Here’s How I’ve Done It For the Past 7 Years
I chose to become a vegetarian when I was twelve for a couple different reasons. My mom was born in Sri Lanka and my grandparents on her side are Buddhist. While Buddhism isn’t strict about being vegetarian, it is recommended and practiced by many Sri Lankan Buddhists including my grandmother and uncle. Buddhism was definitely a big factor in my choice to be vegetarian but another big factor was animal cruelty. In school I remember watching a documentary on the treatment of pigs in factory farms and it horrified me. I decided then that I was going to be a vegetarian and I have this distinct memory of talking to my mom and pitching her on why I should be vegetarian and listing plant based foods I could eat that would give me enough protein.
My journey as a vegetarian has not been linear by any means. For the first couple of months, I eased myself into it by having one day a month that I would still eat meat until eventually I didn’t have the craving for it anymore. I hit a small road block when I realized two years into being vegetarian that I wasn’t getting enough iron and was close to being anemic. Anemia and iron intake is a big problem for a lot of people on plant based diets but it can be remedied by iron supplements and seeking out iron rich foods like spinach, eggs, lentils, tofu, broccoli, and almonds (I am very proud to say that I was able to donate blood to the red cross this year and when they tested me for my iron levels they were high!!). I don’t eat any meat directly but also am not strict about gelatin or other less obvious meat incorporations like chicken stock. I try to do my best to avoid those things but I also won’t turn down a meal because I don’t know every last ingredient in it. I also had a nonvegetarian meal last summer, and while that was not the best experience and made me more certain I didn’t want to go back to eating meat, I am glad that I did it.
Being vegetarian does not have to be an all or nothing experience. There is this common mindset, even among vegans and vegetarians, that you have to be perfect about avoiding meat or animal products but that only serves to drive people away. There are ways to incorporate aspects of the plant based diet into your lifestyle that will not be too disruptive. Pescatarianism is a common alternative where people still incorporate fish into their diet and stay away from chicken, beef, and pork. Some people choose one week a month to be vegetarian or just try to incorporate vegetarian meals in their everyday diets.
Vegetarian food has made leaps and bounds in terms of accessibility and quality in the past few years. There are many plant-based alternatives for when I am craving a good burger, and so many ways to make a mushroom taste amazing. Even here in the Midwest, the majority of restaurants have at least one vegetarian option, if not many. Major fast food chains like Dave’s Hot Chicken, Chipotle and Burger King have all released plant based versions of their classics. There are a plethora of recipes online that help to make plant based cooking easy and accessible. I have found recipes for tempeh bolognese, marinated tofu, lentil pastas, roasted chickpea salads and many other easy and delicious meals.
There are several benefits to being vegetarian aside from just saving animals. First off, I have found that groceries are a lot cheaper when you don’t have to pay for meat. Meat alternatives like Impossible or Beyond meat are pricey, but plant-based protein like chickpeas, beans, and tofu are not. Secondly, a vegetarian diet has been proven to lower risk for diabetes and cardiovascular disease as well as some cancers. But to get these benefits, like with most foods, you have to eat a balanced diet. One of the common misconceptions of being vegetarian is that it means automatically eating healthy. Unfortunately, this is not the case especially considering a lot of beloved junk foods are also vegetarian. Finally, being vegetarian is good for the environment because eating a plant based diet reduces greenhouse gases. Also, growing crops requires less land use than raising livestock.
Being vegetarian is by no means for everyone. But making the choice to go vegetarian does not need to be as daunting as it may seem. There are many ways to test the waters and find modifications that can be made to more easily suit your lifestyle and preferences. In the past seven years, I have tried so many new foods and new ways of cooking vegetables and tofu and have overall really enjoyed being vegetarian.