Becoming a Vegetarian(ish)

*Unpopular opinion* I'm not a huge fan of meat. Chicken is yummy, bacon is beautiful but the rest of it...not really fussed. Which is partly why I made the decision all the way back in the summer of last year that I was going to reduce the amount of meat I ate at Uni. My best friends were either veggie, vegan or planning on doing the same, and hanging around with them made me realise how delicious veggie-based meals could be. And while I've been at Uni, I've actually managed to jump straight onto vegetarian bandwagon and am loving it...well, mostly, I still eat meat when I'm home with the fam, but we'll dive into that later. Call me a fraud. But I do generally prefer my veggie lifestyle; I feel healthier, lighter and a bit of a happier person because of it.  So, without pressing my no-meat agenda on you, here's some questions I quite often get asked about my diet, or things people often say to me, addressed and answered.

^making a delish Bean & Pepper Chilli with Jacket Potatoes^

why would you do that? Well, as I already mentioned, I tend to prefer veggie meals, and that's the main reason really. I discovered that while feeling guilty for eating meat around my non-meat-eating friends. I think veggie meals can be a bit more exotic and exciting (unless you live off Quorn nuggets and chips 3/7 days a week like I got into the habit of last semester). My flat mate Emma joined the veggie life with me in September for fear of food poisoning, which, considering how much of a disastrous cook I am, was also a consideration. And also there's the environmental benefits: there's more info on that here if you're interested, but eating meat can cause all sorts of issues for our planet. 

is it easy? I don't think I could ever do it. That depends on how much you like meat. As someone who didn't always find it an integral part of their diet, I've managed to slot into veggie life pretty easily. I wasn't expecting to become fully vegetarian straight away, but I just didn't seem to miss meat at all. I still don't. I think with the fantastic meat substitute brands - like Quorn, especially with their "chicken" range and "sausage rolls" which make up a pretty huge chunk of my diet, and Linda McCartney - it can be fairly easy to adapt. If you have given it a go and found it too hard, then there are ways to get into vegetarianism gradually; to start with I was planning on only eating meat at weekends, it just didn't work out that way. Another good way of giving it a road test is to continue eating meat when your with friends and family (who might not want to cook veggie food for you anyway), becoming pescetarian (where you still eat fish),  or only eating meat with one meal a day - perhaps just some ham in your lunchtime sandwich and eliminating meat from dinner.

what do you eat instead? I'm pretty rubbish at cooking, my darling Emma usually handles that department, but neither of us seem to have found coming up with veggie meals too difficult. Yes, it's no secret that some meat substitute, chips and beans make an appearance fairly frequently, but especially this term we've been a bit more adventurous. It's vital you keep your protein and iron intake high still, and that's where Quorn and Linda McCartney come in very handy. Curries, Mexican food (like fajitas and stuff), pasta dishes, stir fry, etc etc, are all staples in our recipe repertoire, and can easily be modified using these meat substitutes. I also freaking love beans. Always have. And they are a God-send for getting that much needed protein in your diet, as are animal by-products like milk, cheese and eggs. Getting all the veggies/plant-based proteins I would sometimes sideline for meat means my meals are that little bit healthier now too. I've already mentioned that I feel lighter after eating a veggie meal, and having a new diet has put a bit more excitement and adventure into cooking meals (proper cheesy there, Ellie), and yanno...always exciting to order something different at your fave restaurant (heads up, the Nandos veggie menu is beyond incredible). Many of our cheap and easy veggie meals have been inspired by Vegetarian Nosh for Students by Joy May.

why do you still eat meat at home? Mostly because my family are still keen meat-eaters and I would probably have to buy and cook the meals myself, which I can't afford to be doing. I respect that though: I didn't expect them to change their diets for me. However, I don't always feel too guilty for eating meat every once in a while when at home. There are people who run businesses and earn their living by providing us with meat: without those customers, they wouldn't have any standard of living. 

This is something that I've considered writing about for a while, but I've always felt like a bit of a fraud vegetarian. However, as well as adding a bit of variety to my lil blog, I thought it'd be quite interesting to let you in on. And the best bit about my new diet? I can still eat custard creams. 

From, 

Eleanor

(Photo creds to Emma (of course), ty)