An Easy Guide to Going Vegetarian

It’s that time of year again, National Vegetarian Week! (15-21 May 2017). Veggie week is run by the Vegetarian Society and encourages meat eaters to eat veggie in order to celebrate the week.

I meet a lot of people who tell me that they would like to be vegetarian but they do not have the willpower, find it too overwhelming, or just can’t give up eating meat. Therefore, I have compiled a handy guide outlining a few different ways to go vegetarian!

Because it is National Vegetarian Week this article is focusing on vegetarianism rather than veganism. Please leave a comment or tweet us if you would like an guide to going vegan!

Go veggie for one day a week

This is a very simple way to start your veggie journey. Pick one day of the week and don’t eat meat that day. It’s not daunting or difficult and doesn’t require a complete overhaul in your pantry cupboard. Many restaurants have meat-free Mondays, and this is an easy way to start introducing vegetarian recipes into your everyday life.

Go veggie for a week

This is a little more challenging than having one meat free day a week, but a week is a great place to start – you can even alternate weeks until you find that the veggie weeks are way tastier! This also gives you a chance to discover veggie recipes and perfect them!

Go veggie for a month

This is inspired by Veganuary where you can make the pledge to go vegan for thirty days. Lots of vegans start this and decide to carry it on afterwards! This can still be applied to vegetarianism. Try it for a month and you’ll probably find it easy to carry on.

Do it for your health

If you are into health and fitness, which most of us are, then go veggie for your health! Often vegetarian diets replace meat with something more nutritious, i.e. fruits, vegetables, pulses, lentils or nuts. This equals less illness, less deficiencies and more energy! It’s also harder to get food poisoning as most harmful bacteria thrives on animal flesh. Suffer from stomach aches often? Try cutting out meat and/or dairy.

Look after the environment

It’s no secret that a vegetarian diet helps the environment. The meat industry is enormously harmful to our environment, it causes more pollution, more wastage. Pigs, cows, sheep and chickens get their energy from plant-based foods and so can you!

Trim the waistline

It’s more difficult to eat junk food when you are vegetarian, so you no longer need to worry about being tempted by Big Macs and Big Whoppers. Studies have shown that vegetarians are on average slimmer than meat eaters, as well as living longer.

Do it for the animals

It’s no secret that the meat industry is horrific and causes suffering to innocent beings. If none of the above reasons appeal to you, then do it for the animals and give the voiceless a voice!

It’s kinda gross – what you’re putting into your body

Let’s face eat, eating meat is kind of gross. It takes a long time to digest and for the time its in your digestive system it is rotting. As soon as the animal dies, it’s flesh begins to decay. Eating decaying animal flesh is not something that sounds very tasty (no thank you), but a big bowlful of sweet strawberries does (yes please!)

Research, research, research

If you put your head in the sand and ignore the horrors than animals face then it doesn’t meat it’s still not happening! Being aware is half the battle.

You can still have bacon sandwiches

There are so many meat substitutes out there for almost all forms of meat. Sausages, burgers, bacon, chicken, steak, chorizo, meatballs, hot dogs, mince meat, scotch eggs… you can find a meat free replacement for virtually everything therefore there’s nothing to miss! Many alternatives are vegan too and a great source of protein and other vitamins. There are also alternatives for fish, including Quorn Fish Fingers (vegan) and Linda McCartney Scampi (vegan).

Cut it out cold turkey (without the turkey)

This was my preferred method. I stopped eating meat and fish when I was eighteen. I’m now 21 and I haven’t eaten any meat in three years. I don’t miss it at all and it’s not something I even think about! My boyfriend also stopped eating meat and has been vegetarian for almost a year now, he is also lot healthier and has more energy.

Cut it out gradually

My mum decided to become pescetarian (eating fish) and then transitioned into a vegetarian diet. You can cut out meat gradually by stopping eating red meats, then white, and then fish, until you are ready to go vegetarian.

Go to a vegetarian restaurant

Go to your local veggie/vegan restaurants, and once you taste how delicious the food is you’ll never look back!

Don’t give up

Being vegetarian isn’t a competition nor is it a challenge. If you eat meat one day after months of not eating it, this doesn’t mean you have ruined your whole vegetarianism and the day count restarts. Mistakes happen, just carry on and try your best!

Resources

Below are some resources with help to go veggie:

• PETA – Making the Vegan or Vegetarian Transition
• National Vegetarian Week – Homepage
• Vegetarian Society – Thinking of Going Vegetarian?
• TryVeg – How to Switch to Vegetarian Eating
• BBC Good Food – A balanced diet for vegetarians
• Happy Cow – Becoming Vegetarian: Vegetarian 101
• Vegetarian Guides – Welcome to Vegetarian Guides