Thinking about becoming a vegetarian

[CHarvey]

So due to yet another story about the meat in our super markets not being all it seems (horse meat found!!) I am now seriously considering becoming vegetarian! Problem is I really do love meat and have become anaemic several times. I really do not know where to start?!?!?
Also I have three children and a partner who also love meat, out budget is tight and I do the majority of the cooking so don't want to be doing seperate meals etc
Any advice on where to start? Good websites?

 

[salj]

So due to yet another story about the meat in our super markets not being all it seems (horse meat found!!) I am now seriously considering becoming vegetarian! Problem is I really do love meat and have become anaemic several times. I really do not know where to start?!?!?
Also I have three children and a partner who also love meat, out budget is tight and I do the majority of the cooking so don't want to be doing seperate meals etc
Any advice on where to start? Good websites?

Yayyyy do it. I will post something of substance in here tomorrow when not on my phone.

The best thing i ever did in my life was give up meat!!

Loads of veggie sources of iron such as chickpeas, dark leafy veg...

Ill post some websites/books that helped me tomorrow.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

 

[LilMissEmmylou]

I'm veggie while OH and daughter are not. We tend to eat a lot of vegetarian family meals like spag bol and lasagna with quorn mince and lots of vegetables. Other times like sunday dinner they have meat with trimmings and i have quorn with the trimmings. It really is not as complex as you may at first think

 

[CHarvey]

Yayyyy do it. I will post something of substance in here tomorrow when not on my phone.

The best thing i ever did in my life was give up meat!!

Loads of veggie sources of iron such as chickpeas, dark leafy veg...

Ill post some websites/books that helped me tomorrow.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using SalonGeek

Thank you.
It's going to be hard. I would happily eat raw steak I love it that much! I'm known as a bit of a carnivor!

 

[PinkSwoon]

Hellooo! I was a veggie for around 3 years but converted back. I realised that just because I didn't eat meat it didn't make any difference to what is sold in shops & it was a big sacrifice for me to make without any real benefit to myself or the world. What you can do without becoming veggie (I'm rather carnivorous too!) is start to treat meat differently. Our diet shouldn't be predominantly meat anyway so plan meals around this & buy meat accordingly from a good quality, reputable butcher who can tell you the life story of the meat from birth to table. You may think this could be expensive but having meals based around meat about 3 times a week doesn't really amount to more than you would spend in a supermarket & I'm willing to pay a few extra pounds for meat I can trust without giving it up. You'll begin to see meat as something indulgent, not as a necessity as before. Whatever you choose, there is nothing better than making a well informed choice please don't compromise your health though! x

 

[CHarvey]

I was veggie as a teenager but converted back when like you I realised it made no difference to the world but our town now only has one butchers, the meat is far too expensive. It recently cost me £7.50 for two medium chicken breasts and they weren't organic! We have a van which comes in every Saturday which is more reasonably priced but I bought some stewing steak from him and t was disgusting. Really chewy and fatty so was false economy I may start just trailing it for a month xx

 

[JenBella]

I'm a veggie and my hubby has been a veggie since he was about 18...I think it very much is a personal choice and there's a variety of reasons why we don't eat meat.
One thing that does surprise me is the reaction to horse meat being found in burgers. I'm not getting at you OP, more so what I've seen on twitter etc.
Realistically if you take some time to learn about meat processing plants, the actual chain from farm to shelf...well it's not surprising what you might find. Also, what's the difference between a horse and a cow? Why do people feel they can't eat horse meat but have no reservations about eating a cow or a pig.
If I did ever start eating meat again it would be from a small local butchers with meat production on a fraction of the scale compared to supermarkets. I don't ever see that happening though.

Even eggs...free range means jack in supermarket terms. Unbelievable cruelty shown to animals all in the name of a cheap dinner.

 

[CHarvey]

I'm a veggie and my hubby has been a veggie since he was about 18...I think it very much is a personal choice and there's a variety of reasons why we don't eat meat.
One thing that does surprise me is the reaction to horse meat being found in burgers. I'm not getting at you OP, more so what I've seen on twitter etc.
Realistically if you take some time to learn about meat processing plants, the actual chain from farm to shelf...well it's not surprising what you might find. Also, what's the difference between a horse and a cow? Why do people feel they can't eat horse meat but have no reservations about eating a cow or a pig.
If I did ever start eating meat again it would be from a small local butchers with meat production on a fraction of the scale compared to supermarkets. I don't ever see that happening though.

Even eggs...free range means jack in supermarket terms. Unbelievable cruelty shown to animals all in the name of a cheap dinner.

My point isn't that it's horse neat it's the fact that I'm eating something which it's what it claims to be. My choice is being taken away from me.

 

[JenBella]

Just on the point of one person not making a difference..imagine if everyone thought that way...imagine if more people demanded a more humane way of farming etc..
Just because you may feel like its a pointless battle doesn't mean it is, change comes from small beginnings.

 

[CHarvey]

Just on the point of one person not making a difference..imagine if everyone thought that way...imagine if more people demanded a more humane way of farming etc..
Just because you may feel like its a pointless battle doesn't mean it is, change comes from small beginnings.

