When I first decided to take meat out of my diet, that’s what I did. Bad move. One can’t just go from eating the average carnivorous diet to a pure vegan one.
The second time I decided to take meat out of my diet, I did it gradually. And have been a Vegetarian for over twenty years.
This is how I did it.
Firstly, I substituted fish and non-meat meals in a random kind of way. Instead of a burger for lunch I had a fishburger or a vegeburger. I had lots of salads with strips of cheese.
I still ate meat but not as much, and each month tried to cut down a little more.
I would herald my transition with a ‘washout’, on day one, drinking only fruit juices, then on day two have small grain meals, and on the third day I would eat as ‘normal’ save if last month I had meat four times a week, this month I’d have it three times.
I took vitamins and became pretty aware of nutrition, for example, dark green leafy vegetables, spinach, callaloo, pak choy should be cooked with orange and red vegetables; carrot, pumpkin, tomato, beets, in that the vitamins in each of the three activated the vitamins in the other.
I keep milk and cheese and fish in my diet, but removed eggs, substituting olive oil in recipes requiring eggs.
I learned how to cook tofu, make vegeburgers, use vegemince, so that the substitutes for meat were really good tasting so I didn’t feel ‘deprived’.
By the end of a year I had substantially removed meat, though I did eat fish about twice a month, use cheese when I couldn’t get vegecheese, removed milk and use soya products.
My usual diet is muesli, (a grain cereal with dried fruits and nuts) in soya milk for breakfast. As I only eat twice a day, my second meal might be a vegeburger, vegelasagne, stuffed pepper, etc.
I’m pretty healthy and active, my skin is clear, I don’t have stomach or bowel problems, and unlike my first attempt, this gradual removal of meat has not negatively effected my health.
If you are thinking of ‘going vegetarian’ give yourself a year.