Transitioning to vegetarianism

[dirtychinchilla]

Morning,

As per the title, I'm thinking about transitioning to vegetarianism. I don't want to be a binary vegetarian in the sense that I don't to claim that I'll never eat meat again, but I don't feel like I can, in good conscience, continue to eat the quantity of meat that I do. I'll probably eat meat on special occasions or if someone can't easily cater for it.

Just wondering if anyone else has transitioned to vegetarianism successfully? When I say transitioned, I mean that I don't want to go cold turkey, if you'll excuse the pun.

Anyone got any tips? I think it's going to be hard to change, but I want to do it. I also can't handle a lot of fibre and I'm lactose intolerant, so that limits my options a bit.

Any foods that really improved the transition or made it easier? (other than cheese)

Cheers

dirtychinchilla

 

[ttaskmaster]

Just start by wandering through some veggie recipe sites.
Mushrooms are ******* awesome little things and there are so many mushroom recipes, either on their own or as variants of meaty dishes, that I am part vegetarian just by the nature of the recipes. Same goes for things like eggs.

The Italians have a stack of amazing veggie dishes, as do many Eastern cuisines. Cheese is usually optional.
Some substitute products like Quorn can be helpful and some are actually quite good. Quorn do these Southern Fried Chicken Bites that you could eat the entire pack just by yourself.

 

[Alibaba99]

Worth looking at Indian recipes. A huge amount of their cuisine is naturally vegetarian (ie not a meat dish with the meat removed) and so the balance of the various flavours works.

 

[BUDFORCE]

You don't have to put a label on it.

But cutting right back on meat is probably not a bad thing to do at all, as you say the odd occasion or whatever.

I actually think the whole "vegetarian" thing people often do it to prove done kind of political point or they are just ******** in general and believe they are superior humans to those "savage" meat eaters. Some people genuinely dont like the thought of animals being killed and that's fine.

But I think cutting meat right back so you more or less vegetarian without making a fuss is a good thing, I eat meat sure, but a lot less than o used to and not often during the week now.

 

[dave28]

I have not done it myself but i would imagine during the transition period you could use meat substitute products. Some of them are actually ok and taste somewhat like meat.

I would try to fill my diet with a great deal of potato, pasta, rice and fruit / nuts

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Just start by wandering through some veggie recipe sites.
Mushrooms are ******* awesome little things and there are so many mushroom recipes, either on their own or as variants of meaty dishes, that I am part vegetarian just by the nature of the recipes. Same goes for things like eggs.

The Italians have a stack of amazing veggie dishes, as do many Eastern cuisines. Cheese is usually optional.
Some substitute products like Quorn can be helpful and some are actually quite good. Quorn do these Southern Fried Chicken Bites that you could eat the entire pack just by yourself.

Worth looking at Indian recipes. A huge amount of their cuisine is naturally vegetarian (ie not a meat dish with the meat removed) and so the balance of the various flavours works.

Very good suggestions, cheers. I'm not a huge mushroom eater, but I'm certainly a fan of Asian food.

You don't have to put a label on it.

But cutting right back on meat is probably not a bad thing to do at all, as you say the odd occasion or whatever.

I actually think the whole "vegetarian" thing people often do it to prove done kind of political point or they are just ******** in general and believe they are superior humans to those "savage" meat eaters. Some people genuinely dont like the thought of animals being killed and that's fine.

But I think cutting meat right back so you more or less vegetarian without making a fuss is a good thing, I eat meat sure, but a lot less than o used to and not often during the week now.

I'm completely on the same page as you with regards to labels. I don't want to be so fixed about it that I exclude stuff just for the sake of the label. But I also don't want to eat meat just because I can't be bothered to work out something better to eat.

My sister has been a vegetarian since she was 16 and to be fair to her, she's stuck to it (she's approaching 30). She made a deal with a friend to be vegetarian, and we've never been allowed to know what the deal was or who it was with. She only told her bloody husband when they got married! I think it's hilarious, but also annoying. She eats pasta and cheese for the most part, or did when we both lived at home.

I have not done it myself but i would imagine during the transition period you could use meat substitute products. Some of them are actually ok and taste somewhat like meat.

