The Vegetarian Poll 2019

[Sheena]

So the last few months I've been toying with vegetarianism to the point that I've now only had one meal in the last two months which contained meat, which was on a stag do in Poland in a restaurant which literally served nothing but meat and a salad bar in which I could have lettuce, olives and bread (FUCK THAT!).

I'm more pescetarian than vegetarian, but the majority of my meals are fish free too, but my love of sushi is just too strong. Most of my meals are vegetarian, anyway. I'm quite enjoying it and I actually have begun to feel better- despite masses of exercise, my weight loss had stagnated and I am finding this has kick started it again (I've lost about 2 stone this year so far- cue a "Sheena is fat" tag) and I have bags of energy even when I'm tired, though that may be more related to the exercise bit.

I'm not sure it will be forever- I can't get past the thought of never having chicken wings or a really good fillet steak again, but I'm going to stick with it as long as I can and then maybe just end up having meat on special occasions or when I go out. Fuck being a vegan, though- this vegetarian business has meant I've also tried quite a few vegan foods and HOW THE FUCK DO YOU COPE WITH VEGAN CHEESE!?

 

[ameraal]

i was pescatarian for about 8-9 years. these days i'll have proper meat but i try to keep it to once or twice a week.

all in all my current eating plan is to only eat between noon and 8 pm. i eat mostly vegetarian food and as much as i like, but try to keep the dairy and bread to as little as possible.

 

[jivafox]

I’m a vegetarian. I don’t buy dairy milk or butter, but I’m not full vegan because I won’t avoid these things when I eat out etc.

 

[Indie]

I eat chicken, turkey, fish and processed pork.

I'd say roughly 2/3 meals a week have one of the above in, usually at the weekend.

Big fan of vegetarian food though and will happily order such at restaurants. I'm often entirely veggie on holidays because I just don't like bad quality meat.

 

[Sheena]

And don't anyone give me this FLEXITARIAN bollocks

YOU'RE IN or you're OUT

 

[Indie]

And don't anyone give me this FLEXITARIAN bollocks

YOU'RE IN or you're OUT

I'm a pollopescobacontarian AND PROUD

 

[octophone]

I've had a go at vegan and I'm preparing to have another stab at it. Due to the cheese situation, this involves giving up cheese as all available substitutes appear to be hewn from Satan's own helmet chud. #prayforocty

 

[octophone]

And don't anyone give me this FLEXITARIAN bollocks

YOU'RE IN or you're OUT

YES. Bloody awful word. "FLEXITARIAN" means "I eat whatever the fuck I want but want points for having a Quorn burger when they're on the cheap in Iceland". BEAT IT, CHUM.

 

[Sheena]

YES. Bloody awful word. "FLEXITARIAN" means "I eat whatever the fuck I want but want points for having a Quorn burger when they're on the cheap in Iceland". BEAT IT, CHUM.

THIS! Went out last week with some chums and we have a friend who tells everyone constantly about her vegan "journey". She proceeded to order a rack of ribs because it's an "off day".

 

[Sheena]

Talking of Iceland, though, vegetarians, get involved in a NO BULL burger. They're INCREDIBLE!

 

[Dr Lecter]

I tried vegan cheese it just looked and smelled like fish food

A lot of my family have gone veggie and vegan. I have cut down on meat but I can’t go the whole way .

 

[lolly]

And don't anyone give me this FLEXITARIAN bollocks

YOU'RE IN or you're OUT

Making 'other' a choice will give some a way out.

I eat a lot less meat than I did a couple of years ago (other than very brief dalliances with vegetarianism), but I eat more fish than ever.

 

[octophone]

THIS! Went out last week with some chums and we have a friend who tells everyone constantly about her vegan "journey". She proceeded to order a rack of ribs because it's an "off day".

I could almost admire the sheer nerve of that.

 

[lolly]

Talking of Iceland, though, vegetarians, get involved in a NO BULL burger. They're INCREDIBLE!

Are they better than a lovely, slow fried gurt big and fat field mushroom, though?

 

[Sheena]

Making 'other' a choice will give some a way out.

I eat a lot less meat than I did a couple of years ago (other than very brief dalliances with vegetarianism), but I eat more fish than ever.

I did think that. But who am I to talk about how people want to IDENTIFY...

 

[Sheena]

Are they better than a lovely, slow fried gurt big and fat field mushroom, though?

