It’s been about a year since I made the switch in my diet and became vegetarian. In this time I have learnt so much, and while when I initially set out on this journey I thought that it would be interesting to share it on here that eventually took a back seat. Mainly because I felt it didn’t fit with the content that I was creating, but also because I seem to give up on ever project I ever set out on.
However, I have recently come to the conclusion that this is my blog and I can and will share whatever I want on it. For this reason I thought I would share my journey with vegetarianism one year on and the ups and downs that have come along with living this lifestyle.
Without further ado, here goes my journey with vegetarianism.
To begin with the main reason that I wanted to become vegetarian was my health, red meat was making me ill and so without a doubt it was time to cut that out of my diet for my own benefit. There was no point sitting by a toilet vomiting for an hour after eating something when there were so many foods out there that would just leave me feeling full and healthy. I was also never one to be craving meat, while my family use it a lot in their cooking it was never something that I really wanted (plus raw meat fully grosses me out and I didn’t like preparing it at all).
This also probably had something to do with the fact that I worked at McDonalds for a year, watching food be prepared at such a vast quantity in a mad environment like that kind of put me off all in all. There was something so strange about it and I swore to myself that when I left I would cut down my meat consumption.
Another thing that pushed me to want to stop eating meat were the huge amount of documentaries and facts I have learnt from these films about the industry and treatment of animals. If you are wanting some suggestions of documentaries to watch then Cowsipricy is a great one to start with, alongside Rotten and Food Choices which are all on Netflix and are so insightful into the meat and dairy industry along with the food industry as a whole.
Since becoming vegetarian I have also becoming a lot more conscious about the different foods that I consume (eg I don’t use anywhere near as much milk as I used to in my daily routine). This is hugely because of what I have learnt through reading, watching these kinds of documentaries and generally making much more conscious and ethical decisions.
Having several vegan and veggie friends prior to my diet switch made it a lot easier, they were always there to give me tips on what is and isn’t suitable for the lifestyle and this was a godsend. I would text them and ask for vegetarian recipes and what they thought was the best substitute for something while in the middle of the shopping isle and they were nothing but helpful, this really did encourage me to continue with the lifestyle.
Eating out as a vegetarian was strange to begin with, mainly because I was always the one to play it safe when eating out, always ordering a burger and fries because they can’t really mess that up can they? Then came me getting ill from consuming red meat and me making this switch, so burgers (or at least meat based ones) were off the table.
You’ve probably seen the meme style tweets from vegetarians and vegans about eating out being something along the lines of fries for starter, main and dessert. For the most part that is what it was like to start with (though fries for desert is a no no when ice cream and cake exist, lets be real). Especially because when I ate out it tended to be with friends and more often than not it would be in a fast food environment. They would grab a box of 20 nuggets to share and I would just have fries and a diet coke.
Yet, you can and will very often find some of the best food in restaurants is veggie friendly. Whenever I go out for dinner with my parents they will always comment on how nice my food looks and how bright it is too (considering it usually consists of a lot of veggies and fresh ingredients). I love things such as veggie ramen, stir fries, curries and burgers and it is so encouraging to know that is is purely good things that have gone into it in differentiation to meat.
Over the past few months I have however realised how little I even eat ‘fast food’ anymore, probably because in Holland a McDonalds is literally only €3 cheaper than eating out in some restaurants and tastes like shit. This has really helped in encouraging me to cut that kind of processed food out of my diet and begin think more about consuming fresh foods instead. My skin and body have been thanking me so much for this change, though every now and then I do still find myself cycling to McDonalds for a McFlurry because they’re just too good to resist on hot days.
Though I will for sure be doing a full post on this once I’m back in England for good, here are some of my fave places to eat out as a veggie! Wamagama, they do such a good veggie cats curry; Nandos, sounds strange but their beanie burger is a winner in my books; Chipotle, their burritos are everything; and last but for sure not least Wetherspoons - or as my dad likes to call it, the death of the local pubs - has so many veggie and vegan options.
Once I had gotten over eating out and working my way around the different menus life wasn’t so hard. I never was one to ‘crave’ meat and to be honest the only time that I may end up thinking meat is a good idea is when I’m off my face drunk and suddenly chicken nuggets while in McDonalds at the end of a night out seem like the cure of the state I have found myself in. Luckily I have friends that manage to convince me that I don’t need nuggets in my life.
I think one of the mot rewarding things about being vegetarian is how much it has influenced me, it has helped me gain confidence in myself and made me more aware of the foods and products I am purchasing. Since being veggie I have also been trying my hardest to purchase cruelty free products to become much more ethical and generally do my part for helping fight against animal cruelty, I am always looking for dupes and actively trying to avoid shopping in places that are known for their animal testing, though again I think this is something I will be doing another post on in the future.
Anyway, basically this is a post saying that being vegetarian is the best thing that I could have done for myself. My body is thanking me in so many ways, I have found myself having so much more energy and my skin has cleared up so much too.
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