Although there are a few who go vegetarian to ‘make a point’, this blog isn't aimed at them. This is more for those who want to enjoy life, assimilate into it a different diet and get on with everything else this world has to offer. I wanted to write a short article busting some myths about this dietary choice. As it happens in my case it wasn’t such a choice to make. My parents had made the choice before i was born and when I was of an age to try a non-veggie meal the idea didn’t appeal to me. In that respect I am lucky as I have not had any of the emotional upset that I know some of my friends have stirred in making the decision to go meat free. From conversations I’ve had it is somewhat easier if you are not particularly fond of fresh meat and feel it may be somewhat healthier to switch to meat substitutes and ease it out of your routine. It is far worse if you actually enjoy a meat filled diet, but make the decision for ethical reasons as you are then battling against your own desire for something and much harder to fulfil with anything close to enjoyment. Regardless of your reasons for making this particular choice it doesn’t have to be an unpleasant sacrifice and with a little adventure in your soul you can enjoy a wonderfully diverse diet.
First of all I should tell you what vegetarian means in my world, as there seem to be many interpretations of it! I don’t eat any meat, but I do eat diary. People often then ask me ‘so do you eat fish?’ to which the answer is NO! I’m a vegetarian! To those people who say ‘I’m a vegetarian, but I eat fish, oh and sometimes chicken’ I say you are not a vegetarian, you are just a fussy meat eater. So then they say, so what about eggs or milk? Farming still happens to produce them!’ To which I say – ‘I know, I’m a vegetarian – NOT at vegan!’ To anyone wanting to go vegetarian I will warn you... Changing your diet is the easy bit! Getting through to the knuckle headed argumentals that will haunt you is the bit which will test your nerve. There is something in the human psyche which leads people leading a life different from your own to feel the need to justify their choice by ‘catching you out’ and bringing you down to their level. However ‘modern’ and ‘liberated’ people claim today’s world is, it is sadly only a small percentage who will genuinely look at a situation and think ‘fair enough, if they’re happy...’ Most people will question you, gloat over what you’ll be ‘missing out’ on, tell you its ‘just a phase’ and generally reduce your well thought out and positive life choice to something resembling a school-girl’s passing fancy. But it makes them feel better! And because weare modern and liberated souls, we let it go; leave them to their medieval opinions and remind ourselves that in a past life they were probably witch-finders – and we all know what reasonable and well-balance folks they were! Healthy debates are fine, but don’t get drawn into the kind of conversations that lead to raised voices and personal comments – some people will never accept that it is a good lifestyle. I will freely admit that there are ‘baddies’ on the vegetarian side. They annoy me to. The ones that most people associate us with, the ones who try to ‘convert’ everyone they meet. I am not interested in converting people. I am happy to discuss the dietary benefits and social disadvantages of the lifestyle, but that is where the debate should be left. If your argument is reasoned and non-invasive then those interested will ask you more. Bullying your friends into joining you will only confirm their suspicions that you’ve joined some peculiar ‘cult’ full of people making you see the error of your foody ways. Be happy in your choice and others will be pleased for you; let the criticism go over your head and prove your point in the best way possible – throw a dinner party! Though I find it best not to advertise it as a ‘vegetarian’ dinner party, that only serves to put off the meat eaters who, until shown otherwise, will believe they’ ll have an evening of lentil soup and low fat yoghurt. I am not trying to deny the fact that I’m vegetarian – I just like the easy life. Sometimes subtlety and a garnish of sneakery is the best way to bring people together. The point of the evening is not to get everyone round and convert them all to raging veggies, it is to get a group of friends around to have a good time and not even notice that the delicious food on their plates actually doesn’t contain meat! However, it is perhaps best to leave parties until you’ve practised and experimented with your cookery skills. If you are an experienced cook, then you are probably already aware how to create the best of different diets. However, for the majority of busy, working people changing your way of eating can present new challenges. If you are not going to depend on the delights of ready made meals and the wonderous works of Linda McCartney, then you will need to bring your basic cookery skills up to scratch.
In the next part I'll chat about starting to make vegetarian meals....