I would try to fill my diet with a great deal of potato, pasta, rice and fruit / nuts

So many carbs! I think you're right about the substitutes. The quorn southern fried chicken things that @ttaskmaster mentioned are awesome. I much prefer their crunchy nuggets to real chicken nuggets.

 

[Ahleckz]

I slowly transitioned to vegetarianism and now veganism for similar reasons. The biggest help, don't worry if you mess up. And sometimes you just crave something and that's OK as well. I had a cheeseboard during the England Final. I used to have a cheeseboard every week - this was the first one in over a year.

As for meal plans, look at my mealplan thread. I haven't updated it in a while as no one else seemed interested but most of the meals I've posted (including links to blogs where appropriate) are ready in 30 minutes using ingredients you can generally buy from normal supermarkets.

Discover tofu. I used to think I hated it, but it's really good (bar silken, that stuff is horrible!). The Toffuu brand is really good, no need to press it and it takes on whatever flavour you use with it. I like to make a dry rub and then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. Nice and crispy on the outside, with a great 'bite' inside. I also like to panfry it, or scramble it with turmeric and black salt to replace eggs.

There are heaps of good fake meats. For sausages, Richmond Vegan Sausages are probably the best (Richmond normal sausages are horrible weirdly!) but I like the ease of the Linda McCartney veggie sausages that are frozen and £1.40 for 6 from Lidl. Beyond Meat is good, but expensive. However, it's a nice treat.
My partner eats the fake ham/chicken slices but I just don't bother.

I note that you're a big fan of Asian food, that's probably 80% of what we eat and we don't miss the meat at all in it.

Also, paneer is better than any meat in a curry!

We don't eat a lot of carbs. I can't remember the last time we had potato (though it's on the menu this week!). Pasta is pretty rare, but I suppose we do eat a fair bit of sushi rice and basmatti. Fill up the plate with vegetables, they are tastier and healthier than carbs.

This is on our menu for the next week or so:

Aash Resteh
Vegan Enchiladas Verde (Simple Veganista)
Khoresh Bademjan (Persian Mama)
Vietnamese Pancakes
Banh Mi (Salad Hater)
Panzanella
Korean Spicy Fried Tofu
Chaat
Baked potato with mole sauce
Sesame fried aubergine with fig, flat bread and baba ganoush)

 

[One More Solo]

Some examples of substitutes we made in staple type meals:

Stir frys: chicken/turkey/pork to tofu or smoked tofu (Tofoo brand is amazing)
Curries: subbing meat for chickpeas or lentils and doing mixed veg curries (roast cauliflower, aubergine, mushroom etc), Quorn chicken pieces also very good
Chillis/stews: kidney beans, Quorn mince or smoked tofu

Beyond that there are a lot of very good meat substitutes these days. We like the following as examples:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/268163183
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/305437604
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/308837989

Vegetarian cooking means shifting away from the mindset of "X" meat on a plate plus vegetables.

 

[ttaskmaster]

Very good suggestions, cheers. I'm not a huge mushroom eater, but I'm certainly a fan of Asian food.

What got me started was a recipe for wild mushroom risotto, but there are SO many ways to do a veg risotto - Asparagus and broccoli, limoncelo, and even a strawberry one!

 

[Saint1972]

As some have already mentioned,Tofu(Tofoo brand the best imo),lentils and chickpeas are amazing,and mushrooms(Sainsburys do a Super mushroom fortified with Vitamin D and B12).
I found it really easy,went vegetarian overnight.Not eaten meat in 4 years. Sometimes i just stir fry a load of veg and chickpeas and sprinkle some nutritional yeast for flavour over it if i don't have the time to cook.

 

[Raymond Lin]

I've not had any meat today, and not by intent, just happened that way.

Just need a slight adjustment to shopping and intent when shopping. Tonight I am having steak though.

re Tofu...Silken stuff is the best lol You get them as a pudding in China, it's great. Mapo Tofu is usually made with Silken Tofu which is my jam. Make it with a little bit of chilli....Hmmm /Chef's kiss.

Although Mapo Tofu's the other 50% ingredient is minced pork!

