On approaching my fifth year as a vegetarian I gathered some advice together of what to expect when becoming vegetarian and how to make your transition as enjoyable as possible!
Something that I really wasn’t prepared for was the amount of questioning I would receive from not only my close friends but people that I really don’t know at all. No matter what age you are or how long you’ve been vegetarian for, people are going to ask you why you don’t eat meat, what you eat and the most bizarre: how much protein is in your diet. I choose to combat this by constantly posting pictures of my delicious food – my Snapchat will always feature a little breakfast or lunch post. However, this still isn’t enough to escape the annual Christmas question after a cousin or an uncle holds up a sausage wrapped in bacon, looks at me from across the table and proclaims “ how can you not want to eat this?!” before gulping it down. I’m happy with sprouts.
Something else that I’ve learned along the years it that vegetarianism is so much cheaper than shopping as a meat-eater. My weekly food shops come to half the price of my flatmates’ – which is always a major bonus. With the extra cash vegetarianism allows you to become more flexible, try things you wouldn’t have before and even re-create you’re favourite veggie restaurant meals. When I’m at home I sometimes even make myself a vegetarian alternative to the same meal my family is having. I believe that as long as the people around you understand why you’ve made the choice then they’ll probably support you and try to make you feel as comfortable as possible during meal times!
Finally, there are some quick tips and tricks for new and experienced vegetarians to ensure that you’re enjoying your food as much as possible!
– Ordering for a vegetarian at restaurant is easier than I thought! If the vegetarian options aren’t to your taste you can always ask for a few ingredients to be removed from a dish or added to another – you’ll find that people are more than happy to swap things around.
– Always, always, always bring snacks with you whenever you go, whether it be a banana, cereal bar or some nuts, I never leave the house without a snack and it has to be said that I rarely return to the house with the snack. It’s an essential.
– Don’t be afraid to question certain foods and read labels. The way I see it is that I would rather be safe than sorry, there’s no point in politeness if you end up eating a jelly sweet that has pork fat in it, it’ll just mean that you’ll probably feel a bit gross and upset for the next few days and in my opinion it’s not worth that risk!
– Do your research. Make sure you know why you’re a vegetarian and if being vegetarian is a safe and healthy alternative for you. Ask your veggie friends questions and speak to your GP, you want to be having fun not constantly worrying!
Being vegetarian has allowed me to understand environmental issues better and I’m always content knowing that no living being was put at risk in the making of my food. However, I again want to stress that being vegetarian is a huge change especially for those whose meals revolve around meat, but with reasearch and reading I hope that if you are not converted, you are at least more open because being vegetarian is genuinely amazing.