To ask for your help with going vegetarian?

[StormzyInaDCup]

Hi all, cheeky ask.. But I'm finding I'm really going off meat. The texture has just started turning my stomach.

The problem is, my cooking has revolved around meat for so many years, I don't even know where to start! It's only my DS and I at home and he's happy to convert and a good eater.

Any help, ideas or resources would be hugely appreciated.

@Dugup

I transitioned over three months, mostly because I didn't yet know what to cook but also because I didn't want to have meat cravings.

I did similar, took me around 4/5 months to become totally vegetarian.

I needed to build up a repertoire of meals that worked for the family.

We started practicing with some veggie meals for a few weeks and before we went veggie did a month long meal plan so we were never stuck for ideas. A bit anal, but it worked and we've been veggie almost 10 years now.

There's some good fake meats now so things like bangers and mash can still be enjoyed. We eat a lot of:

Veggie chilli (we use soy or quorn mince and various beans)
Bolognese (either lentils with carrots and mushrooms or fake mince instead of lentils)
Veggie curries - mixed veg, potato, pea and paneer, chickpea etc. so lots of variety. Paneer is the food of the gods.
Cottage pie with lentils instead of meat
Quorn chicken fillets are nice in a roast dinner
Fray Bentos now do two veggie pies
Penne Arabiatta
Moroccan stew (cauliflower, carrots, kidney beans and spinach with Harissa)
Enchiladas - quorn pieces/mince or kidney beans
Pasta bake
Pasta, courgette and peas with cottage cheese/frontage fries or creme fraiche - sounds grim, but we discovered cottage cheese in a Morrison's box during lockdown and it's a great source of protein and actually tastes nice, never had it before, just assumed it minged as a child so never tried it
Moussaka - lentils and aubergine in ours but you can use potatoes too

Then there's classic veggie dishes that most people don't automatically think of as vegetarian - macaroni cheese, beans on toast, jacket potatoes and beans/ratatouille, margherita pizza. Things DH's family call "normal food which happens to be vegetarian, not 'vegetarian' food which is something normal people don't eat, but vegetarians do, like falafel or hummus"

Oh and stir fry, we use tofu or eggs for protein. Tofu is another thing we assumed minged, but is actually really nice. We tend to buy the cauldron marinated tofu pieces as they're ready to cook - no squeezing required.

If you like Italian food Gino has a great 'veg Italian' cookbook, and Rose Elliott has good recipes too.

Also, you can't beat egg and chips for a quick and lazy tea!

Ratatouille
Any other pasta & sauces, tomato based or with milk-based combinations.
Lasagne, with veg on the bottom - green beans or courgettes, a tomato-based middle and your normal cheese top.
Mexican combos without meat often work
Don't forget nuts, as long as you keep them out of the schools nowadays. Historically been a big source of protein.
Italian generally is good for veggies as well as Indian, although I do use meat substitutes. I'll be watching for any new recipes on here!

I’m not veggie but we do eat a lot of veggie meals. If you don’t mind the substitutes I’ve found the meatless farm co products are really good. Also the Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers, Quorn crispy nuggets and Quorn broccoli and cheese escalopes.