My wife has 'challenged' me to try a vegetarian diet for a week. Not that she vegetarian mind you but thinks I eat far too much meat and complain too much about veggies. Shouldn't think it'll be too hard, but I'd be interested to hear anyone's experiences either in trying something similar or having gone full veggie. Especially any recipes that have passed muster, she did try to flank me once with a boggin vegetarian shepherds pie 🤢.
Curries, pastas both offer lots of options. Omelettes and egg dishes of various kinds.
My wife is veggie so I'm about 50:50 for main meals.
(is fish allowed?)
Wife and kids are vegetarian, which makes me one by default when at home. Loads of curry and pasta dishes and we use a lot of Quorn too.
Please don't let this thread descend into the usual oafishness with some moron piping up with "But... Bacon!" etc.
I went veggie at the start of the year and have only had one slip up so far (ate some Haribo without thinking)
I love/d my beef/steak/burgers, but only the rare pang, there’s so many good meat alternatives (I use the stuff in sainsburys, if I can remember the details I’ll link on here with an edit later). I honestly don’t miss it. We really don’t need meat in our diets.
Never liked bacon anyway, plus it gives you cancer
Pasta, curry, risotto, stir fry are all really easy. Loads of recipes on-line.
Homemade soups can be good. Vegetable pies and pasties - but go good quality if buying not making
We eat some meat substitute but not really for cooking, it's really just to fill the need for the less healthy end of burgers and sausages.
And cheese obviously....
Think of foods/cuisine that doesn't already have meat in (Thai, Indian Mexican et c.) and major on that
APF
Instead of mince use bulgar wheat for a chili.
Try not to use ‘meat style substitutes’ there’s so much you can do.
Look up the old Ottolenghi recipes in the Graun - a bit more prep but pretty good. Also those from The Palomar.
Are you allowed fish and chicken breast?
Curries, pastas, chili beans and dahls are great. Buy really good quality meat (game, not farmed) and have it little and often.
wifie is veggie we eat lots from Hugh's book ^^
Good homemade stuff isn't difficult, I despair at some of the restaurants efforts at vegetarian food.
Better half has been veggie since before we met ~15 years ago and has got mostly vegan in the last ~6 months. I mostly get my "meat fix" at work, typically getting chicken salad sandwiches etc. as part of a meal deal from Tesco Express and Co-Op, but I buy the odd bit of cooked meat to eat at home too.
As for veggie meal, veggie fajitas, something I can even rustle up. Recently been buying the Sainsburys fajita kits (tortillas, salsa, spice mix) for £1.40 to have with cooked onion; mushroom; peppers; kidney beans; courgette; sweetcorn; spinach etc. plus some cheese; guacamole and sour cream. Cooked sweet potato slices go well with this too, but do make meal a lot more filling, as would salad (which we rarely bother with).
Ready to eat in under 15mins, simples!
I'm not veggie but do the odd veggie recipe just because they're tasty so I would suggest just browsing recipe sites and see what floats your boat - it's just food at the end of the day (or the middle, if you prefer!). Current favourites are gnocchi with broad beans, peas and cherry tomatoes and sweet potato and spinach curry.
Instead of chicken try Quorn Fillets. We have them in Thai Green Curry, fajitas etc and you can't tell the difference.
Lidl and Aldi's spicy bean burger are ace (4 for £2, in the frozen section). Add a fried egg, over easy, for extra aceness.
edit- me and my OH found it relatively easy, I was tending to choose veggie curries if we were out for something to eat anyway and my OH really enjoys cooking different stuff. It's pretty easy to knock up a load of super-tasty vegan chili beans that can be frozen in batches and used in place of baked beans... om nom nom...
Default veggie option in our house are a selection of risottos
Beetroot risotto with feta cheese Looks weird but tastes awesome!
ate some Haribo without thinking)
Halal Haribo FTW!!
Oh... you all know who Harry the Spider is right? You’d know it if you’ve ever seen him inhale a burger 😀
I went veggie for 6 months last year, just fancied a change of diet. Loads of excellent recipes in HughFW's veg every day book 🙂
Cheers all, lots to consider. No hard and fast rules more in the spirit of than anything else,so fish probably ok and chicken I'd say no. Somewhere down the line bacon was relagated to meh, never thought I'd see the day but quite often a packet is binned because it hasn't been used.
Anyone notice any difference in the way the feel or health?
Binning bacon? What kind of monster are you?!!!!
It's the first time I've admitted it in public.
Vegetarian is an easy change. Vegan is a whole new world of culinary learning. Some of the cakes are truly vile
I'm all over this.
Was raised as a meatarian in the West Mids where veg was optional, pulses were minimal and rare and the only nuts were Big D or KP - but pork and pig fat was plentiful and ubiquitous Am consequently lardy and meat-adddicted but quit after Xmas. Been off the wagon a few times but have found a bunch of recipes that hit the umami buds. It's now becoming evident that what mostly gets me to crave meat ie the chewy umami/salt/sweet taste. And hot fat.
