Becoming a vegetarian: some useful tips
1. Do some research: It’s not as hard as it sounds, search the internet and you’ll find plenty of sites with information related to being a vegetarian. Alternatively, visit a library or bookstore, there are many good books on the subject.
2. When you go shopping, look at what vegetarian food is available in stores. Many supermarkets and food stores, especially the larger ones, tend to stock an increasing range of prepared vegetarian foods, such as veggie burgers, sausages, and other vegetarian-friendly frozen or refrigerated foods.
Also any herbalist or health food store will have a good selection.
3. Buy a vegetarian cookbook. There are literally hundreds to choose from, with many specializing in quick and easy recipes, and many geared towards beginners who are also turning vegetarian. Some also specialize in different types of food, for example, Indian, Italian or Chinese.
4. Try a vegetarian recipe: There are literally thousands of them, you can easily find them on the internet, in the many cookbooks available, or in many cooking magazines that have vegetarian recipes.
5. Buy some vegetarian food, don’t be afraid to try new things, like the many meatless substitutes out there.
However, don’t rely too much on the meat substitutes you eat, but also think about the vegetarian foods you already eat and try to include more of these in your planning, for example, macaroni and cheese, vegetable lasagna, baked potatoes with cheese, spaghetti with tomato sauce, pancakes or vegetable soup! This will help you when you become a vegetarian.
6. Decide if you want to convert gradually/quickly, and make a plan!
Some people become vegetarian overnight, perhaps if they have read or seen a TV documentary about what goes on in slaughterhouses.
This way, you’d get the benefits sooner and know you were doing it right away, which might make you feel better, but you’d need to have done some planning and be around people who support your decision and not have major disruptions in your life. .
Making a gradual change plan gives you time to plan for when you become a vegetarian. You’ll be more likely to stick to your new diet and have fewer interruptions. However, you should make sure you don’t start eating unhealthily as a quick way to replace meat, for example, with lots of cheese, eggs, and high-fat dairy products. It’s also a good idea not to take too long to go fully vegetarian or you could end up not cutting out meat entirely.
If you want to gradually eliminate meat, you can eliminate red meat first, then chicken and finally fish, choose what you think is best for you.
7. Beware of hidden animal products
Check labels when buying food. Of course, depending on where you live, labeling will be better in some places than others. Look for the “vegetarian friendly” label.
There are many animal products used in everyday meals that make them unsuitable for vegetarians. The most common of these are:
Gelatin/gelatin – Protein from the bones, cartilage, tendons and bones of animals. It is often found in desserts and yogurts, but also in some candies and marshmallows.
When you see a tempting chocolate dessert check the label, many of them contain gelatin! The same goes for many yogurts, especially low-fat ones. Organic yogurts and other dairy products are more likely to be vegetarian.
Rennet – This comes from the stomach lining of slaughtered newborn calves. It is used in making cheese. However, with more and more vegetarian cheeses being made, they should be labeled as suitable for vegetarians, but unfortunately they are not always.
Animal fat: Most often found in cakes and cookies.
Cochineal (E120) – Red food colouring, found in some sweets, made from crushed insects. Would you really want to eat that?
Eggs – Only buy free-range eggs!