Is going vegetarian hard?

[Poppy]

i imagine it depends on what you eat

for me it was almost trivial to switch meat components out in most of the stuff i like

it might be harder for me to give up dairy and eggs, though i could do it, and probably should

 

[MrH]

I wouldn't be able to do it at least.

 

[Normanski 2.0]

Been veggie for three months now. Before that I ate meat pretty much for every meal of every day, and I honestly didn't think that I'd last a week when I started but it's been surprisingly easy: There's so many good replacements out there now and most restaurants will have at least one or two alternatives.

Christmas will probably be the biggest test, but there's hardly been a time where I feel that I'm missing out or feel like I'm sacrificing a lot of the things that I ate before.

 

[IMCaprica]

Everyone is different, but becoming a vegetarian is pretty easy. I tried going vegan over the past year and ultimately had to give it up because I literally can't choke down leafy greens and everything else I could buy is either non-existent in my area or too expensive for me to afford. So I've been vegetarian for about 4 months, and even then I don't buy dairy products specifically (I opt for almond or oat milk, vegan cheese, vegetable spread), nor do I buy honey or things with gelatin. Getting rid of most of these things wasn't hard, least of all meat. Once I got about a week or two away from meat it was smooth sailing.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

I was able to cut down massively. I have not successfully cut out meat entirely. Mainly chicken,

 

[I Don't Like]

I'm going vegetarian for January and possibly February. Already drastically cut red meat and just been doing chicken but also gonna try do less of that. With as much as I love fruit and veggies it hasn't been that difficult honestly. I do cook 4+ times a week though so I'll need to try and get creative with variety.

 

[JohnDusk]

I went full vegetarian 6 years ago. It was way more easier than I thought. Veganism came later and it was slightly more challenging but also much less complicated than I pictured it to be. From a purely selfish point of view I've never had this much fun eating in my entire life. My reasons are purely ethical though. Go for it! You won't regret it!

 

[ArkhamFantasy]

Being vegetarian is pointless. No half measures.

Click to shrink...

 

[Illenium]

Been veggie for three months now. Before that I ate meat pretty much for every meal of every day, and I honestly didn't think that I'd last a week when I started but it's been surprisingly easy: There's so many good replacements out there now and most restaurants will have at least one or two alternatives.

Christmas will probably be the biggest test, but there's hardly been a time where I feel that I'm missing out or feel like I'm sacrificing a lot of the things that I ate before.

Click to shrink...

If you made it past thanksgiving, I think you'll be okay my friend :)

 

[DoubleYou]

Not at all. It was surprisingly easy actually.

But I quit smoking months before I quit meat, and I guess kind of expected the same struggle. But it doesn't compare at all.

 

[jotun?]

As long as you aren't too strict about it, I think it would be pretty easy. If you start worrying about whether something has a little chicken broth in it, or was prepared using utensils that have ever touched meat, then it becomes a pain.

 

[Deleted member 19813]

I did it for six months and it was easy.

 

[bombermouse]

I was able to cut down massively. I have not successfully cut out meat entirely. Mainly chicken,

Click to shrink...

if you stick to poultry but cut beef and milk you'll be doing the world a huge service.

 

[Briareos]

I did it for six months and it was easy.

Click to shrink...

Same, except for the last 24 years. It hasn't been hard. The only difficult thing is navigating an evangelism period if you go through one. Skip that if you can, just do your thing quietly and without proselytizing.

 

[FeistyBoots]

It can be if you have any food allergies or sensitivities. I've become a flexitarian (I eat meat maybe a few times a week if at all now), and one of the tricks was finding good substitutions.

I'm a big fan of the Morningstar Farms crumbled protein. Great in many dishes that call for ground beef.

 

[Elderly Parrot]

This is a terrible way of thinking. All it does is polarize discussion, lead people away from abandoning animal products and to giving up when they fail to live up to absurd Pure Vegan (tm) standards.

If everyone reduced their meat consumption, even if not completely, it would help. Tell people it's all or nothing and you will certainly get nothing.

Click to shrink...

Haha that was my girlfriend. I eat meat all day every day (just not pork around her) but she is like vegetarians are weak and still kill animals. When she saw vegans supporting the cloned meat she casted them off too lol. She may be the worst type of vegan

 

[bmdubya]

Cutting beef out of your diet is incredibly easy. I maybe have beef once a month on average now.

I would recommend starting out with something like meatless Mondays or something like that. You don't need to get that creative either, do like bean tacos instead of beef tacos. Or what we will do is we find dishes and just replace the meat with beans and veggies. Works especially well with crockpot dishes.

And then if you really wanna push the limits, make homemade falafel. Falafel is the dish that made me realize how tasty vegetarian food could be.

 

[BringBackSonics]

Reading all that stuff about how meat massively contributes to global warming is making me feel really bad, to the extent I'm considering going vegetarian. If not full vegetarian, then limiting myself and only eating chicken and fish on the limited occasions I have it. Is it hard? I like meat. I like steak. Feels like it'll be hard.