I would say yes. They actually resemble meat- properly. Not like Quorn stuff. They have the texture of a real burger- I don't think I'd have noticed the difference if it had been in a bun etc.

I fucking love a big mushroom, though...

 

[lolly]

I think there is something to be said for flexitarianism in terms of caring about the provenance of what you eat, but fuck it, it's absolutely a cop out.

And only ever used by middle class people who can afford to pay for organic free range chickens who live on a Radisson farm.

 

[lolly]

I did think that. But who am I to talk about how people want to IDENTIFY...

Absolutely. I'm not gay, I'm just a man who has sex with men.

 

[lolly]

Sorry, with one man

*cough*

 

[Kala]

I've been vegetarian now for (I think) 10 years and I am slowly weaning off dairy. I LOVE cheese though so it is not easy but it gives me very bad heartburn. I also love mayonnaise but there's a veganaise out now which I really like. Eggs I can do without more or less. I think vegan cheese will improve over the years, though.

What's stopping me going full vegan is eating out - it's much more difficult as a vegan and there are also so many products that have milk or dairy in them that you just wouldn't think. Also halloumi, I could eat that all day.

There's a MASSIVE explosion of plant-based foods now - so many meat alternatives that are known as 'fake meats' - Iceland do a bloody amazing vegan range - @Sheena you are right those No Bull burgers are amazing! Even fast food places like Subway, Greggs and others are now getting into the vegan market. It's only going to get bigger. From when I became veggie when there was really only Quorn options, there's SO many companies now, every time I go into the supermarket there's something new I haven't tried. My favourite range at the moment is Vivera, thery do a steak which is SO nice. Naturli is also amazing - they do mince made from either soya or peas, and it's in the meat aisle in Sainsbury's as they are marketing to meat eaters who want to cut down. I see their point but I do hate having to go down the meat aisle. Some plant-eaters don't like these products but it depends why you become veggie - for me it was never the taste of the meat, it was the animal cruelty. And dairy is one of the worst for that, so I'll probably move over to being vegan as much as I can.

As for flexitarian - anything where someone reduces their meat intake can only be a good thing. In fact, I'm probably a flexitarian to the extent that I switch between being vegan and being vegetarian.

Also Marks and Spencer's have just announced that they are making all their Percy Pig range vegetarian, so there will no longer be ACTUAL PIG in them! I wonder if Haribo will follow suit...

If anyone is toying with the idea, I'd recommend getting a couple of vegan/vegetarian cookbooks - Lucy Watson's are surprisingly not bad, and I also like Aine Carlin and Ella Mills Woodward.

 

[Rita]

I am a meat eater. I have genuinely been trying to cut back, but when I am out for a meal will almost always go for a meat option as it is what appeals to me most. Day to day I make a lot of vegetable soups in the cold weather, and eat a lot of salads during the warm weather. I eat more chicken than any other meat, and absolutely adore milk/milkshakes,eggs, cheese, yoghurts and anything dairy really so no chance in me ever becoming a vegan.

 

[Rita]

I also LOVE fish. Having been brought up by the sea we ate a lot of locally sourced fish when I was a child. I still absolutely adore most fish.

 

[Sheena]

I think there is something to be said for flexitarianism in terms of caring about the provenance of what you eat, but fuck it, it's absolutely a cop out.

Yes. But it doesn’t need a label!

 

[Jean de Brissac la Motte]

I dropped a quarter of my body weight after I went on a vegan diet; after gradually dropping weight over four years I eventually reached a point where I had a BMI on par with Nancy Reagan circa 1987. I now eat eggs a few times a month and have cheese maybe every day or two. I'm at a healthy weight now, but I would love to go back to being vegan if I could find a way to maintain a healthy weight,

 

[BoysForSeles]

I’ve been vegetarian since I was 15. I do eat dairy. I don’t really understand pescetarians. People who say I’m vegetarian, I only eat fish really annoy me (I know people in this thread have not been saying that), if it’s for moral reasons then there’s no difference eating a fish or a pig.

 

[Sheena]

I’ve been vegetarian since I was 15. I do eat dairy. I don’t really understand pescetarians. People who say I’m vegetarian, I only eat fish really annoy me (I know people in this thread have not been saying that), if it’s for moral reasons then there’s no difference eating a fish or a pig.

Well, actually, I disagree with that latter point. It depends on what the moral reason is in the first place (so if you've done it for environmental purposes, there is evidence to suggest fish is much more sustainable than meat), but also because there is little evidence that fish can feel emotions like humans and animals do.

