If you’re new around here, and even if you aren’t, you probably missed that year I made it meat-free. Yep, I made the transition to vegetarian and didn’t talk about it much on the blog because I didn’t quite believe in myself to actually make the change. My family certainly got tired of me wavering back and forth on being vegetarian one week and eating chicken fingers, burgers, beef wellington, barbecue, steak, bacon, pork chops, etc … meat the next. Like many things new to you, making the transition to vegetarian is hard.

It’s been almost 2 years since I returned to meat and I’ve considered becoming vegetarian again several times throughout. Definitely more recently with the addition of Covid-19 … 19 being part of the actual name and the number of pounds it seems I’ve gained … I’m eating many things I ordinarily wouldn’t whether I’m cooking or Doordashing my boredom away. I maintained my weight better, I didn’t feel heavy and bloated after eating, and I spent less time in the kitchen preparing my meals – only my meals, but I’ll get into that later.

While the health benefits of trying to transition to vegetarian again clearly weren’t enough to push me over the edge … again, almost 2 years since I abandoned the meat-free life … the meat shortage brought on by Covid-19 (ha … you thought it was the pounds didn’t you) has been my true motivator. There’s just something about having things taken away from you that will lead you to find a way to get it back or find something better. With my mind increasingly rejecting the idea of processing dead flesh, while my body seems to be doing the same, it’s time to make the switch.

Having done it before, there are quite a few mistakes I made in my first transition to vegetarian that I won’t be repeating this time around because when you know better, you do better.

Replace My Protein, Not Just Eliminate Meat

Honestly, it wasn’t even meat cravings I was having, I found that trying to get through that first week was hard because my body was lacking protein. I eliminated meat and didn’t replace it with a source of protein to get my body through the day. I was having headaches, feeling faint, and just incredibly “blah”. Returning to meat, even just a kids meal size amount of nuggets from Chick-Fil-A, was enough to perk me up and bring me out of the sluggish feeling of withdrawal my body seemed to be going through.

This go round I’ll be stocking up on protein rich foods like quinoa, chickpeas, lentils, and giving tofu another run. If I can enjoy it in a Chipotle bowl, surely I can figure out how to fix it at home.

Vitamins Aren’t Just For Kids

Okay, this is something many people know already, but I’ve never been good with it. My mother never gave me vitamins but my friend’s parents gave them Flintstone vitamins that tasted like yummy orange candy and they’d share with me when I went over to play after school. When I became a parent, I gave my kids Disney Princess and Spiderman vitamins because I’m a sucker for all things Disney and Marvel they also taste good, were gummies, and nut-free for my tree nut allergy daughter. I still never took vitamins for myself, outside of prenatal ones while pregnant and breastfeeding of course. There are some nutrients I got through semi-daily smoothies and juices … rip Earthfare … when I’d add things like spirulina and chlorella, but I definitely wasn’t getting enough Vitamin D, B12, Calcium, and especially Iron.

I’m more cognizant of the fact we don’t get everything we need for our bodies from our foods and have been researching a few different vitamins to add to my daily routine. Sakara is one I’m really thinking about trying. I’m not a huge fan of taking pills, so I want to make sure the ones I do take are giving me everything I’m lacking from my foods, while not gagging me in process.

Flexitarian is a thing

Last time I made this lifestyle change, I threw many things away I felt went against where I was trying to go with my eating. Besides being incredibly wasteful, it didn’t make cravings go away. As a matter of fact, it seems like they came on even more, especially when I was in situations with my family and they were eating things that fell outside of the vegetarian eats I felt I should have been eating. There were times, here and there, where I would have a meat product and instantly, my family would be all over me about how they thought I wasn’t eating meat anymore. Even if they didn’t say anything (note, they ALWAYS said something) I internally beat myself up for “failing”.

Quitting anything cold turkey can be hard and, when it comes to changing your lifestyle, it doesn’t have to happen all at once. Being “flexitarian” IS a thing and it’s actually the way I plan to go this time – gradually cutting out one thing at a time before, eventually, I’ve eliminated meat and dairy altogether. This will keep me from feeling like I’m snatching something away and, hopefully, keep my family from micromanaging my food and questioning every item I put into my mouth.

I Don’t Have to Do it Alone

Ultimately, I gave up vegetarianism life, not because it was too hard for me to go without meat, it was too hard maintaining a household with everyone else who ate meat. No one has time to make 2 different meals every day. While some things are easy to convert over by throwing meat in, on, or to the side, that’s not always the case. Even when it is, it’s time-consuming. I don’t want to take 5 minutes to whip up avocado toast but then have to take 15-20 minutes more to fry bacon. I’m fine eating a meal of sides but everyone else wants pork chops with theirs. Then, there are the extra dishes meat causes. It was too much then and it’s too much now. I’ve resorted to biodegradable paper products during the pandemic because that’s just how “too much” dishes are to me right now.

My kids are both in high school, which means adulting is coming real quick. Both of them should be in the kitchen cooking, not just to help me out but because they’ll be in their own kitchens needing to cook soon. I’ve adjusted my food budget to cut out what’s allocated towards the kids and given them those funds to use for what they want for the week. They’ll come up with what they’re making, have their budgets for food supplies (outside of pantry staples of course), and be tasked with making it. I gain sanity and they gain life skills. What could be better?

How many other people are considering a transition to vegetarian? What brought about the change and what’s your game plan for making it happen?