Click to shrink...

We eat mostly chicken and fish now and have cut out most red meat, it's not horribly difficult

 

[ToTheMoon]

Quite easy. I did it about a decade ago and the hardest parts were family gatherings (I was the only one in my family to ever do it, and my family is kind of conservative, so it generated some awkward moments) and learning what has chicken broth and such in it.

Don't feel too bad if you slip up occasionally; being vegetarian 95% is just about as "good" as being it 100% of the time!

 

[statham]

I did 90% of the time. Liquid eggs with salsa is my downside. and chicken once in awhile. I cant do vegan yet. Tho Almond milk tastes 100 better.

 

[ned_ballad]

Going on almost 2 years vegetarian and it's super easy

Vegan is a little bit harder, but mostly because restaurants have next to nothing. So I only eat vegan when cooking for myself.

 

[konka]

no. I eat meat but my girlfriend is vegetarian so I eat meat rarely. There are so many good vegetarian options, especially with Indian food.

 

[TrueSloth]

I can go weeks without eating meat, but once in a while I'll have fish or chicken if I'm eating out with friends. I think with the rise of beyond meat and stuff, it will be much easier for conscious meat eaters to switch.

 

[Mik2121]

I want to go vegetarian as well, even though I do enjoy my meats. For now I want to quit the red meats and stick to chicken. Then move from there. Hopefully the transition is smooth and I can slowly fade different foods.

 

[Sanka]

Vegetarian diet seems quite easy to me as I don't eat meat that often anyways. Vegan on the other hand appears way harder to me. As I use up a lot of milk and eggs.

 

[Deleted member 18360]

I did 90% of the time. Liquid eggs with salsa is my downside. and chicken once in awhile. I cant do vegan yet. Tho Almond milk tastes 100 better.

Click to shrink...

Chickpea flour 'omelettes' (with black salt to give it an eggier taste) is actually a quite good substitute though you obviously won't be fooled into thinking you're really eating eggs.

Vegetarian diet seems quite easy to me as I don't eat meat that often anyways. Vegan on the other hand appears way harder to me. As I use up a lot of milk and eggs.

Click to shrink...

There are actually a lot of functional substitutes for eggs and dairy that you can keep on hand fairly easily. It's a little more complicated because your substitute probably won't replace all of the functions and you might need to use different substitutes to fulfill different applications, but it's actually less daunting than I thought and actually kind of fun to work within those limitations, if you're cool with and have the time to do most of your food prep yourself.

 

[breakdancing duck]

Fast food now adding vegetarian options makes the prospect much easier. I attempted to a vegetarian 15 years ago and it was difficult finding something to eat while out if I hadn't planned ahead.

 

[signal]

Respect to everyone trying.

 

[It’s Time To Go]

if you stick to poultry but cut beef and milk you'll be doing the world a huge service.

Click to shrink...

I'm not able to cut milk out yet. I'm too fond of my tea.

 

[bombermouse]

I'm not able to cut milk out yet. I'm too fond of my tea.

Click to shrink...

There are some vegan alternatives that suck, but some other ones are amazing. Don't dismiss them immediately :D

 

[G_Zero]

It's hard if you love food. I'm trying to be vegetarian a couple of days per week now, and it's going pretty well. However, I very much doubt that I'll "go full time" until lab meat becomes a thing.

Not being able to eat tonkotsu ramen with chashu in Japan would literally ruin my vacations.

 

[deftones r cool]

Being vegetarian is pointless. No half measures.

Click to shrink...

I don't enjoy fake cheese.

Also me love eggs.

 

[Deleted member 18360]

It's hard if you love food. I'm trying to be vegetarian a couple of days per week now, and it's going pretty well. However, I very much doubt that I'll "go full time" until lab meat becomes a thing.

Not being able to eat tonkotsu ramen with chashu in Japan would literally ruin my vacations.

Click to shrink...

seitan tonkatsu, with kombu and shiitake dashi with miso, duh :p ime the relative convenience of cooking with vegan stuff is it often makes you much more engaged with the process via stuff you keep in your kitchen and pantry, you don't need a pasture or a hen house to consistently have fresh stuff from scratch.

I think a lot of people make relative exceptions on vacation and stuff though. Travelling and eating only plant based stuff would be hard in like most places without a kitchen.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

It's a lot easier than wrestling with your conscience multiple times a day!

But seriously, if you do find it daunting to give up animal products all at once, take it step by step. Starting with chicken would have a huge effect alone because every time you eat chicken that's half to a whole life right there on your plate.

Challenge 22 is a great resource where you will find loads of support.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

It's hard if you love food. I'm trying to be vegetarian a couple of days per week now, and it's going pretty well. However, I very much doubt that I'll "go full time" until lab meat becomes a thing.

Not being able to eat tonkotsu ramen with chashu in Japan would literally ruin my vacations.

Click to shrink...

Last night I went to a restaurant with vegan tonkotsu. But I had curry and pizza instead. Its awesome being a vegan in Tokyo these days.