But I do agree that you're not a vegetarian if you eat fish. I am new to all this but totally guilty of "I've gone vegetarian...well, actually" as well, but the majority of my diet currently is vege-me-tarian.

 

[Sheena]

I've been vegetarian now for (I think) 10 years and I am slowly weaning off dairy. I LOVE cheese though so it is not easy but it gives me very bad heartburn. I also love mayonnaise but there's a veganaise out now which I really like. Eggs I can do without more or less. I think vegan cheese will improve over the years, though.

Anything savoury based on coconut oil is going to be a disaster, which is the problem with the cheese for me.

I FUCKING LOVE eggs though- I really couldn't live without them. Right up there with cheese.

There's a MASSIVE explosion of plant-based foods now - so many meat alternatives that are known as 'fake meats' - Iceland do a bloody amazing vegan range - @Sheena you are right those No Bull burgers are amazing! Even fast food places like Subway, Greggs and others are now getting into the vegan market. It's only going to get bigger. From when I became veggie when there was really only Quorn options, there's SO many companies now, every time I go into the supermarket there's something new I haven't tried. My favourite range at the moment is Vivera, thery do a steak which is SO nice. Naturli is also amazing - they do mince made from either soya or peas, and it's in the meat aisle in Sainsbury's as they are marketing to meat eaters who want to cut down. I see their point but I do hate having to go down the meat aisle. Some plant-eaters don't like these products but it depends why you become veggie - for me it was never the taste of the meat, it was the animal cruelty. And dairy is one of the worst for that, so I'll probably move over to being vegan as much as I can.

Some of the Vivera stuff is good- I like the pulled pork. The burgers are boring, though and the "chicken" pieces were actually disgusting- why would you MAKE something taste game-y? Awful. I really didn't think anything plant based could make me feel ill, but it really did.

My local health food shop does a vegan kebab "meat" too which is incredible- fried in a little olive oil til its crispy and in a pitta bread, it's amazing. I do think a good chicken doner is one thing that will be on my "special treat" list, to be fair.

As for flexitarian - anything where someone reduces their meat intake can only be a good thing.

It's not about the principle- it's about the fact that people think it's a thing when you're just cutting down. It's not.

 

[big ron]

I was mostly veggie, but recently I've lapsed a bit and meat intake has increased. I've got back into the gym recently, have been going 6 times a week, so I'm eating high protein low carb and I find it really really hard to eat a lot of plant based protein.

That said, went to a really nice steak restaurant last weekend and didn't eat meat, just had fish/seafood. So basically I'm just a dick.

 

[Kate]

Well, actually, I disagree with that latter point. It depends on what the moral reason is in the first place (so if you've done it for environmental purposes, there is evidence to suggest fish is much more sustainable than meat), but also because there is little evidence that fish can feel emotions like humans and animals do.

Plus fish aren't CUTE like lickle piglets

 

[Sheena]

Plus fish aren't CUTE like lickle piglets

Well, I’m not quite sure I agree with THAT reasoning

 

[lolly]

Fried Nemo and chips, please luv.

 

[Kate]

I tried chipotle aquafaba mayo a while ago and it was lovely, but I was horrified to see it has almost as much fat as normal mayo (66%!)

 

[lolly]

I love how it's called aquafaba to get the chattering classes dribbling over it

 

[octophone]

I used to eat a lot of eggs but I couldn't tell you the last time I had one. I wouldn't even look at a boiled egg now and I used to love one of a morning.

 

[lolly]

In fact, if that post had the word 'divine' in it, it could have been by Edward, now he's back on Kylie moaning duty.

 

[Eddie]

If you're looking for inspiration, I wholeheartedly recommend Anna Jones' A Modern Way To Eat as the quintessential vegetarian cookbook.

Aside from Indian cooking (which is, let's face it, the world's foremost vegetarian cuisine) the breadth of recipes in that tome are stunning. Ottolenghi's Plenty is another fantastic book.

 

[Kate]

"Chickpea gunk" doesn't have quite the same GRAVITAS does it

 

[octophone]

Fried Nemo and chips, please luv.

Finding Nemo Surprisingly Tasty

 

[Eddie]

I tried chipotle aquafaba mayo a while ago and it was lovely, but I was horrified to see it has almost as much fat as normal mayo (66%!)

Because the fat in mayonnaise notoriously comes from the eggs?

 

[Kate]

Well SOME of it must!