My guilty saturday breakfast is now 3 x Cauldron Cumberland sausags, cooked well done in shallow oil, then sandwiched between some thick bloomer with mushies and ketchup.
Will be back later to give some healthier tips for tasty chewy veg/vegan kicks after dinner, which tonight is peppers stuffed with mixed grains and mushroom, served with Jersey potato salad made with fresh tarragon, red onions, dijon mustard, garlic and white wine vinegar. Also asparagus and salad on the side. Will get the stuffed pepper recipe typed up. Posh Friday EDL material!
Linda McCartney mozzarella burgers nom nom nom
Eggs and cheese.
Curries are supposedly superb as veggie food so start making your own as far better than any bought
.
Good luck and it’ll be interesting to see how you get on. I love good meat, burgers and bacon so it’s not something I’ve considered. Bacon causing cancer evidence when looking at the study is not really conclusive and even the risk they perceive is tiny. I’ve get a higher risk from drinking alcohol to bacon.
Put lentils in place of mince in chilli and spag bog is an easy switch over on an existing recipe as is mixed bean chilli.
Other vegetarian (I really mean meat free - you couldn't honestly describe us as vegetarian) things we would eat regularly would include pasta dishes (spinach and gorogonzola in a creamy sauce or some kind of spicy tomato being popular), risotto, cous cous, salads with cheeses, grilled halloumi and chunky soups and curry. I'm sure we could do more but those would be my easy wins.
Substitute chicken nuggets, absolutely delicious.
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/baked-tofu-bites/
you wont miss meat with this either.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/giant-butter-bean-stew
Herby rice, chickpeas and halloumi.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/herby-rice-roasted-veg-chickpeas-halloumi
****in no chance you'll go a week withoot a roll n sliced sausage! 🤣😂
The Bosh recipes are good.
I've been veggie for almost 2.5 years now and vegan for 17 months. It's easy really.
Eat mostly veggie here with fish once a week odd fortnightly bacon sarnie and beef wellington at Xmas. There are some lovely veggie sausages and burgers out there but best often more expensive than meat! Lots of quorn eaten here, in spag bol, chillies and some curries. Plus lots of risottos, eggs and lots of roasted veg. Salads in summer. Probably eat too much cheese..
ate some Haribo without thinking)
Halal Haribo FTW!!
Still gelatine. So really, for the lose(r).
Halal Haribo FTW!!
Still gelatine. So really, for the lose(r).
Worng! They're marketed as halal, but that just means they're not haram.
beer and wine?
who pays that attention when being Veggie and vegan, only know cos my OH has just turned veggie
Caldron sausages and squeaky cheez for the win!
I’d say I was mainly veggie. Probably eat meat two or three times a month. Loads and loads of choice these days for meat substitutes - caldron veggie sausages with lentils, new potatoes and lots of smoked paprika etc is belting and easily as good as the fleshy counterpart. My diet has expanded into lots more pulses and grains (emmer wheat being a big fave), with loads of leafy greens - we do about two big bags of kale a week at moment.
I find it easier to prepare, less risky to cook and simpler to store food with hardly any meat in the house (it’s butcher to plate pretty much when I do hanker for a steak or whatever).
I feel loads better. Can’t quite put my finger on exactly why but I do. Plenty of energy, muscle mass seems to be fine and oh course I guff like a god. Happy days.
Binning bacon? What kind of monster are you?!!!!
To be fair he bought packets so we can let him off for buying water injected meat
Friend cooked this the other night, and the cooked almonds (they said be really really careful not to burn them) and roasted cherry toms is a stroke of genius - giving it a really mouthwatering protein/umami kick. Don't get me wrong, the lentil stew was delicious on it's own but the nuts and toms addition was lip-smacking. A satisfying meal on all levels, served with jacket spuds.
Nigel Slater - Lentil stew w/almonds
Other stuff:
- +1 for using (dark green/puy) lentils in bolognaises/chillies etc. Make sure you use a decent veg stock and add a few good tbsps of Savoury Nutritional Yeast Flakes (B12, nutty cheesy taste). Brand is Engevita.
- Wild rice cooked in a light stock is great. Chewy and nutritious. Serve with anything.
- Quick good veg/vegan burger is Linda Macs original quarter pounders. Have a great meaty texture if prepared well. First sprinkle the frozen pattie/s with salt, pepper and generous smoked paprika. Cook in oven, but cook for extra 5-10 mins on top of recommended to get a chewier texture. Serve in bun with all the stuff you like.
- Baked beans and portabello mushrooms on wholemeal toast with some Reggae Reggae jerk sauce is a fast and easy pleaser.
- Alternative to minced meat in chilli con carne, instead use a mixture of different grains and beans. Add half of a big block of cheap dark chocolate to the sauce. Use a good stock to begin, plenty garlic. The grains I use for mince if in a rush are a pack or two of Merchant Gourmet brand.
