Vegetarianism Made Easy

There are many things in life that can be complex, but being a vegetarian should not be one of them. You can choose to make it easy, or you can choose to make it hard. The path to this new lifestyle should not be overwhelming or daunting. Here we will discuss some simple and fun tips to making vegetarianism easy to follow.

Tip One: Wean Off Meat Slowly

Our first and most important step while making this transition is not to concur Rome in a day! Particularly if you have been eating meat for a long time (quite possibly your entire life), it would be wise not to cut this out of your diet in one go (unless you strongly feel you can of course!). Set some realistic and achievable goals for yourself to slowly wean yourself from including meat into your meals. Plan for success by making some meal plans or collating your favorite recipes so you know in advance what food you are going to eat.

Slowly decrease the portion of meat in your meals and increase your ratio of vegetables. Depending on how you are feeling, you can also try to substitute your meat portions by vegetarian based products such as quorn, soy, tofu, nuts and beans etc. This will help with any feeling of ‘lacking’ you may be experiencing as you start to eliminate meat.

Tip Two: Plan For Success

The old saying is “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.  This can also be true when making your transition to vegetarianism. Have a think about your goals and why you want to be a vegetarian. These reasons should be in the forefront of your mind, and should act as a reminder when you find yourself craving meat or animal products. Feel free to write these goals and reasons down, this can be in a journal or even a piece of paper on your fridge!

When you do crave meat, have a think about what has triggered this feeling. There is likely an emotion or event that is triggering this craving. Again you can journal this and make note of your feelings and the situation that lead you to feel like you need to eat meat. By knowing what is triggering your feelings, this will make the transition so much easier as you can then find alternative ways to deal with these rather than turning to eat meat.

Finally, create a meal plan that you know you will enjoy to eat and is easy to prepare. Again, think about your reasons to transition to vegetarianism. For example, if one of your goals is to lose weight, then do not prepare a meal plan that is loaded with carbohydrates and sugar.

Tip Three: Vegetarian Grocery Shopping

Of course there are many great vegetarian friendly restaurants out there. Eating out can certainly provide a quick and easy solution to replacing your meat-based meals to vegetables. However over time this will become costly and, depending on what you are eating when you are dining out, detrimental to the waistline.

Cooking your vegetarian meals at home will provide you with endless opportunities to create tasty and nutrition meals that the whole household will love.  To create these meals you will need to find some fresh, in-season produce.

Firstly create a list of basics you will need such as herbs, spices, condiments etc. You should find these items easily from your local supermarket.

Next, find your in-season produce from your local farmers market. You will not only find a great range of vegetables here, but should also be cheaper and fresher than if you purchased directly from a supermarket or grocery store. This is great for the budget and also for good nutrition. You should even be able to source organic foods from the market at a reasonable price.

Once your kitchen is fully stocked, and you have your meal plan and recipes in place now you can have some fun. Experiment with different dishes to see what you like and what tastes appeal best for you. These steps will make your transition painless and exciting as you discover the new world of being a vegetarian.