Help from Veggies really appreciated!

Shabba

Shabba

Loves the Nom Nom!!!
Im just after some basics as to what to eat when you go out.
I've been watching the Fish Fight season on C4 and its really affected me, so much that last nights Gordon Ramsay programme had me in tears, it was horrible!!
I've been looking into becoming a veggie all morning now and other than telling OH (who will probably laugh at me) im about convinced i can do it, i buy quorn already, the only meat i eat regularly is chicken and i have a piece of salmon in the fridge. I have no objection of cooking it for my family but im not sure if i can eat it anymore.
The issue ill have is when we go for our treat, so KFC is off the menu :giggle: The local chinese does a mushroon chow mein which i hope is veggie!
Is there a list i could print etc to show me what to avoid to start with etc?
 
Hi! Thank you ill take a look now :) Any helps really appreciated :D
 
Hi! I suggest that you take a look at the Vegetarian Society website as they have some really useful info for people who are thinking of going veggie

Vegetarian Society - Go Veggie

It depends whether you want to just give up meat or also meat products? The former is obviously easy enough but you'd be surprised the products that can have animal products in them. Mullerlight have gelatine in them which is derived from skin and bones. MOst other yoghurts don't but you need to careful with the strawberry ones as some as coloured with cochineal (crushed beetle).
 
i didn't watch any of the fish programmes. i'm veggie and can't bear the thought of eating any animal that's been killed just so i can stuff my face. i've been veggie since i was 13 and will never eat meat/fish/gelatine/etc. people are always really shocked because i'm overweight! lol

indian restaurants have lovely vegetarian foods - especially their side dishes.

italian have loads you can eat and normally tomato based pasta dishes are your best bet.

chinese food can be veggie friendly - guess it depends where you eat and how strict you want to be.

also alot of arabic/turkish restaurants do nice veggie food - great if you like experimenting with new flavours.
 
Im not sure how strict i want to be. Im happy to eat eggs as i get them free range anyway so its a bit easier and i do read the full box because i noticed once that one box was only free range till a certain point! Not amused! Cheese and milk is ok as long as the cheese has the veggie symbol on! I dont buy mullerlight anyway but i shall be checking what i do have in the fridge.

What about eating junk food wise? I gather cheese and tom pizzas are good to go in most cases and veggie pizzas. Im a bit weary about the chip shop now because of the oil they may use.
 
Congratulations on the decision to go Veggie! I've been a vegetarian now for 25 years and it's sooo easy. You've been given some good links above which are well worth checking out.

It's much easier eating out these days than it used to be. And the introduction of quorn has made it possible to replicate many 'meaty' dishes like spag bol, chilli, curry, sweet and sour, shepherds pie, lasagne etc etc.

It's a bit harder to steer clear of animal byproducts e.g leather and food additives. Gelatine is a big one as has already been mentioned, so watch out for that.

Doing the green plan with SW is the easiest as a veggie and you get two more healthy extras.

Welcome aboard!
 
Arghhh my yogs have gelatine in them :(

Im prepared to go veggie on the next shop day. I cant face eating the salmon but i have to eat those yogs or i havent got any. So Wednesday should be my first veggie shop....eeeek
 
chip shops tend to fry everything in the same oil and sometimes the oil they use is animal fat, so there will be animal fats on the chips. i haven't eaten from a chip shop since i was about 13 and it's something i really do miss, but they're really unhealthy for you anyway so i'm quite happy i can't eat them! :)
 
Have you considered just making sure the foods you eat are from sustainable, well treated sources? That way you wouldn't be contributing to the issues causing environmental and social concerns, but you would still be able to eat the things you normally do?

Just an idea as it's so much easier now to buy organic, sustainable foods.
 
I've been veggie for 25 years and it's just not an issue, there is masses of choice here and I have never been stuck eating out. The only time it can sometimes be a bit of a pain is when you're abroad as I've found countries like France and Spain really don't get why you wouldn't eat meat! Good luck with whatever you decide. I'm not surprised you're wavering, I saw that programme last night and wish I hadn't it was so shocking.
 
I can't really add much else to what has already been said, the vegetarian society is probably the best place to look for beginners. I'm vegan, so no meat, fish, dairy, eggs, honey etc and I find that easy peasy, so you'll be fine eating veggie!

Eating out can sometimes be a bit of a pain, but planning makes it a lot easier. Most restaurants have the V sign next to all veg dishes. Be wary if restaurants don't label vegetarian dishes, otherwise you mind end up with sauces made with animal broths!

There are tons of veggie blogs and websites to help with meal ideas if you get stuck, and LOADS of different fake meats. Chinese supermarkets do a lot of good mock meats, including tinned mock duck, chicken and fake shrimp. They're usually really cheap too. Otherwise your local supermarket and health food shops have plenty of choices.

The only thing I find hard about being vegan is other peoples reactions to it. Nearly 4 years down the line and it's still treated as a 'phase' and you get all the stupid questions like 'OMG What can you eat?!?!' or 'if a monkey made you a sandwich would you eat it then?' but people soon shut up about it when you react calmly and cook them lots of delicious foods :D Your family and friends might be shocked at first but they'll soon get used to it when they realise how 'normal' a veggie lifestyle is these days.

Good luck, feel free to PM me if you have any questions
 
Jennyonaplate said:
Have you considered just making sure the foods you eat are from sustainable, well treated sources? That way you wouldn't be contributing to the issues causing environmental and social concerns, but you would still be able to eat the things you normally do?

Just an idea as it's so much easier now to buy organic, sustainable foods.
Click to expand...

I'm not really bothered by organic, I'm on a budget so the cost is always a massive issue!

I have tried to buy sustainable and make much better choices over food we eat rather than price where I can but I have just reached that point where I cannot do it anymore! I only eat chicken, fish and turkey at christmas as it is so its not a big change, its the little things that are harder! I buy quorn alternatives for sw now anyway!

Thanks for your help guys!
 
I've been vegetarian since I was 10 as I hated the texture and taste and the thought of an animal dying and then eating is made me feel ill. 23 years later and haven't had a problem with it ever.
I love vegetables so that helps and I tend not to eat out much but when I do I find the staff are normally very helpful.

I don't eat anything with gelatine in, no meat or fish...never even tasted the likes of salmon or steak.
I do have free range eggs, milk and cheese that is vegetarian. Some cheese can have rennet in which is stomach lining if I recall correctly, so check the labels for the V sign.

The beetle thing is gross!! Why would you even put crushed up beetle into a dessert!!?! Sick!!

Mistakes can happen but if you're vigilant then on the whole you'll be fine.

I got the "How can you be vegetarian if you're fat" thing once from an overweight co-worker...I just replied with a "So you're fat because you eat meat?", that soon shut him up :D
 
And I hate to say that most wine is refined with animal products so you need to get veggie wine too.
 
I drink vodka or lambrini lol looks like the lambrini may be off the menu!! Nevermind I can live! I threw my salmon in the bin. I couldn't face looking at it anymore.

What yoghurts do you guys eat? Most will contain gelatine and I'm used to having the yog/jelly snack things so that will be a change!

I read about the cheese but made a note of the sign to look for!
 
Omg cherry is my favorite :-D will check other flavours as I go!
 
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