to be afraid of going vegetarian?

[beatrixpotterspencil]

Pathetic, probably, but I have never really liked meat very much.

I have always wanted to just stop, but am a little bit concerned about becoming anaemic or low iron, etc.

I usually eat chicken or fish, but would love to not have to!

everyone says, oh you'll be fine, just eat beans - but I really really can't stand beans of any description.

is there a way to drop meat from my diet if I don't like beans?
am I dicing with death here?

in seriousness, I don't know, any advice would be appreciated!

Iv been veggie for 15 years now, just on a whim one day and figured out the rest from there. I rarely eat beans and have only been anemic (slightly) during one of my pregnancies.

Lentils are great for protein, they can sneak into most meals and you don't really notice they're there!

Hi OP, not being at all unreasonable. My initial motivation for going veggie (some 32 years ago) was not liking meat much. The way I did it was gradual, so I’d do a pulau with chicken - just not much of it, then have a day without any meat at all. These days there are loads of alternatives to meat that are not beans. Tofu, quorn, jackfruit to name a few. If you don’t object ethically to fish and dairy foods, then you should be completely fine on the nutrition side. Had you said ‘I’m going vegan and don’t like beans’ I’d be a bit more concerned.

Spinach (and Brassicas generally, I think) are quite rich in iron. I suppose if you really hated all alternatives, there are iron supplements. I took Feraglobin as a teenager and suspected anaemic, and it works well (and tastes like adult Calpol, which is an added bonus ).

Do you like lentils? I think they have a reasonable amount of iron. If you can cook them with a source of Vit C (eg tomatoes) it can help the adsorbtion of the iron. Other sources include quinoa, spinach, kale, brocolli, seeds and nuts.. If you google it you'll find lots of lists of foods which contain iron. As long as you have a varied diet, you should be ok. And if you find yourself iron deficient, despite this, you can always go back to eating meat. It's not as though if you become vegetarian you are forced to stick with it for life ;)

Beans are generally used as a protein source so unless you are planning on being vegan then that shouldn't be an issue if you will eat eggs and dairy.

Iron comes from eggs and leafy green vegetables as well as some beans. Google will give you plenty of lists

Do you eat lentils? They tick both boxes.

TBH B vitamins are the main challenge

I’ve been vegetarian for three years and love it! There’s a variety of recipes online, on Pinterest, or even on food blogs, that are always helpful and easy. It can be a fun way of trying new recipes that you might be unsure about to begin with!

If you’re worried about anaemia and low iron, there are loads of greens, fruits, nuts and seeds that have plenty of iron in!

Spinach and leafy dark greens for iron! I've been veggie since the end of 2018 and I did become deficient in B12, but I just take vitamins (when I remember!). I rarely eat beans, the only ones I really like are kidney beans anyway. I still slip up every now and then though; I forget not all cheeses are vegetarian, and I'm naughty and eat my MIL's roasties done in meat juices.

I'm veggie, nearly vegan, never been anaemic but I do eat a lot of meat alternatives. Dark green veg is good. You'll learn as you go, it's far from a death sentence.
Some people find it best to gradually reduce their intake and saP meat meals for veggie meals. Personally I went straight in over night, but I work better with clear boundaries.

Absolutely try it, good luck

Is there any good advice online for veggie kids supplementation? We've gone from full meat-eaters to one meat meal a week. The kids are a bit random, though - will eat lentils one week then the next week they are a no-go.

thanks for taking time to reply!
I do worry about B vitamins too.....I take a supplement but do need to educate myself more I think.

I do like lentils but my IBS doesn't :(
they're not off the table though....
and I love nuts!

I did hear that plant sources of iron aren't as easily absorbed as meat?
I do get a lot of vit C generally.

I’ve been vegetarian for 30 years, I was anemic in my teens, but I had really heavy periods and wasn’t great at thinking about my diet.
Dried apricots, dark chocolate, Guinness are all good sources of iron along with the usual dark green veg and beans. Also consider using marmite in things like pasta sauce- every little bit helps.

If you only eat chicken and fish, you won't get much iron anyway will you?

Why don't you be almost veggie, but have offal once month? Joking. Take a supplement if worried.

Been veggie over 30 years and vegan for 5 and have never been anemic even through pregnancies with 9.5lb babies. Eat lots of iron rich food, dried apricots, pumpkin seeds, green leafy vegetables. There are loads of resources. Do it if you want to, you don't have to sign up forever 😉 do it for 2 weeks and go from there.

Veggie for 34 years here. The only issue I’ve ever had was a slight B12 deficiency, and supplements have sorted that.

You'll be fine, you don't have to eat beans

If you're worried taken a multivitamin and mineral supplement, or Spatone is good for iron and easy to digest.

some great advice, thanks!

I had already thought that I probably wasn't getting much iron from occasional chicken and fish.

im in mid forties and don't have periods that often this past few years, so no bleeding worries - yet!