Vegetarian but thinking of eating meat again. Help please.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

I've been veggie for nearly 35 years, but after a year of feeling pretty dreadful (mostly caused by anaemia) I have decided I probably need to start eating meat again - I can't go on feeling so ill, so often, and am veggie more through habit than through any particular animal rights thing. If I do start eating meat, it would be free range or organic only.

Anyway, has anybody been in this position? What did you start with? Need to consider that I've never cooked with meat and I'm not sure if I'd even like it. I think chicken might be a safe starting point.

Any advice/ideas much appreciated.

I started with roast chicken. Then had bacon and sausages eventually. Much later I tried red meat. I craved steak when I was pregnant.

A nice gourmet burger would be good for your iron levels.

Sausages not so much!

Don't think I could stomach a burger, but could maybe cope with roast chicken. Are there ways of roasting a chicken so that it might taste less like chicken?!

Thank you, btw.

Remus, I don't mean to insult but it sounds like you really don't want to eat meant. Have you exhausted all the non meat high iron food and explored the reasons for the anaemia? My DH is veggie and suffers from anaemia due to a mixture of diet and a medical conditional and manages it well with iron tablets.

Thanks, Mostly. My diet is really not bad. The iron tablets are helping but I still don't feel 100%. I'm sick of going to see the doctor. I'm honestly ready to try this - but it just feels a bit alien, currently. I did used to like meat, especially chicken and bacon.

Lol don't worry chicken doesn't taste of much!

The iron rich meats are red meats btw.

How about starting with some tuna or salmon? Fish might be gentler on the stomach.

Deffo can't do tuna (the smell!) but Sainsbo's magazine have a recipe for tandoori salmon this month, which I might try. I do v occasionally eat fish and chips, but pretty funny about fish generally.

If you liked bacon before, try starting with that (cook until it's really dry and well done).

Just been looking on Sainsbo's - can't believe how expensive it all is!

Iron rich meat tends to be more meaty and I am guessing probably less appealing to you. I would go for small bits of meat in something eg bacon in a pasta dish rather than a large piece of meat like a chicken breast.

Have you tried spatone? I find iron tablets taste disgusting and are not as effective as spatone. It's often on three for two at boots.

I thought I'd move on to Spatone once the latest batch of prescribed tablets are over.

How about starting with something like chicken curry or chicken pie, where the meat is in a flavourful sauce?

Or breaded/battered white fish - not the healthiest but again less fishy! The tandoori salmon sounds yummy!

When I started eating meat again , I made a beef stew with lots of winter veg , could not bring myself to Mess about with raw chicken ( still don't eat it now) beef was ready diced, fresh and minimum smell.
I just put a very small amount in pot threw everything in and cooked for a few hours so almost zero physical contact with raw meat and no fussing with cooking , and it was lovely !

I started eating beef when pregnant but that is the only meat I eat. I suffer from chronic low iron and feel much better since eating meat.

I started by mixing Quorn with mince. Buy butchers mince as it us usually better quality and it breaks down better than supermarket stuff. Cook ragu for hours and you can't really taste the bits of meat anymore.

Like someone said up thread, a winter stew with veg makes a rich gravy which goes well with any veg - lots of iron even in the gravy.

I say a beef stew, beef stroganoff, beef bourguignon, something with little chunks of meat that can be bulked out with lots of veg.

My mum used to make a game casserole which was beautiful.

The tablets don't work for everyone. I really like floradix liquid.

When I started eating meat after a decade of being vegetarian I got horrendous stomach cramps and constipation. I wouldn't recommend it if you're already ill.

I may have an iron stomach, but when I gave up being veggie I started by eating steak tartare

Okay. Could I make a beef stew in the slowcooker? Even if I couldn't eat it, dp and dd2 would be in Heaven!

I'm going to try the salmon, I think. Or maybe eat a chicken curry when out, as then somebody else would be cooking it! :)

Thanks. Dp has bought a small gammon joint in foil, from M&S. I will taste it tonight, just to see how I feel. I'm doing cauliflower cheese for myself, in case I can't cope with the gammon!

I think you should start slowly with tiny bits rather than just have a meat based meal. I was vegetarian for 20 years and a few years ago started to try to eat oily fish to improve joint issues. The first few times I ate even a few bites I was very sick. I think it took my system about 2 months to tolerate it. After 6 months I gave up because it didn't help me to feel any better.

Thanks, Road. I'll see how it goes. If it doesn't work for me, it doesn't work - but I do think I should at least give it a try, as I'm so tired of not feeling 100% and even more tired of going backwards and forwards to the GP.