why i became vegetarian – #ThisGirlEats

I haven’t eaten meat for six months now. I told myself one day, yep, that’s it. I’m going vegetarian. And, surprisingly, I haven’t looked back.

Read: The Moment I Decided to Become a Vegetarian

It’s hasn’t always been super easy, but it actually hasn’t been anywhere near as difficult as I thought it would be either. Nonetheless, there have definitely been a few things to learn along the way…

Transitioning made the whole thing possible.

It started with leaving meat off our weekly shopping list to cut costs. Then we decided to only eat meat on weekends or when we went out. Then my boyfriend went vegetarian and I set myself some 30 day challenges to see if I could consistently go without too. And then, eventually, I felt confident and comfortable to stop eating meat altogether.

Not feeling forced or rushed into making any sudden decisions is the reason I was happy to make the choices I have, and it’s also how I’ve been able to stick to it since the day I made up my mind.

Online menus are a must.

Although most restaurants do offer veggie options these days, there’s no guarantee they’ll actually be good. You might find yourself stuck with yet another bean burger or vegetable lasagne – both great, sure, but it gets a bit boring after the millionth time.

Researching menus online before going somewhere is an absolute must these days. If I can’t find one, we ain’t going!

*Menu for plant-based pub The Monument in Canterbury*

Cheese > everything.

People ask if I feel healthier since giving up meat and the honest answer is: no.

Partly because not eating meat has nothing to do with how healthy your diet is, but also mainly because, since becoming veggie, cheese has pretty much become my answer to everything. Pepperoni pizza becomes four cheese pizza; chicken pie becomes cheese and veg pie; spaghetti bolognese becomes cheese and tomato pasta; a BLT becomes a cheese toastie… You get the idea.

It’s the easy option, and it’s also bloody delicious, so I’m not really complaining.

Mealtimes do take some imagination.

When you’ve grown up in a “meat and two veg” environment at the dinner table, it can take a little imagination to keep mealtimes interesting once you start leaving meat off your plate.

Because I love being in the kitchen I quite enjoyed having a new challenge but, over time, it’s become much easier to adjust. It’s all about making smart swaps and thinking outside the box to create food that you and your family will continue to love.

Looking for some inspiration? Check out some of my favourite veggie meals to make at home.

I haven’t once gone hungry.

“Vegetarian? What do you even eat, rabbit food?! lolololol.” Well, no, obviously not.

Look at me. Look at my blog. Look at the NAME OF MY BLOG! Of course I’m not going to follow a diet of lettuce leaves and quinoa. Just because I don’t eat meat anymore, don’t doubt for a second I haven’t found new ways to stuff my face whenever I feel like it.

There are so, so many options available now that cater to meat-free and plant-based diets; burgers, sausages, bacon, chicken, steaks, you name it and there’s a veggie alternative out there. I don’t miss out on BBQs, roast dinners, takeaways, meals out or any of that good stuff (thanks Linda McCartney 😉).

*Linda McCartney’s vegetarian hoisin duck meal kit*

With the right mindset, I can achieve things I never thought possible.

This is something I definitely learnt about myself when I decided to become a vegetarian.

If you told me just a few years ago that I’d make a free, conscious choice to no longer eat meat, I would never have believed it. I would’ve said I don’t have the willpower, I’d miss out on too many foods I love, I’d never be able to stick with it, bla bla bla.

But I’ve proven to myself that I can stick with it and I do have power over my food choices. I am able to resist things, I can turn certain food down, and I can set myself a goal and see it through.

Now it’s time to take that new revelation about myself and apply it to other parts of my life, because I know that I can.

I’ve been vegetarian for three months now and haven’t fallen off the wagon once, which I absolutely thought I would! One question people ALWAYS ask upon finding out I’ve gone veggie is: why? So, if you happen to be one of those people, I can pinpoint the exact moment I decided to become a vegetarian.

I’d not really eaten meat for a month or so because, at the start of the year, I set myself a few little foodie challenges – just to test myself, really. One of those challenges was to go meat-free for January, which wasn’t pretty easy, especially as my boyfriend doesn’t eat meat so it wasn’t a massive part of our diet anyway.

But I never went into that challenge with the intention of giving up meat for good. I’d already reduced my animal consumption in a huge way so didn’t feel the need to push myself any further and was already proud of what I’d done. The first thing I did after completing my meat-free month? I went straight to McDonald’s and bought a chicken and bacon wrap. I didn’t even hesitate.

Well, I say that, but I suppose that’s not completely true. I’d definitely started having feelings of guilt around eating meat since Andy became veggie, thinking about the animals, the environment, all that stuff we know is a affected by animal produce. And feeling guilty around food really isn’t good for me. I’d been working super hard to remove the idea of guilt from my food (and still am!) so having to deal with the repercussions of meat leading to a pang of guilt every time was something I’d already started to struggle with.

Anyway, so I went to Maccy’s for this chicken wrap that I was really craving, took it back to my desk, started to munch away on the familiar delicious taste.. But then I bit into one piece of chicken that had obviously slipped through the cracks in quality control because it was truly DISGUSTING. It was tough, chewy, just absolutely revolting.

I spat it straight out and then thought to myself: why am I doing this?

Like, seriously. Why?

This food was completely gross and all I could think was that this animal definitely didn’t need to die for this crap! It was totally unnecessary for this living, breathing creature to have its life cut short just to make a sub-par, cheap, inedible wrap that literally no-one needs to be eating. It’s cruel, it harms the environment, it’s bad for your health and the end product didn’t even taste good!

I just thought to myself, you know what? I can live without this. So I did.

From the moment I threw that dodgy McDonald’s in the bin, I haven’t eaten meat at all. I’m not going into the pros and cons, I’m not going to preach or badger, I’m not going to do any of that. But if you wondered how I ended up a vegetarian, that’s your answer.

Tag: why i became vegetarian

Things I’ve Learnt About Food – and Myself! – Since Becoming Vegetarian | #ThisGirlEats