I am a big supporter of animal rights and feel that in eating meat, especially meat from modern day farms and slaughter houses, I am contradicting my belief that all animals are equal. X

 

[JenBella]

My point isn't that it's horse neat it's the fact that I'm eating something which it's what it claims to be. My choice is being taken away from me.

Yes I agree with you on that, I'm not familiar with buying burgers/meat in supermarkets so I don't know how they are labelled.
I've probably read too many books on McDonalds etc which is why I just presume that mass produced meat is all the same mish mash of meat and as long as there's a min % of meat it's claiming to be then that's fine.
Food production is scary...there's an awful lot of leeway given in the marketing.

 

[CHarvey]

Have to say that I don't eat "processed meat". If I have a burger then It's a burger I've made myself. If I'm eating chicken nuggets they are hand made from 100% chicken breast. I don't do Iceland 5% meat 50% mechanically harvested meat by product, burgers lol

 

[Choochy Face]

A couple of my clients have heard a restaurant by us said there was dog, cat and bird found in there freezers, also it was said a gentleman was eating and found a dog ( micro chip)
Don't know how true this is but has put us off going which is a same because it was such a lovely place, if you drop anything on the floor they are there cleaning it up,

 

[CHarvey]

A couple of my clients have heard a restaurant by us said there was dog, cat and bird found in there freezers, also it was said a gentleman was eating and found a dog ( micro chip)
Don't know how true this is but has put us off going which is a same because it was such a lovely place, if you drop anything on the floor they are there cleaning it up,

Think maybe this is an urban legend. Everyone always says this about Chinese restaurants. Don't think it's true x

 

[KayaPapaya]

Here's a couple of websites which may help:

Vegetarian society:
https://www.vegsoc.org/

NHS information
Vegetarian and vegan healthy eating - Live Well - NHS Choices

PETA
Veggie/Vegan starter kit
Vegetarian & Vegan Starter Kit | Guide on How to Become Vegan / Vegetarian | PETA.org

The Vegan society
Home - The Vegan Society

Cook vegetarian
Vegetarian Recipes, Healthy Eating Meals, Vegan Food, Low Calorie Diet

Can highly recommend vegan sweetie/treats cookie recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, BUT some recipes have only available in USA ingredients, but they are really lovely!

 

[CHarvey]

Here's a couple of websites which may help:

Vegetarian society:
https://www.vegsoc.org/

NHS information
Vegetarian and vegan healthy eating - Live Well - NHS Choices

PETA
Veggie/Vegan starter kit
Vegetarian & Vegan Starter Kit | Guide on How to Become Vegan / Vegetarian | PETA.org

The Vegan society
Home - The Vegan Society

Cook vegetarian
Vegetarian Recipes, Healthy Eating Meals, Vegan Food, Low Calorie Diet

Can highly recommend vegan sweetie/treats cookie recipes by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, BUT some recipes have only available in USA ingredients, but they are really lovely!

Thank you very much xx

 

[PinkSwoon]

Just on the point of one person not making a difference..imagine if everyone thought that way...imagine if more people demanded a more humane way of farming etc..
Just because you may feel like its a pointless battle doesn't mean it is, change comes from small beginnings.

but they don't? I completely agree with you on the small beginnings bit, but like I said it's a big sacrifice which probably isn't going to get you very far. A large reason why farming animals for slaughter isn't as humane as it could be is because it's more expensive & people seldom want to pay more when they can buy cheap meat as demonstrated above, thus encouraging cheap, economic farming. The more that gets spent on the animals when alive, the more they cost when they are dead.

 

[KayaPapaya]

No problem, good luck

 

[JenBella]

I am a big supporter of animal rights and feel that in eating meat, especially meat from modern day farms and slaughter houses, I am contradicting my belief that all animals are equal. X

EXACTLY!!
I don't know if you ever saw that Hugh Fernley guy, he did a programme on sourcing ethical meat etc and the people on it had to kill their own chicken and all that. I think that brings it home to people that its a living being. It's a good measure really, could you kill a chicken or pig to eat?
People are quite desensitised to it all, and to the really horrible inhumane way animals are treated. The nicely packaged steak is far removed from the cow being pumped full of hormones and the stall & tether method of pig rearing (which is banned in the UK since 97 and meant to be banned in Europe this year)

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a good book.

 

[CHarvey]

EXACTLY!!
I don't know if you ever saw that Hugh Fernley guy, he did a programme on sourcing ethical meat etc and the people on it had to kill their own chicken and all that. I think that brings it home to people that its a living being. It's a good measure really, could you kill a chicken or pig to eat?
People are quite desensitised to it all, and to the really horrible inhumane way animals are treated. The nicely packaged steak is far removed from the cow being pumped full of hormones and the stall & tether method of pig rearing (which is banned in the UK since 97 and meant to be banned in Europe this year)

Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a good book.

I actually think I could kill a chicken if I knew u was going to eat it and if it had had a nice life but that isn't always the case is it