There are two things that struck me early on in my attempt to eat less meat. Firstly, I felt like I was hungrier on vegetarian days. Secondly, I have been eating a lot of chips and beans. Neither of these two statements helps with my grand plan to be healthier and fitter but they are quite true.
The best thing about this mission of mine has been my friends’ reactions when I’ve declined meat, picked an uncharacteristic option off a menu or said to them that I’m a part-time vegetarian now. My friend NM laughed and said “You can’t be a part-time vegetarian. You either are one or you aren’t”. My friend ST said “Haha! I’ve never heard anything as hilarious as someone who doesn’t like vegetables trying to become vegetarian”. Another friend, FL, did a double-take when I told her the plan and the funniest was PG who exclaimed in incredulity “Why would you do that?!”
I’m obviously well aware of the reasons for the doubt in the minds of my friends. It hasn’t been a walk in the park. There have been some challenges, particularly with eating out. I went to a Thai restaurant and was assaulted by vegetarian meals with the detestable base of cooked vegetables so my initial plan for a meat-free day was thrown out the window. I eat lots of chips and beans in the office canteen because I like hot lunches and hot vegetarian options seem to involve lots of cooked vegetables. It also doesn’t help when I get home after a long day of eating vegetables and my sister has made a delicious chicken stew and left me a plate for dinner.
Overall, though, it’s been easier than I expected. I am trying out new things. In the last few weeks I’ve ticked tofu, coriander, butternut squash and cottage cheese off my hate list. I am trying things that would have previously been unimaginable – ‘pure vegetarian restaurants’ were on my hit list for years – and getting a lot more fibre and vegetables than I have eaten since I moved out of the family home.
This month I’ve had 4 vegetarian days out of 6 and hope to make it 5 of 7 today. I’m aiming for 15 vegetarian days and I think I might make it. I got a vegetarian cook-book and will attempt to make my first meatless meal this weekend ahead of a (hopefully) vegetarian dinner party that I will be hosting next week.
The best thing about this mission of mine has been my friends’ reactions when I’ve declined meat, picked an uncharacteristic option off a menu or said to them that I’m a part-time vegetarian now. My friend NM laughed and said “You can’t be a part-time vegetarian. You either are one or you aren’t”. My friend ST said “Haha! I’ve never heard anything as hilarious as someone who doesn’t like vegetables trying to become vegetarian”. Another friend, FL, did a double-take when I told her the plan and the funniest was PG who exclaimed in incredulity “Why would you do that?!”
I’m obviously well aware of the reasons for the doubt in the minds of my friends. It hasn’t been a walk in the park. There have been some challenges, particularly with eating out. I went to a Thai restaurant and was assaulted by vegetarian meals with the detestable base of cooked vegetables so my initial plan for a meat-free day was thrown out the window. I eat lots of chips and beans in the office canteen because I like hot lunches and hot vegetarian options seem to involve lots of cooked vegetables. It also doesn’t help when I get home after a long day of eating vegetables and my sister has made a delicious chicken stew and left me a plate for dinner.
Overall, though, it’s been easier than I expected. I am trying out new things. In the last few weeks I’ve ticked tofu, coriander, butternut squash and cottage cheese off my hate list. I am trying things that would have previously been unimaginable – ‘pure vegetarian restaurants’ were on my hit list for years – and getting a lot more fibre and vegetables than I have eaten since I moved out of the family home.
This month I’ve had 4 vegetarian days out of 6 and hope to make it 5 of 7 today. I’m aiming for 15 vegetarian days and I think I might make it. I got a vegetarian cook-book and will attempt to make my first meatless meal this weekend ahead of a (hopefully) vegetarian dinner party that I will be hosting next week.
You have to email my mother and my brother for some of her Nigerian recipes she has made vegetarian-style. My brother can also tell you of other non-Nigerian foods to eat and dishes to make.
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