Help please! New vegetarian

[Toffeepopcorn1]

Hi, just posting here as I’m a bit desperate and I figured someone on here might be able to help!

im a new vegetarian- I hadn’t actually planned to but I had an operation last week and after it I was shown the removed tissue and it was horrific. It looked like a big slab of raw chicken or fish and I nearly threw up on the spot. I previously ate a lot of fish, white meat and only occasionally red meat. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stomach it again.

ive recovered from the surgery now and the thought of eating meat or fish just makes me think of how disgusting that was to look at and I think I can safely say I’m vegetarian now. But it’s all brand new to me- does anyone have any good simple recipes, meals, or even shop advice with good vegetarian options? I really dislike cheese which has ruled out a lot of things I’ve seen already and I’m worried about limited options. If anyone could help I’d be really grateful! x

Whereabouts in the country are you? A lot of cities have vegetarian cookery courses available at evenings and weekends.

A good starting point might be to sign up for a temporary trial with hellofresh. Their normal prices are way overpriced in my opinion but the introductory discount is a reasonable price. You can select half a dozen recipes you fancy and if you are just cooking for one you can still get the box for 2 or 3 people and fridge/freeze the extra portions. After the trial you can cancel it but it's easy enough to buy the ingredients from the supermarket and keep using the same recipe cards, or you can browse other recipe cards for free on their website.

Hey! I am very similar to you - veggie who doesn’t like cheese! I do eat fish though, but I echo the post above - if you can afford it, then a trial of a recipe box might help - my favourite is gousto.

Sainsbury’s and Tesco both have a huge variety of veggie products, both fresh and frozen.

I also tend to adapt some meals from pre-veggie days, so for example I love a Jamie Oliver sausage bake recipe with tomatoes, cannellini beans and focaccia, and I substitute veggie sausages instead of pork sausages.

Get The Green Roasting Tin by Rukmini Iyer - it’s great.

My go tos are pasta, tofu & pulses. I’d be wary of fake meat since it’s likely to ultra-processed.

Been veggie for 11 years so I like to think I'm pretty good when it comes to veggie recipes!

Firstly I'd try meat alternatives like Quorn and if you like them you can replace meat meals with Quorn.

Lentils are a good substitute in things like spaghetti, cottage pie, curry's, soup etc and good source of protein.

Halloumi is great too, we do halloumi and roasted vegetable tray bakes weekly.

Have a google of veggie recipes and just start experimenting!

Veggies who eat fish, halloumi is cheese! Similar scenario to yours. I originally watched secret filming of animal cruelty, I was also nursing. When you have seen someone who has fallen under a combine harvester.... that sealed the deal! This was over 40 years ago, now. Pru Leith has a nice veggie cookbook. I do like cheese,so it's easier for me. I dislike veg sausages,they always look and taste like meat. Order a standard veggie breakfast that's what you get. I don't buy many vegetarian meals, they are rubbish, highly processed and expensive. Occasionally I will have a veggie finger,that's about it. This time of the year, I make a lot of vegetable main meal soup.

Look at the BBC budget vegetarian meal plan for one online. Very easy recipes. They have other family vegetarian meal plans too. They don’t all rely on cheese, lots of beans and vegetables

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean cuisines have such a huge and interesting variety of vegetarian dishes. Anything from salads, dips and soups to sandwiches, casseroles, pasta dishes, rice dishes and mezze.

Moroccan cuisine is also worth looking at. It's a vegetable-heavy cuisine, and even the dishes that contain meat, poultry or fish can often be vegetarianised.

BBC good food has decent recipes and the reviews are useful.
Prashad cookbook is ace. My curries are top tier since using this.
Tofu cooked well is excellent protein.
I've been veggie 45 years and still love trying new recipes. It really isn't boring and tasteless with a bit of effort

Oh and lentils are great. Always use stock with them though