Easiest way to become vegetarian?

AARRRGH

Hello

I hope some of you guys can give me some advice.

I personally think it is cruel to eat meat (my appetite is not more valuable than their life, etc.) so I would like to try to become a vegetarian.

I have a lot going on in my life, so for this to succeed it needs to be a painless as possible.

Are there any simple ways to get the protein (etc.) my non-meat diet will be lacking?

Is something as simple as picking the vegetarian option everytime my best option?

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

Silent Partner

Firstly, congratulations on your decision. I believe everyone has their own reasons for turning veggie and it's a great step to take. There are plenty of resources on the net (google be thy friend!) and there is also an Irish Vegetarian Society. The UK Veg Society website is a good resource too. The majority of cooking websites will have vegetarian sections. PETA have some good stuff. There are so many sites our there and these should provide you with any dietry questions you may have.
For myself I know that at first, it's a very conscious process of thinking about each meal especially when you are eating out. What I would recommend is look at what you eat each meal and make it veggie!
When buying food, check ingredients. There are great meat subsitutes out there (eg. Quorn) and if you are a bit creative in the kitchen, the sky is the limit.
You may find you'll get a few funny questions from friends and family (Q: Do you not eat fish? A: IS FISH A VEGETABLE? NO? No food with a face, as my girlfriend says).

If you are living in Dublin, Cornucopia on Wicklow St. (a few doors down from Tower Records) or Juice on Georges St. (a few doors up from the George) will give you a great flavour for vegetarian food and show the multitude of options, dishes and ideas that can be done.

Well done!

I think you have a better chance of success if you phase old habits out and new habits in slowly.

Are you a student? I don;t think that the food available for vegetarians in eateries is well balanced or nutritious.
If I end up eating out for a week or two in college, I start to feel run down.

Protien doesn't seem to be a consideration for chefs cooking for veggies
I include a good source of protien in every meal, and make sure that I meet my daily requirement which is 60gs.
I also find my diet is naturally low in fat, so I take fat supplements like starflower oil and milled flax seed.

I think learning to cook simple nutritious things for yourself is key to being a successful vegetarian.

chanianaus

Give Indian food a shot,I am from India and was surprised with amount of meat consumed in Ireland/Europe . With majority of population/restaurants in India being Veg. There is lot lot of veg options avail.

Good Luck

dregin

Go on the dole. Not being able to afford it has left me pretty much meat free for the last month or so.

kraggy

How about you post a list of your normal meals up to this and we'll amend them for you?

That should make things easier for you.

Welcome to vegetarianism. Your life has changed for the better

dregin

BTW, Cornucopia are about to release a humongous cookbook. Not sure how big it is exactly but it's somewhere around €40 and ya can get it from October 5th from Cornucopia itself, if I remember correctly.

Tar.Aldarion

At first you could still eat what you do but replace it with fake meat. Indian food is also easy and delicious.

Nature Boy

Yeah definately start with fake meat. You can directly replace the meat you used to use with the 'fake' stuff. Calling it fake may make it sound horrible but most of them are quite tasty (you do get some nasty ones though). My favorites are:
Quorn pieces
Realeat vege mince
Redwood lincolnshire sausages
Quorn crispy fillets
Quorn nuggets
Dunnes stores veggie keivs

Then you can start experimenting a bit. Using tofu, beans, lentils etc instead of the meat.

Tom65

Hi. I have a similar question. I recently became vegetarian (moral and economic reasons), but I'm living in Stockholm, which makes finding food difficult. There's a lot of great vegetarian restaurants in the city, but there's nowhere to buy fake meat near me, as well as a lot of other things included in Irish and British cookbooks. Can anyone recommend some basic meals with vegetables, pasta etc (basically, things I can definitely get here)? Thanks!

sweet-rasmus

Try experimenting and making your own pasta sauces. Minestroni is also good to try and a great filler. And perhaps a risotto (so many types!). Have a look at vegweb ( http://www.vegweb.com/ ) and search these and other dishes for heaps of inspiration

oh! Try making soups too! Not difficult at all and you can be creative as you like. The possibilities are endless