 

[dirtychinchilla]

I slowly transitioned to vegetarianism and now veganism for similar reasons. The biggest help, don't worry if you mess up. And sometimes you just crave something and that's OK as well. I had a cheeseboard during the England Final. I used to have a cheeseboard every week - this was the first one in over a year.

As for meal plans, look at my mealplan thread. I haven't updated it in a while as no one else seemed interested but most of the meals I've posted (including links to blogs where appropriate) are ready in 30 minutes using ingredients you can generally buy from normal supermarkets.

Discover tofu. I used to think I hated it, but it's really good (bar silken, that stuff is horrible!). The Toffuu brand is really good, no need to press it and it takes on whatever flavour you use with it. I like to make a dry rub and then bake it in the oven for 30 minutes. Nice and crispy on the outside, with a great 'bite' inside. I also like to panfry it, or scramble it with turmeric and black salt to replace eggs.

There are heaps of good fake meats. For sausages, Richmond Vegan Sausages are probably the best (Richmond normal sausages are horrible weirdly!) but I like the ease of the Linda McCartney veggie sausages that are frozen and £1.40 for 6 from Lidl. Beyond Meat is good, but expensive. However, it's a nice treat.
My partner eats the fake ham/chicken slices but I just don't bother.

I note that you're a big fan of Asian food, that's probably 80% of what we eat and we don't miss the meat at all in it.

Also, paneer is better than any meat in a curry!

We don't eat a lot of carbs. I can't remember the last time we had potato (though it's on the menu this week!). Pasta is pretty rare, but I suppose we do eat a fair bit of sushi rice and basmatti. Fill up the plate with vegetables, they are tastier and healthier than carbs.

This is on our menu for the next week or so:

Aash Resteh
Vegan Enchiladas Verde (Simple Veganista)
Khoresh Bademjan (Persian Mama)
Vietnamese Pancakes
Banh Mi (Salad Hater)
Panzanella
Korean Spicy Fried Tofu
Chaat
Baked potato with mole sauce
Sesame fried aubergine with fig, flat bread and baba ganoush)

Nice, well done! I'm not going to kick myself for messing up either. You strike me as a man of many cheeeboards.

I like tofu. It's nice, and you can do all sorts with it. I'll have to start thinking of more Japanese/Chinese things to cook to compliment it. I've also heard good things about those Richmonds sausages so will give them a go. They could hardly be any worse than the meat ones!

I wish I could eat paneer! It's awesome. Your menu sounds great dude.

Some examples of substitutes we made in staple type meals:

Stir frys: chicken/turkey/pork to tofu or smoked tofu (Tofoo brand is amazing)
Curries: subbing meat for chickpeas or lentils and doing mixed veg curries (roast cauliflower, aubergine, mushroom etc), Quorn chicken pieces also very good
Chillis/stews: kidney beans, Quorn mince or smoked tofu

Beyond that there are a lot of very good meat substitutes these days. We like the following as examples:

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/268163183
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/305437604
https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/308837989

Vegetarian cooking means shifting away from the mindset of "X" meat on a plate plus vegetables.

Thanks for the tips on exchange. I think I'll have to go through the meat alternatives and find which I actually like. A lot of the quorn brand stuff I really haven't liked when I've tasted it. They seem to be aggressively peppery.

What got me started was a recipe for wild mushroom risotto, but there are SO many ways to do a veg risotto - Asparagus and broccoli, limoncelo, and even a strawberry one!

Wow. I can't say I ever eat risotto so that's quite interesting. I'll check one out

As some have already mentioned,Tofu(Tofoo brand the best imo),lentils and chickpeas are amazing,and mushrooms(Sainsburys do a Super mushroom fortified with Vitamin D and B12).
I found it really easy,went vegetarian overnight.Not eaten meat in 4 years. Sometimes i just stir fry a load of veg and chickpeas and sprinkle some nutritional yeast for flavour over it if i don't have the time to cook.

I think I had some of the Tofoo bites yesterday actually. My wife likes them.

Good on you dude!

I've not had any meat today, and not by intent, just happened that way.

