My Top Tips for being/ becoming a Vegetarian

 Hi, 

Today I am sharing my top tips for becoming an vegetarian based upon my experience. I think this may be helpful if you are looking at becoming vegetarian or recently became vegetarian. 

I have been vegetarian for 3 and a half years. My reason for becoming vegetarian was for ethical reasons, I wanted to stop eating meat because of animal welfare, although I have experienced great health benefits as well.  You can read my whole story here. 

Tip #1 - Give yourself Time

My No. #1 tip would be give yourself time.  It is a big change in your diet and it will take you time to adjust.  I would recommend a few days where you are at home and you do not need to worry about anything else apart from changing your diet.  You need to make sure that you are getting a balanced diet. 

I found being at home helped me because I made the change to my diet in the summer holiday and I was able to just focus on trying new foods and recipes. I also had time to figure out what I wanted to pack for lunch before starting university. 

Tip #2 - Research

I would recommend researching about becoming a vegetarian and everything that it can involve, from changes in your diet, to what you will feel like. Also research new recipes and  food. 

I really like BBC Food recipes, I love how easy their recipes are to follow and adapt depending how many people I am feeding. 

Another thing I do a lot is adapt recipes that contain meat, because sometimes I have found that a lot of vegetarian recipes are very similar, and adapting them gives us more variety. 

Tip #3 - It's Trial and Error

It is going to take time for you to adapt. It is all about trial and error, it may be hard for you to adapt. It may take time for you for find `your groove' and recipes you like. At the beginning I tried lots of recipe that I didn't like. 

Tip #4 - Don't beat yourself

Sometimes you may make mistakes and that's okay.  A few times I have bought a dessert or a sweet that was not suitable for vegetarians.  I didn't beat myself I just knew not to buy them again.

Tip #5 - Enjoy

It can be stressful sometimes when trying new food and cooking new recipes, but try to make it fun. I have tried so many new foods since becoming a vegetarian which I never would have tried before. I love cooking for my family and we have loved most of the food we have tried.😋It has just been so much fun. 

If you are vegetarian I would love to hear your stories or experience. Please comment below or if you have any questions.

I hope you enjoy this. 

Please follow me on Instagram @withloveerinx. 

With Love Erin x