Starting fresh!

I totally get where you're coming from. I'd actually recommend just visiting a local farm as many have shops on site so you can have a nosy at how they're kept as you pass through. I love seeing happy chickens! It makes me sad when you see the pigs though as, more often than not, they're kept on concrete. I understand why (from a farmers perspective) as they rip everything up. They're great for clearing unused land covered in bramble better than doing it yourself, but are a nightmare if you actually want your turf intact.

I hope that, with the decline in meat/meat product consumption, there'll be less livestock bred for eating so I won't have to worry about seeing unhappy piggies or cows hanging around waiting for their day... as you'll inevitably see them too, if it's a farm that covers most of those things too.

I'm a vegetarian by choice but I have this conversation often with my bf - that if you're in a position in which someone has made you food (without being aware of dietary requirements) or you have no other choice, then I totally get why meat is eaten. Especially to prevent that animal being wasted if it'll just get binned because you didn't eat it. Being vegetarian is generally cheaper (even buying a 1kg bag of chia seeds), but if someone else is just stocking up on meat, and you have no cash to fund your own supplies, then I can see why you'd eat it. It's not ideal but when situation is what it is, there's little you can do about it until you're in a position to purchase/grow your own stuff.

I find the easiest thing is to start simple as time is often an issue for me - my staples are stirfries, veggie burritos/spicy bean wraps, spicy veg soups/broths, veg curry, roasted veg with something like couscous or spicy rice. I pretty much throw lentils into anything I can. Chia into smoothies, cereal etc.

If you like veggie stirfries, that's fine, but I actually don't eat them that often. I stock up on bulk items like lentils, couscous, rice, pasta, quinoa, frozen fruit and veg, oats, nuts & seeds, dry fruit, tinned beans/pulses (mixed) etc... Then I work around what I feel like. Vegetable lasagna takes a while to cook but not that long to prepare, you cheat a little if you don't want to make the sauce yourself. Same with vegetable curry - that's so easy, especially if you buy prechopped veg and just get the extra veg you fancy to go in it (like broccoli). I always throw in a few balls of frozen spinach too. Soups are so easy also, especially if you get the soup packs of veg as they're pre-chopped. Asda's ready soup packs come with herbs and spices already in them, and they're pretty darn cheap. My favourite is making my own spicy butternut squash and carrot soup - 1 bag of chopped butternut squash, carrots... roast the butternut squash, boil or roast the carrots. You can add veg stock if you want it thinner, add some spice (I use cayenne) then blend. I also add cooked red lentils before blending if I want it more filling.

What kind of foods do you like?