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.

Just tried about a centimetre of gammon. Let's just say it was a good job I'd made the cauliflower cheese! It just looked so pink and piglike, and just tasted chewy. I don't think I'll be trying it again.

Will try to get a taste of fish/chicken in the week.

Bleurgh, don't worry, I find gammon slimy and grim and I'm not vegetarian!

:)

Gammon is really chewy, that is what puts me off meat. I find the thigh meat of chicken much easier to tolerate as it's much more moist and softer requiring less chewing. I also make a ragu with lean beef mince, lentils and vegetables which I simmer for 8 hours. This breaks down the meat so much the sauce becomes thick and everything is just together, it's hard to distinguish meat from lentil or vegetable. I use this in a lasagne. I like turkey mince too and use this in enchiladas or as a topping for nachos.

Don't think I could manage mince tbh, as I didn't even like it when I ate meat. I'll try chicken next, I think.

Thank you.

I've been wanting to eat meat again for a while (like you, no intention of eating anything but organic/free range) but I can't get over the idea of eating an animal. Even with eggs I have to pick out the 'yucky bits' (whatever the umbilical cord looking thing is and any blood clots)

I think I'd only go so far as to have chicken though. And salmon. My charges demolish the pre-cooked deli type salmon and I crave it ever time I dish it up.

Yes, am also a bit funny about eggs - can only eat them if cremated.

I started with prawns - not a great choice, moved to fish gagged more than once. Took me a year to move to chicken....i was determined not to be squeamish about the meat I tried...I still am a bit. Liver is such a nutritionally dense food, I'm trying to convince myself to eat it more often, with balsamic vinegar and lots of onions it doesn't taste too bad.

Beef mince stinks during cooking, horrible stuff. Lamb and pork mince are much nicer, imo.

I think 'things that don't really look like meat' might be your way forwards How about breaded/battered things, heavily flavoured nice sausages, chicken soup etc?

As a poor student, I used to make bologna use with half the amount of mince and bulk it up with lentils, which could work?

Remus start with veg soups made with proper bone broth. Chicken ideal. This alone might make a difference to how you feel. Then you can add some finely shredded chicken if you want. With fish, start with seaweed in recipes or very bland fish like sea bass or cod/haddock. Fish pie with one of the latter, made with spinach, egg, mashed potato would be good as the fish will get a little lost

Ok-maybe leave the egg out of the fish pie but use mustard and lemon juice in the sauce and cheese perhaps.

I did 15 years as a sort of vegetarian ( I ate fish). My starting point for eating meat again was minced beef. To be honest I found it disgusting to start with, but gradually got braver and now I can happily tuck into a fillet steak or a roast, or even some meat on the bone. But it took me some time (a few years) to get to that point.
How about a chicken stir fry, with loads of veggies and noodles in it.

A thought Remus, have you been checked for D3. Earlier this year it turned out that my "iron anaemia" was actually D3 deficiency. Which is why I didn't get any better on iron tablets.

Thanks so much, all. Lots of food for thought here.

Not had D3 levels checked, so will ask about that next time I go to see the doctor. Tbh though, I am feeling lots better than I did - but not 100% and that's what I want to feel!

Not sure if I could manage to make bone broth tbh - is there a bought stock I could try? Deffo can't do prawns - have always hated them. I do think I could manage a bit of white fish though, maybe, or perhaps some chicken. Fishcakes could be good too, maybe with cod or haddock?

Yy to bought stock. You can usually buy it refrigerated, often near the meat aisles.

Thank you.

Do you know somebody who makes stock? An old boss of mine was constantly trying to give me some! You can get the bones from the butchers and just chuck it in the slow cooker if you don't want to pull apart a chicken?

Yurgh to pots full of bones in the kitchen! Nope - I didn't think anybody actually made their own stock nowadays. :) This is all so much more complicated than I thought.

I'm a committed carnivore namechanger but I can't cope with liver !

Years and years ago, I used to like liver and onions...

I'm going to wait until the weekend, and then buy either a chicken or some fish. Will report back.