 

[G_Zero]

Last night I went to a restaurant with vegan tonkotsu. But I had curry and pizza instead. Its awesome being a vegan in Tokyo these days.

Click to shrink...

seitan tonkatsu, with kombu and shiitake dashi with miso, duh :p ime the relative convenience of cooking with vegan stuff is it often makes you much more engaged with the process via stuff you keep in your kitchen and pantry, you don't need a pasture or a hen house to consistently have fresh stuff from scratch.

I think a lot of people make relative exceptions on vacation and stuff though. Travelling and eating only plant based stuff would be hard in like most places without a kitchen.

Click to shrink...

I don't see how you could ever replicate tonkotsu soup without pork bones, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Do you have some restaurant recommendations in Tokyo? I'm going back for a while on the 28th, so I'll try them out.

 

[Border]

It's hard to go vegetarian if you want to eat healthy.

If you don't want to eat healthy, it is a breeze. Cheese pizzas, french fries, pastas, and PB&J sandwiches are all pretty satisfying.

 

[G_Zero]

It's a lot easier than wrestling with your conscience multiple times a day!

But seriously, if you do find it daunting to give up animal products all at once, take it step by step. Starting with chicken would have a huge effect alone because every time you eat chicken that's half to a whole life right there on your plate.

Challenge 22 is a great resource where you will find loads of support.

Click to shrink...

Wouldn't beef be a better place to start? I mean in terms of climate impact.

 

[Ryuhza]

Easier now than ever, I imagine.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

I don't see how you could ever replicate tonkotsu soup without pork bones, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Do you have some restaurant recommendations in Tokyo? I'm going back for a while on the 28th, so I'll try them out.

Click to shrink...

T's Tan Tan for ramen - Tokyo station, Ueno Station, Narita Airport (Terminals 1 & 2)
Saido in Jiyugaoka - top rated vegan restaurant in the world on Happy Cow vegan restaurants site
Ain Soph for mixture of Japanese and western styles - Shinjuku, Ginza, Ikebukuro, Kyoto. Also fast food joint in Shinjuku called Ripple.
Wired Bon Bon in Shinjuku - all the desserts are vegan including massive matcha parfaits
Bon in Taito - if you really want to splash out and have a shojin ryori inspired feast

 

[Deleted member 18360]

I don't see how you could ever replicate tonkotsu soup without pork bones, but I'm willing to give it a shot.

Do you have some restaurant recommendations in Tokyo? I'm going back for a while on the 28th, so I'll try them out.

Click to shrink...

Ime plant based stuff is different, but if you get a similar mix of flavors and fats and acids and stuff it essentially scratches the same itch. At worst you might have to rely a little bit more on seasoning or herbs or plant based ways of making it more rich or brothy or w/e but I'm sure we all have distinct palates and some dishes will always be a bit harder to replicate than others but still it's actually a pretty big opportunity for creativity and I eat a lot more delicious food now because I can often just easily make it at home. You need more free time though lol like it works if you're working part time or something if making everything from scratch.

 

[Cheesecakebobby]

Wouldn't beef be a better place to start? I mean in terms of climate impact.

Click to shrink...

Veganism is a philosophy about reducing harm to sentient beings. It would still be a moral imperative to reduce animal suffering if vegan diets were equally destructive to the environment. We shouldn't be killing any animals unnecessarily, but I'd still rather one cow die than dozens of chickens to provide the same number of meals.

 

[Richietto]

Depends on the kinda person you are. Im slowly but surely going vegetarian. My parents are vegan and I moved back in with them and if I want meat I have to buy it myself. I stopped bothering and now the only animal products I eat are milk and cheese at home. Only times I eat meat is if Im out and about and need lunch or something. Im sure eventually meat will be out of the picture entirely. I didn't think I would switch up my diet so much but it came pretty naturally and easy. Next big step is cutting cheese and milk, which is gonna be really hard for me.

 

[Tigel]

It doesn't have to be an all or nothing thing. You can simply reduce your meat consumption to something like once or twice a week.

 

[dyelawn91]

Been vegetarian or vegan for going on five years, now. It's very easy if you can cook, but God help you and your wallet if you can't.

 

[Deleted member 4292]

Vegetarian. Absolutely not.
Vegan? Yes!

 

[G_Zero]

T's Tan Tan for ramen - Tokyo station, Ueno Station, Narita Airport (Terminals 1 & 2)
Saido in Jiyugaoka - top rated vegan restaurant in the world on Happy Cow vegan restaurants site
Ain Soph for mixture of Japanese and western styles - Shinjuku, Ginza, Ikebukuro, Kyoto. Also fast food joint in Shinjuku called Ripple.
Wired Bon Bon in Shinjuku - all the desserts are vegan including massive matcha parfaits
Bon in Taito - if you really want to splash out and have a shojin ryori inspired feast

Click to shrink...

Thanks, I'll check them out.

 

[Subpar Scrub]

It was too hard for me, so I just reduced meat consumption but kept some in there