Just need a slight adjustment to shopping and intent when shopping. Tonight I am having steak though.

re Tofu...Silken stuff is the best lol You get them as a pudding in China, it's great. Mapo Tofu is usually made with Silken Tofu which is my jam. Make it with a little bit of chilli....Hmmm /Chef's kiss.

Although Mapo Tofu's the other 50% ingredient is minced pork!

God I love Mapo Tofu. What a glorious meal. We bizarrely had it in a restaurant called AIN SOPH. journey Kyoto just outside of Nashiki Market after a very disappointing meal elsewhere.

https://www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Resta...urney_Kyoto-Kyoto_Kyoto_Prefecture_Kinki.html

it was unbelievably tasty, though very oily and particularly spicy. That restaurants was pretty cool though.

 

[Raymond Lin]

Mapu tofu is glorious, it's meat and tofu with chilli. Basically a bowl of umami flavours and the spices makes you want to keep eating. With it being minced pork and tofu it requires very little effort for the jaw and it goes down so easily. Mix it with some plain rice...it's one of those simply, satisfying delicious meal that is hard to explain to someone who doesn't eat tofu why it's so good. Very comforting too.

 

[dirtychinchilla]

Mapu tofu is glorious, it's meat and tofu with chilli. Basically a bowl of umami flavours and the spices makes you want to keep eating. With it being minced pork and tofu it requires very little effort for the jaw and it goes down so easily. Mix it with some plain rice...it's one of those simply, satisfying delicious meal that is hard to explain to someone who doesn't eat tofu why it's so good. Very comforting too.

I definitely need to make it before changing! mmmmmmm

 

[Ahleckz]

We make this Mapo Tofu fairly regularly. I don't recall ever eating the meat version, but this is very good (you won't find fermented black beans in Tesco but if you have a Chinese supermarket nearby, you'll find it there - along with lots of interesting tofus!)

To be honest, pretty much all of Meera Sodha's recipes are great and if you're looking for veggie/vegan inspiration you can't go wrong with her.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/oct/27/mushroom-mapo-tofu-recipe-meera-sodha

 

[dirtychinchilla]

We make this Mapo Tofu fairly regularly. I don't recall ever eating the meat version, but this is very good (you won't find fermented black beans in Tesco but if you have a Chinese supermarket nearby, you'll find it there - along with lots of interesting tofus!)

To be honest, pretty much all of Meera Sodha's recipes are great and if you're looking for veggie/vegan inspiration you can't go wrong with her.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/oct/27/mushroom-mapo-tofu-recipe-meera-sodha

Awesome, thanks! I hate leeks, but I'm sure I can get around that somehow.

Any tips on getting a proper Sichuan flavour? (paging @Raymond Lin)

 

[Raymond Lin]

Awesome, thanks! I hate leeks, but I'm sure I can get around that somehow.

Any tips on getting a proper Sichuan flavour? (paging @Raymond Lin)

In short, you need the peppercorn. Normal chilli and spices don't give that numbing feeling in the mouth. It's not that expensive, you can get it dried and it lasts forever. Cook it with some fresh chilli for a more complex flavour.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zheng-Feng...ocphy=9041106&hvtargid=pla-562381857574&psc=1

 

[dirtychinchilla]

In short, you need the peppercorn. Normal chilli and spices don't give that numbing feeling in the mouth. It's not that expensive, you can get it dried and it lasts forever. Cook it with some fresh chilli for a more complex flavour.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Zheng-Feng...ocphy=9041106&hvtargid=pla-562381857574&psc=1

Cheers. That is what I have, but maybe I’m not cooking it in enough oil or at the right temperature. You can always taste it, but it doesn’t quite taste how it smells. Perhaps that’s just what happens when it’s cooked.

 

[Ahleckz]

Cheers. That is what I have, but maybe I’m not cooking it in enough oil or at the right temperature. You can always taste it, but it doesn’t quite taste how it smells. Perhaps that’s just what happens when it’s cooked.

Are you grinding down the peppercorn, or using it whole? You need to smash it using a pestle and mortar to release those lip numbing goodies!

 

[dlockers]

Guess I was too ambitious with my post re; referral.

End outcome was get a Gousto subscription, they have loads of veggie options.