A Transitioning Vegetarian

This post, describing how I shall attempt (for perhaps the fourth time and LAST ) to transition into being a veggie is coming at you while I’m supposed to be juggling four book readings for my English exam next week AND writing an university essay on journalistic gatekeeping and news values.   ‘What’s that?’ you say, ‘who cares’ I reply, l’et’s talk about ME instead.’

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I’ve been living in Manchester for university for the last two years and one thing I would never, ever buy when I went food shopping, was raw meat.  I would still buy pasta sauce with meat in, BBQ feast pizzas or bacon sandwiches from Greggs… But raw, packaged meat at a supermarket was something I just seemed to avoid.

I didn’t do it self-consciously at first; I just missed it off of my list by accident, but I became a lot more aware of what I was putting in my mouth after I saw my flatmate hacking away at a chicken breast with a blunt knife and it flailing around on the chopping board and, ew, ew, ewwy.

At the same time that this incident of indecency happened, it was coming up to Lent.

For those who don’t know, Lent is a Christian season of preparation before Easter.  Ella’s version of lent: give up something for forty days and forty nights and eat it again on Easter Sunday.  For most, Lent revolves around giving up chocolate (hence chocolate eggs being a consumerist symbol of Easter, ey, ey, learning something every day, huh?)

For this ‘preparation period’ I decided to give up meat.  Yes.  Give up meat for a full 40 days and 40 nights.Lent happened and during lent I lost SO MUCH WEIGHT.  Now, for a girl who’s been an average size 10-12 and never a size 8-10, all of a sudden it all just dropped off me and it was THE best thing EVER.  My boobs didn’t fit in my bras, my work shirts became massive and my confidence sky rocketed.  My skin was also noticeably a lot cleaner and basically I looked and felt brilliant! My clothes might not have looked great but hey, no meat-lifestyle here I come!

But, as soon as Lent was over, I went on a night out and came home and cooked a ham and cheese toastie and the rest is history.  Hands up, we’ve all been there with the guilt food.

SO THIS TIME IS DIFFERENT.

I do not want to eat the animals that I have petted and I do not want to consume their produce.  Why?  It’s minging pretty much.

My problem however, is that it isn’t easy.  The giving up meat thing?  Walk in the park, I’m currently meat-free for the whole of 2017 (we are only ten days in but whatever… baby steps guys) but it’s giving up the dairy and attempting to edge myself into using dairy free products and branding that I’m finding difficult.  In other words: I want to be a vegan but I am not ready to be one yet? Yeah? Does that make sense?

It’s so bloody time consuming checking e-v-e-r-y label JUST to see the word ‘skimmed milk’ or ‘beef extract’ in small print at the end.  Credits to those who manage to be vegetarian / vegan with ease, props to you guys!  So basically this is a cry for help.  2017 is the yearI kick the industries butt and stop consuming so much animal.  But I need you.

If you have any, any tips of how I can keep up the vegetarian lifestyle and offer any dairy alternatives (chocolate is my main thing right now) then please, please let me know in the comments.  Manchester veggie food places? HOLLA PLEASE. Or even email me.  It will at least give me a good reason to procrastinate these novels my head is supposed to be buried in.

E x