Starting this topic because after having some misgivings about eating meat for years(we can have a discussion about that if it’s a topic of interest), I’m finally trying to move towards a more Vegetarian based diet. I’m not going cold turkey(pun unintentional), so in the interim I’m basically going to be eating a Flexitarian diet. I’m trying to make any planned meal vegetarian at minimum, but for now will eat meat if I’m in a situation where that is the most convenient option. I also don’t want to waste food that I’ve already purchased, so if I make a frozen pizza for example, it might have some meat on it.
As starting points. For people who have made this change in their diet, what advice would you have for someone making this switch? What was the most difficult for you? What foods do you miss the most, or did you miss the most at first? When dining out in a nice restaurant, what sort of food do you find to be your best option?
Hoping this can be a thread for ongoing discussion on this topic.
In the beginning, I left one day a week where I could go nuts on meat. After a couple of months, I didn’t even bother and went full vegeterian. That fell apart during covid but I’m back on the veggie train.
I suggest you try some brands of Tahini. It’s the perfect vegan sauce and we basically eat it with everything.
This is my favorite brand, Al-Arz.. You mix it with water, fresh lemon juice and garlic (if you want). If you’re a mayo/ranch guy it might help cut down on that consumption.
Simple stuff like oven-baked Cauliflower and Eggplants are good starts and super easy to make (that go great with Tahini).
I suggest you literally pick a different vegetable or two each week, buy a bunch and experiment with recipes.
I was a vegetarian for 10 years and for many other years I’ve done something like:
Almost no meat at home
Eat some chicken and fish (think it’s better for a couple different reasons)
Almost no pork
Beef maybe on a craving or if some place is supposed to have the world’s greatest whatever
with the exception to all of basically eating whatever I’m served at someone else’s house and eating anything that would otherwise get thrown out.
My biggest problem here is dairy. As an industry it’s not much better than beef. I try to quit/cut back sometimes, but usually gravitate back.
It’s been years since I ate much meat. It wasn’t a planned transition. Meat is expensive and for someone as lazy and ignorant about cooking as I am, difficult, messy and honestly just gross to prepare.
Now I’m learning more about cooking and also eating more though still not much meat. Every once in a while I’ll roast a whole chicken. That lasts like 2 weeks. I pan-roasted some pork chops last week and man, they were tasty.
Getting enough protein is kind of a problem. Supplements are expensive. I used to eat a lot of peanut butter on wheat bread but you have to be choosy about your PB because of hydrogenated fat. I’m not sure about my direction but probably never going full vegetarian.
Lol, Google gives me pretty much these same alternatives whenever I search X.
Admittedly, I’m not a perfect vegetarian. I’m not rejecting food people cook for me even if it has meat. If I’m travelling and local cuisine involves meat, I’m eating it because I’ve never tried it before.
So yeah I’m not one for ethical reasons. That just happens to be a side benefit.
My only reasons to not eat it - eat less - cut back or whatever are ethical. (both environmental and for the welfare of the animals). I’m just being less ethical when I do it, imo - though being polite and graciously receiving something someone gives me could be seen as something ethical to balance in those cases. But I still eat some meat (and plenty of dairy) just because I like it.
Faux meats can be good when starting out, but they’re certainly not necessary (or particularly healthy). Some of our staples (partner is carnivore, I’m plant based) are:
Stir Fry Veggies with Tofu and Fried Rice
Pasta with Impossible / Beyond Ground or Tofurkey Italian Sausage
Spinach Ricotta Pizza
Burritos, enchiladas, quesadillas with black beans, rice, veggies.
Lots of salad. Usually with falafel, hard boiled eggs or beans if I’m trying to add protein.
Roasted vegetables.
Go to breakfast is either a smoothie, tofu scramble with avocado toast, or eggs. I don’t buy meat, but I will eat it if my parents or friends cook it. If you have any particular go-to in mind that you’re afraid to miss out on, post it and I’m sure the hive mind can give multiple alternatives.
No, it will make you fat like a 40 year old 1st baseman.
You should.
Straight as in raw? It can work on certain things, but It’s not ideal as a dip. Straight as in dipping your fingers in a bowl of tahini sauce? Highly recommended.
To get started, try to add vegetarian entrees to your regular rotation by trying different things. Through trial and error, you will discover what you like and don’t like. Don’t get discouraged if you try a vegetarian dish and hate it. Some recipes are better than others. You really have to discover a new way of cooking and thinking about meals if you’re used to meat with vegetable sides. Vegetable lasagna is an example where I like it better than the meat version. If you go to shawarma places, get the falafel with hummus. The place I go to fries the falafel balls to order so it’s superb. Ordering pizza for me is always vegetarian. Bibimbap with falafel instead of meat. Portobello mushrooms instead of beef in stir fries. Most fast food places have a decent vegetarian option. Beyond meat burritos etc. And most restaurants are bringing surprisingly good vegetarian options as plant based food is growing in popularity. I’ve backslid during the pandemic and eat alot of meat now (more than I did before), so I don’t think I qualify as a flexitarian anymore or I’m a very weak one.
eta: Sriracha broccoli is the most addictive food I’ve ever made.
This has been the biggest single action for me that has helped me reduce our meat intake. We’re not vegetarian, but we’ve definitely cut back a ton on the amount of meat in our diet, all because it’s so easy to use the wok to make tasty, healthy, and fast plant-based meals.
Once you get the idea behind cooking in a wok, it’s also really easy to experiment with different sauces and flavors, because the actual process is basically the same whatever you’re making.
People think they could never live without food X or Y but in reality our palates are incredibly malleable and there are literally thousands of foods to choose from that all lead to the best life. Bacon was my favorite food in the world when I was 12 (the year I became vegetarian), and now I haven’t thought about it in years. Gimme some cashew butter babyyy.
It’s basically broccoli roasted with sriracha, soy and garlic. The broccoli absorbs it all and you get the crunchy broccoli with the spicy sriracha/soy combo. I’ll make a big batch and intend to save it for several meals, but I’ll start eating and can’t stop until I realize I’ve eaten half the pan.
The website I had saved doesn’t exist anymore apparently. This recipe is close:
