How to be a Vegetarian
Over the past few months, I’ve had a lot of people tell me they want to start eating more vegetarian meals. Maybe it’s resolutions for the new year, or maybe it’s just curiosity, but I realized I haven’t really blogged much about being a vegetarian. That’s actually intentional on my part, because I never want to be the kind of vegetarian that stands on a soapbox and yells at people to stop eating meat. I feel like food choices are personal and what works for one person, won’t work for everyone. I don’t want other people telling me what I should or shouldn’t eat, and I feel like it’s simply respectful for me to do the same.
That said, when people ask me where to start, I try to give them some tips and tricks on “how to be a vegetarian”. Even if you’re just trying to incorporate a few more meals without meat, rather than give up meat completely, I hope these tips can help.
1. Start Small
If you’re used to eating meat at every meal, it’s going to be really difficult to suddenly give it up completely. For me, it was a gradual transition I stopped eating red meat in middle school, and then eventually that turned into chicken or fish just once or twice a week. Shortly after high school, I stopped eating it entirely.
2. Determine Your Goals
Trying to eat healthier? A 100% vegetarian diet may not be the answer. A pescetarian diet incorporates fish, and sometimes I wish I had an appetite for fish, because they can be loaded with nutrients and protein!
Want to lessen your impact on the environment? Pay attention to where your food comes from. Make trade offs when necessary, but you might not have to go completely vegetarian!
Looking to save money? A vegetarian diet can be a lot cheaper, but it can also start to add up. Try some of these inexpensive vegetarian meals, and stretch your dollar a little farther.
3. Plan Ahead
Like any goal, planning ahead will make you much more likely to stick with it! Stock your fridge and pantry with vegetarian staples, so you’re not stuck facing the drive thru window. I’ve got a whole list of recipes that are 5-ingredients or less, so you can’t tell me you don’t have time for that!
These are some of my favorite recipes that I’ve fed to lots of meat-eaters 😉
Click on the photos to view the recipes
This pizza crust is super easy to make, and you can top it with tons of vegetables!
These easy curried lentils are super filling and hearty. It’s also really inexpensive to make!
These continue to be a popular recipe, maybe because they look fancy, but are super easy?
Awesome post & those recipes look fantastic! 🙂
I actually became a vegetarian cold-turkey (no pun intended ;)) and that seemed to work the best for me. I am sure that a gradual transition would be easier for a lot of people, though.
That’s awesome you were able to do that! Sometimes that just works better!
Excellent tips, Liz! I don’t follow a vegetarian diet all the time but I do enjoy eating vegetarian/vegan every so often. Like you said determining your goals is key. Once you have a meaningful reason, your willingness to find ways to make it work will naturally shoot up! Also determining what kind of vegetarian you want to be is important- for example some people consider eggs vegetarian whereas others don’t. Do a bit of research before blindly changing your eating habits.
That’s so true! I think it’s all about the reason behind the choices!
Holy Yum. that pizza crust sounds so good. Have a wonderful weekend Liz <3 <3
Love love love this post! And I bookmarked that pizza crust recipe- yum!:)
I love your approach to this 🙂
so many helpful tips and I am with you regarding not telling people who to or what not to eat 🙂 I am not 100% vegetarian and I dont plan on being one but just meatless monday – I have learned to incorporate so many vegetarian options and I love it. Its totally doable if we all make small, realistic changes. Loved this post.
Thank you so much! (And I appreciated your tweet!)
I love that you’re not advocating for everyone to be a veggie!
I tried veganism for Lent last year. It was REALLY hard for me, but that was just throwing myself into it. I love the tip to start small!
Yeah I tried the vegan thing for awhile and it was hard!! It helped that I was already a vegetarian, but still. It wasn’t for me!
My diet mostly consists of whole grains, vegetables and fruits; however, I occasionally eat eggs and fish (and as of recently, chicken on occasion.) I’m wanting to cut out chicken again but I’m not sure how my husband will feel about it…
He was happy that I started eating it again (he doesn’t really understand the whole not eating meat thing.) So we will see. If I eat it on occasion to keep from an argument, I think it is worth it for me. 🙂
Hahaha I totally understand! One of my co-workers was telling me the same thing!
What great advice! I definitely think that understanding WHY you are doing something (i.e. eating less meat, stopping meat entirely, switching to organic, etc) is one of the most important things to make a food lifestyle change stick. If you’re just like “eh, I think I’ll give up meat”, it’s probably not going to stick very long. But if you do your research and understand what you’re choosing to do and WHY (better for you, more sustainable, less pesticides, whatever), you’re more likely to stick to your guns and make it a habit!