How hard do you find it, being a vegetarian?

Simonne15

:Totally concur with Hornetsaver and Thriftwizard comments.
Shopping's much easier if you buy fresh veg and cook from scratch then you know exactly what's in your food: cheaper too if you freeze quantities.
Re Thriftwizards point about restaurants: it doesn't get easier..... There seems to be a fashion at present for adding chorizo or bacon for example to otherwise veg or pescatarian menu items.naughty: So menus still don't offer much realistic choice. Italian restaurants too used to be reliable but now menus have often eliminated the marinara options and make the veggie ones only with tomato, cheese and basil or oregano:( but no veg. We just eat out less than ever now; don't chefs understand they're losing out?

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

This is what happens when someone puts lifestyle restrictions on those who do not wish to have them imposed on them.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/671147/Vegan-football-team-Greggs-meat-pizza-Conference-Premier-League-Forest-Green-Rovers

rdone

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

This is what happens when someone puts lifestyle restrictions on those who do not wish to have them imposed on them.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/671147/Vegan-football-team-Greggs-meat-pizza-Conference-Premier-League-Forest-Green-Rovers

That's just embarrassing. Why would you force anyone to have any lifestyle restriction?!

Maat

MatthewAinsworth wrote: »

Accidentally buying something you don't realise has gelatine or crushed insects is an easy mistake, you get to know what to be wary of but its not always obvious so don't be hard on yourself over a mistake. Bear in mind that creatures of our size will inevitably kill things accidentally just by walking around or farming crops.

I never liked meat as a child or school dinners so it was easy for me to give up for moral reasons. I have the occasional dream that I've eaten meat, but I hate the smell of it, and consider fish to be meat. Couldn't give up dairy or eggs though and don't feel so much moral obligation there as there's no killin ( free range though)

I'm sorry to break it to you but I'm afraid both milk products and eggs involve killing. In the dairy industry the cows live to only a quarter or third of their natural lifespans before they're worn out with constant pregnancies, birthing and milking. They're killed usually at around seven years of age. Their calves suffer too. In order for us to steal their mothers' milk the calves have to be disposed of. This is done by taking them from their loving mothers at a day or two old and either exporting them to be killed for veal at a few weeks old, or if they're lucky they're killed straight away.

With eggs, too, no matter the way in which the hens are kept (and free range isn't the cruelty-free option most people think it is), means that the male chicks are killed at a day old. They're either thrown into a bin to suffocate or die of starvation, or they're thrown alive into a mincer.

It took me far too long to go from vegetarian to vegan as the information on the dairy and egg industries wasn't so easily accessible then. Once I did know I couldn't justify my choices any longer. I'm not saying that you should go vegan, simply that you have the right to be aware of what goes on.

Maat

MSE_William wrote: »

I don't find it hard in the UK, but it can be difficult in other countries.

Someone once commented that I don't 'look' vegetarian, which was bizarre!

I'm not sure if you're vegan but this could be useful to you in any case. The Vegetarian Passport:

https://www.vegansociety.com/shop/books/vegan-passport

has a simple page of text about what you can and can't eat as a vegan and to ask to be catered for. The wording is repeated in many languages, covering 96% of the globe, so you simply show the appropriate page to the waiting staff/chefs. When I went on an Egyptian cruise a few years ago I photocopied the Arabic page and faxed it (yes it was a long while ago) to the tour company. They sent it on to the ship and the chefs then had a request for vegan food in their own language and with details of what was suitable for me to eat. I had the best food on the ship.

You can also now apparently download the book as an app so even easier to use. I hope this information may be of use to you.

Maat

l.new wrote: »

Marshmallows why oh why do they contain beef gelatineThat aside ,I really thought I would miss the smell of bacon now nothing really bothers me its just a way of life which I choose sometimes it's a pain when we go abroad just to see if there's something on the menu for me.

Vegan marshmallows - nothing easier:

http://www.veganstore.co.uk/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=1&Product_Code=238&Category_Code=520#.Vz3DqvkrLIU

I can also highly recommend the vegan wagon wheels from the same site. And try Vego bars if you haven't already.

I've already posted about this to someone else but it can't hurt to mention it to you as well. The Vegan Passport has a request for a vegan meal along with details of what foods are suitable in many different languages, covering 96% of the globe. It could be very useful for your travels and it's now on an app as well:

https://www.vegansociety.com/shop/books/vegan-passport

Maat

june89 wrote: »

Even as an omni, there's nothing worse to me than getting to a buffet and finding it's predominately meat. I'm not a carnivore! The last two I've been to haven't even had a token plate of plain vegetables or salad, just potatoes or chips. I now refuse to go to buffet events, or even restaurants where I can't evaluate the menu ahead of time.

As for the original topic, I wanted to become a vegetarian a few years ago but I can't have dairy. So I would have had to go vegan instead, which honestly did feel too hard at that point in my life, as my work schedule meant I was eating out a lot. Even a veggie friend agreed it would be hard, as cheese was in every meal he was given. Now vegan options are starting to become available even in chain restaurants, it feels a lot easier. So it is something I am considering again, and I will choose the vegan meal when out if it is available.

ETA: At home it is easy to avoid meat. I do still have some omni meals as I'm working my way through the freezer, but I have a lot of fully vegetarian (95% vegan) days now and don't miss it.

It's great to hear you're avoiding animal cruelty more and more. I'm sure it must be making you feel better.

Even eating out is getting easier these days. You could take a look here:

http://www.vegansociety.com/resources/lifestyle/food-and-drink/list-vegan-friendly-options-uk-restaurant-chains

for advice on restaurant chains.

Happy Cow is also a brilliant resource for local restaurants, complete with reviews. I use it whenever I'm going somewhere I'm not familiar with

http://www.happycow.net/

If you're on Facebook you can gain advice, too, from longer standing vegans like me on pretty much anything lifestyle related. 4A Vegan Friends is a friendly group where new and budding vegans can ask questions and not feel judged for where they are at the moment. Very few of us were born vegan and we understand that and know it can be difficult to fully commit to a vegan diet if we're unsure or or there are particular issues we need to take account of. You can find them here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/4A.Vegan/

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Just been on that happy cow, to check out a local vegan friendly gaff near where BoP lives! It was the first in the UK, and does excellent food, suiting Vegans, Veggies and Bearded bacon eaters like my good self.

BiL could not eat there as it served red meat!

Falls off chair, it is choice or lifestyle restriction. Oh, and it is not 50 yards away from the story I put up earlier!
http://www.happycow.net/reviews/woodruffs-organic-cafe-stroud-27276

moneyistooshorttomention

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Pies - even desert pies - were made with lard. .

Not so far back in the past either.

Its not that long I've been retired - and I can recall biting into a pastry-based sweet food a colleague had brought into work and querying why the pastry didnt taste of butter. At which point they informed me they made it with lard - and then tried to make out I was at fault for instantly throwing out the rest of my bit...:mad: I thought people had stopped using lard for pastry years beforehand...

A very recent incident was one where I was with friends and they fancied buying themselves some fish and chips in a "chippie". I didnt think twice about ordering myself a portion of chips to eat for a little snack to accompany them. It was just as well the person behind the counter asked if I was vegetarian - because I had automatically assumed the chips would be cooked in oil (as they are in my part of the country - ie Southern England). They then said that the chips were fried in lard. So I had to sit there hungry - whilst my friends had their food - as it wasnt possible for me to have the chips.

Justamum

Maat wrote: »

And try Vego bars if you haven't already.

I've just been tucking into one of those. The most delicious chocolate in the world.