Advice please re. becoming a vegetarian

[MrsMcEnroe]

I think I might have just eaten meat for the last time.

I'm seriously considering going pescatarian initially, then maybe veggie later on. My question to non-meat-eaters is: do you use meat substitutes such as Qorn etc, or do you get your protein from fish, or do you go the whole hog and just get your protein from lentils, pulses etc?

Oh - and do you still cook meat for the rest of the family?! I was thinking of using vegetarian mince, for example, so we could all eat the same meal occasionally ....

And is there such a thing as tasty non-meat gravy?

All help/advice gratefully received

as others have already said - tinned pulses don't need to be cooked (eg in dips and stuff)
I was thinking of using them in cooked food. :)

there are some veggie burger recipes here , so it's easy to make your own if you don't want to buy them in packs

curries are dead easy - any items of meat in the recipe, replace with chunks of veg ( big chunks so you can use broccoli, pepers etc as well as rooy veg)

Hi MrsMcEnroe and good luck with this transition!

A key thing to know is that the typical meat eater diet in this country contains far too much protein. Excessive protein in the diet inhibits absorbtion of vitamins - you really don't need a vegetarian diet to be as high in protein as a meat-ful one. You actually only need about 10% of what you eat to be high-protein foods and there is a long list of veggie things that fit the bill. It's easy enough to bung half a tin of lentils/kidney beans or whatever into a sauce to boost its nutrition value though.

We do use meat substitutes because I enjoy a lot of traditional recipes which work well with them e.g. I make boef bourguignon with quorn steak strips, and they are an easy thing to bung into curry (along with plenty of veg).

I like the Bisto Onion Gravy, though if I want it to be a bit posher I will fry some tiny bits of red onion to add to it and also stir in a splash of red wine to jazz it up a bit.

Veg curries are as easy or complicated as you want to make them(I don't like the palm oil which is in almost all ready made sauces). My basic recipe is 1. dry fry yr chosen dried spices (I hate chilli) so I put in turmeric, cumin, garam masala coriander and ginger (for heat) then add onions and garlic and olive oil and cook gently 2. Add any veg. you've got cut small and pulses if you want them, add some water or stock tightly close the heavy saucepan that is best used for this recipe and cook on a very low heat until veg are soft.

I use The Spice Shop (Portobello but also on line) curry mixes. They do hundreds of different herbs, spoices and mixes. Mixed 'Curried Vegetables' is the one I use most - just fry an onion, add a couple of teaspoons of the (dry) mix and cook for a few seconds. Then I add broken up cauli, or chickpeas, muchrooms, carrots (whatever I fancy) and either chopped frtsh toms and splash of water, or canned toms. Cook until the hard veg/chickpeas are done and there you have a very easy curry (or just lentils for a dahl). Use basmati rice (steamed for best results). The curry veg mix is great - lots of taste but not 'hot'. I get orders to pick up packs from quite a few Indian friends, so it can't be too bad!

Thanks everyone for the curry ideas - I was out shopping!

Can you believe that I couldn't get Tartex in H & B's??

I have got some tinned pulses,lentils,creamed mushrooms, and a few other bits from Sainsbo's though,so good to get started {excited}

They usually have it... Health food shops usually have it. I have even tried the 'mock duck' which is... Unusual shall we say!

My Mecca:
www.thespiceshop.co.uk/catalog.php

Bloody typical that &B don't sell Tartex. Philistines.
We used to boycott them in the eighties because they are owned by the same group which owns Dewhursts the butchers.

Mock duck is lovely in a Thai red curry with lychee, cherry tomatoes and pinapple.

I was veggie for about 15 years and found it easy enough to replace almost everything EXCEPT bacon (that's what got me in the end)! Good luck, I wish I was still veggie but don't have the will power to watch DH and DCs eat bacon!

Oh and the River Cottage Veg book is great for recipes for all the family.

Hi again, could you borrow some veggie cookbooks from your local library to get some ideas? Then photocopy any recipes that take your fancy?

Also, my parents bought me some Tartex the other day. Not had it for yonks!

Viking if I told you that pork products cause gout\ arthritis and are the most like human meat (cannibals call it\us!! 'long pig') would it put you off bacon?!!!

Not nice crunchy bacon, no, mmmmmmm. Seriously, it's the only meat I missed!

i never missed bacon.

there were a few meats i thought i'd miss, but i didn't miss any of them.

Yes seriously Vik! It's weird actually I used to hate the saltiness of bacon even when little and our jewish dad gave it to us (my mum always hated meat). I don't miss it one bit I even hate chicken now (I used to have some organic chuck).

If you miss the crunch and saltiness you can put a ryvita in a toaster for a tiny while and have it hot with butter or olive oil and marmite! delicious!

Toasted Rivita with marmite vs. crunchy bacon?

The strange thing is I didn't even particularly like bacon before I became veggie. I was fine for years and years, then my gran got married (yes yes) and she had bacon butties for her breakfast, I was one of two bridesmaids, the other had been veggie for the same amount of time as me and we both crumbled (through no pressure from gran)!!

Try it !! it's 100% better for you!! You might even like it! it's got to be hot though! (i'm not pressuring you either !!!)

I don't have any Rivita in the house, would some toasted cardboard do the trick?!

I will add Rivita to the list and try it, promise!

Thanks MrsM, I'd quite like to become a vegetarian - lots of great ideas here. I struggle to think of food I'd like to eat at the best of times.

I've been a vegan for years now but I understand when you say you miss certain types of meat. It's quite normal, food is also linked to the way we were brought up, memories, smells etc...
So then I head down to the shop and get myself a juicy seitan steak and cook it the way my mom used to do. The secret is not in the meat, but in the sauce, the herbs and so on... give it a try!! ;)

I have always hated the smell of bacon (and any pork product) cooking more than almost any other type of meat (veggie for 20 years, now occasional meat eater but still no bacon or other pork!) However I love Frazzles or some of the own-brand versions of bacon-flavoured things, so perhaps that could help some cases of temptation?

I (and the dc) also really like the Sainsburys meat-free hotdogs, (usually £3 for 2 packs, i.e. 20 hotdogs, so quite cheap I think) and Linda McCartney pies. Again these are often on bogofs and work out about 50p a pie.

Tofu in a stir-fry is great, doesn't have much flavour itself but I like the texture and it is quite cheap (a £ is enough to add to a stir-fry for 4). Lots of great ideas here. Mushrooms, goats cheese, spinach, Mexican-stlye wraps with refried beans (I use borlotti beans fried and mashed with a bit of stock cube, brown sauce and a few drops of water) go down really well with dc.

LieIns The problem with bacon 'flavoured' things and fake meats is the stuff used instead of the meat, it's generally not good for you;full of salt, sugar hydrogenated oils and palm oils which are also bad for the environment, when I read the labels I get disappointed.

I love tofu and mashed borlotti beans though and as I said before the organic soyamince as you say tiny you need plenty of herbs, onions and garlic, and fresh lemon juice to give flavour.

Oh yes, I hardly ever eat the Frazzles, but if it was going to stop me lapsing into full-on carnivoracity/carnivorousness I think it would be worth risking a packet! I do watch out for palm oils and have been cheered to note that more companies are specifying that they use sustainable sources. I noticed another one just this week but can't remember whether it was Sainsburys or something else.

I tell you what are lovely, expensive though, are whole rice crisps (they look like Pringles) they do packets as well i've only seen them in H.F. shops. But they are delish.! (I'm on my blood type way of eating so don't eat potatoes).