plenty way to “cheat” by using meat free burgers, sausages etc etc.
After that initial period though, you simply learn how to cook, and prepare to become intimately acquainted with cauliflower.

I’m interested to know if, one-year-on the OP thinks the one week experiment had any difference to his diet today.

I’m not veggie but I guess my meals each week lean more towards veggie than meat, probably at a minimum 60/40.

I find actual Quorn products rank, the mince I find has a texture of soggy cardboard. I much prefer to use actual mushrooms, but don’t stick with the obvious field mushroom try different varieties as they have slightly different textures and flavours.

My principle problem with going veggie is twofold, first I love chicken and bacon, appreciate this isn’t the point. Second I have quite a sensitive digestive system and lentils and beans do me in, as in can’t sleep and need to be kept outdoors, too many veg has a similar impact too and I’m already in the bog frequently enough!

The challenge I found keeping the protein high was finding solutions that didn’t put me well over in fat intake. There’s quite a lot of veggie protein options, but many are high fat.

I find I actually crave less junk though. So a few grammes of fat in some seeds at breakfast is offset by not eating chocolate 🤣. Probably because im eating more like 7-10 portions of fruit and veg!

Also I’ve probably eaten a lot less carbs as Ive tried to avoid the temptation of pasta.

As a result my “problem” has been getting enough calories, Ive been loosing about 3lb a week!

I was aiming for 100g of protein a day and easily achievding it, after day 3 I stopped counting. Just swap any snacks to higger protein ones rather than sweets/crisps/bread. Fats vs carbs i didn’t track, but then it seems most “healthy” diets these days advocate more of the former anyway so Id not be concerned unless you ended up eating cheese as a staple food.

Specs and drugs and sausage rolls.

OK you get a thumbs up for that. 🙂
Now inter is beckoning I’m getting into soup mode.
Today is a sweetcorn with an onion, a chilli and a red pepper coarsely blended and served with a swirl of soured cream, and a bit of coriander.
It’ll be great after finishing the gardening whilst watch the replay of the DH.
I’m doing the F1 live so am steering away from any DH feeds for a while.

The mushroom rashers

https://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/mushrooms-2/#post-10663808

Also I’ve probably eaten a lot less carbs as Ive tried to avoid the temptation of pasta.

As a result my “problem” has been getting enough calories, Ive been loosing about 3lb a week!

‘Problem‘ solved by reintroducing pasta 😎

A few days ago cooked fresh pasta and a semi-homemade sauce made with tomatoes, garlic, fresh herbs (*2 handfuls of watercress, 3 handfuls of fresh basil), dried porcini.

The base sauce was posted out to us from MIL, a Poundland deal in a packet named ‘Dolmio Veggie Goodness’ (garlic and lentil) So just added the above to it.

To be fair it was the most delicious pasta thing I’ve ever eaten. Not sure what ‘cut’ of pasta it was. Can anyone in the know help out? I just reheated some for brunch:

https://images2.imgbox.com/c4/42/MeRXGuzW_o.jpeg