Contemplating Vegetarianism

Do you eat meat substitutes? There are a lot of decent ones out there (well, not really for bacon and definitely not for fish).

Look into seitan and quorn. You can just use these and make recipes with meat - just swap out. Also, look for recipes that include soy/tofu.

Main thing to be careful with if you do become a vegetarian is to make sure you get a good amount of complete proteins and keep an eye on your B12 intake (as well as iron and Vit D). Nutritional yeast is a good add to meals as it is usually fortified with B12, as is soy usually.

There are a bunch of sites out there with good vegetarian recipes. For example:

http://allrecipes.com/recipes/everyday-cooking/vegetarian/

glamazonnadiamarie1990 wrote: »

Brilliant thank you I have started introducing meat substitutes but pretty new thing to be honest. Hoping to try some vegetarian restaurants for ideas too. Research head on!

Welcome. It takes a bit of trial and error to find what you like - there are some awful meat substitutes and vegetarian recipes out there, but there are also some good ones.

You can also often find some good stuff at local farmers markets, although that will depend on where you live. I also find a good selection at my local 'hippie' grocery store - I am kind of spoiled as I live in a very 'alternative/vegetarian' location.

Other things you can do if you are not too worried about protein for that meal, are stir fries, pasta dishes etc - if you want protein, just throw whatever you prefer in. Indian food is usually good too - but I am a terrible cook so do not even attempt it.

I've been a veggie for almost 10 years now. I like quorn as a substitute but not really use it too often. If you're not a fan of cheese, try stir fries, curries or soups
packed with lots of veggies and flavours. For salad fillers, try salads based on different grains (bulgur wheat and couscous are my staples) to help keeping you full. For protein try nuts and eggs, but watch out for the high cal and fat (handful of walnuts in salads is nice for example). Other than that, browse your local health food store for meat alternatives and dare to try out some unknown fruit and veg, you never know what you'll discover.

glamazonnadiamarie1990 wrote: »

We have plenty of options living in Manchester Lots of vegetarians and vegans. My partner loves stir fries that is one of the few vegetarian meals he will get on board with haha

I moved to the States 16 years ago, but am from London originally. Even though I moved to the San Francisco area, which is very vegetarian friendly, there is still a much better choice in the grocery stores in the UK. When I go back to visit I actually go to the stores looking to see what they have and getting all jealous. For example, they do quorn here, but only the basic stuff - the range they have in the UK is really extensive in comparison.

good websites--Smitten Kitchen, Delicious Dishings, We are not Martha, Cookie and Kate.

I also don't eat meat, and agree with all the suggestions so far. Especially to watch your iron and b12. I was feeling tired all the time and found that making sure I got some leafy greens in every day helped with that.

I spent the last few months eating entirely veggie (no longer). If you are a vegetarian will you eat eggs and fish? if so this makes it a lot easier. I'd check out some Indian/Nepali/Thai recipes. There are a lot of easy vegetarian dishes that have a ton of flavor. The curries are great but there are plenty of easy dishes like egg fried rice/noodles etc that have plenty of calories in them.

Also do you dislike all cheese or only some types?

This is where I get all of my veggie recipes: http://www.thugkitchen.com/

Sounds like you might benefit from cookbooks and websites for vegans, since they will all be dairy free. My favorite is ohsheglows.com.

I eat a lot of eggs (from a coworker who raises them free range & happy), beans and lentils. Lentil tacos are great. I also try to eat fruits and veggies seasonally - lots of roasted veggies this time of the year. Mexican food, Asian food, and Indian food are good go-to meals as well. Just got huge thug kitchen cookbook and I love it so far.

If you like to cook this blog has wonderful recipes: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/

And this cookbook is my new favourite: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Modern-Way-Eat-Anna-Jones/dp/0007516703

Lots of great ideas, different ingredients and combinations.

I've been a vegetarian for one year and to be honest I don't really miss meat but I also made the switch to cook my own food from scratch when I turned vegetarian, I don't think I could have done it just based on my previous meat based recipes and replacing with meat substitutes.

8th day on Oxford Road is good, they have a nice cafe, but it's easy to spend a lot in the shop, haha. Cheap fruit and veg stall across the road near MMU too. For tofu (many types) and sauces, spices etc, the asian supermarket can be good. There's one in Ancoats and one on the road parallel to Oxford Rd near the car showrooms. I've become vegetarian recently and like 'Isa does it' it's vegan, but doesn't have too many weird unobtainable ingredients, except for liquid smoke perhaps. The recipes are really tasty and obviously, no cheese.

I've been vegetarian for 5 years. My typical day is oatmeal, based on recipes here: http://www.theoatmealartist.com/

Lunch is a spinach salad with grapes and goat cheese, or leftovers for dinner. Or eggs w/ toast and veggies if I'm home on the weekend.

Dinner can be beans, veggies, rice, quinoa, etc. Lots of one pot meals. Feel free to friend me for ideas!

I've been a vegan for almost four years now, and was a vegetarian for about a decade before that.

If you're not very interested in cheese, then I'd suggest looking into the Asian recipes - ivu.org/recipes is one of my favorite resources for delicious and flavorful vegan recipes. You can also consider big hearty salads, vegetable stir fries with tofu, tempeh, or seitan, oatmeal with protein powder and peanut butter (a personal fave, and sticks in my stomach like a brick!). I also love tofu scramble with lots of veggies and a baked sweet potato or roasted veggies on the sides. For inspiration, I'd suggest:

www.happyherbivore.com
www.ivu.org/recipes
www.blog.fatfreevegan.com

Oh She Glows and the Post Punk Kitchen also have great recipes, but they can be a little more complicated - I like to make big batches of their recipes on the weekends and bring them into work for lunch.

I love being vegan, and if you're willing to put a little extra effort into what you're eating, you might find that you love it too. I know that my soul is happier eating in a way that my conscience is cool with

Feel free to add/message me for support and ideas! Always happy to help fledgling herbies