Bless my parents

My parents know I am a vegetarian, but I dont think they have quite grasped the full concept of what it means.

I thought Mum was pretty clued on to it when she made pea and ham soup and told me take a a few portions for myself before she put the ham in. Maybe she just forgot last night when she asked me if I was sure that I didnt want one of the chicken kievs.

Dad made me laugh on the way to the checkout when I went grocery shopping with him and Mum on the weekend...

Dad: "So, did you get all your gluten free stuff?"

Me: "Dad, I'm a vegetarian, not gluten intolerant"

They so funny :-)

The new lifestyle

Its been a whole five days. Whoa...

Haha, I've gone without meat for 5 days before. There was a week when I was living in London when I changed jobs and also changed pay days and I was living off packet soup and breadrolls for almost 2 weeks. And the occasional £1 Iceland frozen dinners. So going this long without any meat is nothing new to me. In fact, the only thing that has really changed in my life is telling people that I dont eat meat anymore. Everyone knows me as an omnivore - so on a few occasions this week, I have had to tell dinner hosts whom I have known for years that I wont be eating meat at dinner due to a lifestyle change.

I've found that intentionally cutting out meat from my diet has made me more concious of my food choices though. Being aware that my next big protein or iron ingestion isnt coming from a huge piece of steak or a chicken dish means that I am researching foods alternatives that provide these supplements. 

I had my second attempt of cooking tofu this week. The first time being a few years ago when it pretty much just fell apart when I put I put it in the fry pan. After that my tofu consumption either came in a restaurant / take away dish or from a ready-to-eat-packet.

Alas, taking some tips from various vegetarian blogs, my second attempt was a much bigger success!

Yummo! 

(I'm not being sarcastic. I actually really do like tofu)

I'm a vegetarian

That almost sounds strange to me. I know where meat comes from, but it still didnt stop me from eating it. Hell, I saw my Dad behead a chicken when I was 5 years old, but I still continued to eat chicken. Granted I didnt eat chicken for a while after that experience though...
 

I love meat as much as the next carnivore. While living in London my favourite place to eat was 64th & Social for the amazing steaks you'd get there.
 

In London I also realised how undisciplined I was am. I was always quitting smoking... until I had a few wines or one of my roommates were having one after a hard day. I was always abstaining from alcohol during the week... until an offer to go to a pub after work or to meet a friend I hadnt seen in ages. I was always on a diet... until I went to grab something from M&S or Tescos and found myself in the dessert section justifying a pastry because it was reduced from £3 down to 25p.
 

At first I considered abstaining from alcohol for a full year, but then I realised that would just be silly. I'm no fun sober. Haha, kidding. Or am I...?
 

I've gone without meat before... for a week or so. Never more than that though. I dont feel like it will be hard to give up, but I dont think it will be easy. Which is why, during my year without meat, I plan to give up another vice as well from time to time, for a month minimum. Alcohol, coffee, dairy, chocolate, carbs etc.
 

The purpose of the blog is basically to document the experience. People's reactions, body reactions, recipe posting, food discoveries, health discoveries, etc etc.
 

So here it goes. As of the 6th of August 2012, I will be meat-free for 365 days.