Here is a link
The beans I use are usually canned, normally one tin of red kidney and one mixed beans.
Served a chilli like this to a big meat-eater last week and he raved about it. (In a good way!)
👍🏼
- Waitrose sell a veggie haggis. Also Tofu hotdogs
- Most supermarkets sell Amy's Kitchen Organic Lentil Soup. This is delicious, and the best canned soup I've tried. Reminds me of Irish Stew. I add smoked paprika (1 x tsp before heating through. Again, mouthwaterng and satisfying. If you eat fish then also add a blob of anchovy laste before heating through. Stirring well. Combined with the smoked paprika it gives a chorizo-type intense umami flavour to the soup. The soup is great as is, but I like to experiment.
Are you allowed fish and chicken breast?
Why would you even imagine chicken breast would be allowed?
As others have already said go for cuisines which already have a high vegetarian content. Veggie copies of meat dishes don't count in my opinion (disclaimer - not vegetarian but eat a lot less meat and a lot more veg than I used to).
👍 chilli is a staple and I have one of those merchant gourmet packs.
Halloumi also gets the thumbs up. Will try the rice and chickpeas recipe too.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/yaki-udon
That's ∆ very nice.
As others have said, don't just cook the same stuff as normal and replace the meat with a lump of Quorn. You need to do stuff that didn't have meat to start with.
Plenty of paneer/aubergine/chickpea/lentil/pea/cauliflower/potato curries and vegetable pasta bakes to get you started.
I quite like vegie food, I can't stand quorn though.
Vegie sausage made with chickpeas etc is nice, ditto vegie burgers etc. Then pretty much substitute veg and pulses into any other meal. Curries and asian food are easy simply because a curry is a curry whether you put chickpeas or chicken in it. Thai curries can just be bulked out with veg etc.
Never liked bacon anyway, plus it gives you cancer
Nitrates/Nitrites give you cancer, bacon itself is fine, it's just the crap that's in it that makes it red rather than grey that gives you cancer. Parma ham used to have the same stuff in it, but they as a collective decided to omit it from the recipe a few years ago which is why it's now much paler. Find a butcher that makes their own (or I suppose, make your own), it'll look grey and a little unappealing compared to the bright red stuff in the supermarket but it tastes exactly the same.
Go and buy tin can cook by Jack Monroe, loads of veggie recipes and cheap and you are donating to food banks by doing so
We had halloumi wraps for tea last night with OH's patented chili sauce and garlic mayo, it was late-night-kebab-tabulous, mates!
Because it's in the spirit of things and one of my wife's points is I eat too much processed meat I'll try to give the substitute/processed veg a miss. I might try a burger though. I'm quite happy to substitute halloumi etc for meat and the pulses in the chilli.
On that note I'd imagine that processed veg is better than the meat equivalent, I'm thinking sausages here. But is it still not great?
I'd give the beetroot burgers from Aldi a swerve. I had some last night and they were grim.
I've tried them in the past, not something I remember as wanting to try again.
I'd swerve most meat "substitutes" but perhaps try Cauldron sausages (chiller section in supermarket).
Just focus on veg curries, veg pasta etc. and enjoy the natural flavours and textures.
I'm interested to try these Impossible Burgers that I've heard about, think BK do them?
+1 for avoiding most of the fast-food meatalike options if you have the time and aptitude to cook from scratch. Mainly because I prefer to avoid plastic packaging and too many processed foods these days. Yet some commercial veg burgers etc as mentioned taste good, like the Tofu wieners and Linda Macs Burgers (packaged in cardboard). I dont like most Quorn products. Cauldron Cumberland saus are a guilty pleasure because egg white from mass-farmed 'free-range' . Taste and texture is so good. Also am looking forward to making my own DIY 'Impossible Burger' 😉
Back to recipes - last night's stuffed peppers where made with homemade filling courtesy of the long-time vege skillz of Mrs Rider
Roughly: Wild rice, quinoa, garlic (lots) chopped mushroom (whole punnet), chopped pecans , basil oregano, paprika, chopped pimentos,some mixed dried beans soaked overnight beforehand, (aduki, black beans etc) fresh chopped tomatoes for moisture, pinch cumin powder, some tarragon, seasoning
Sorry for rubbish pic of last night's leftovers, but it gives an idea of the 'mince'. Delicious and great texture. Seems almost churlish to say it tasted better than a minced pork/beef version. But I enjoyed it more than, and no hype.
I’m interested to try these Impossible Burgers that I’ve heard about, think BK do them?
They do an Impoosible Whopper in the US.
Don't think Impossible Foods are coming here any time very soon, they are concentrating on Asia markets last I read.
For the time being, it could be a fun challenge DIY'ing, and plan to have a foray soon. Will report on findings. Here's a starting point courtesy of hellthyjunkfood. Irony!
Think of foods/cuisine that doesn’t already have meat in (Thai, Indian Mexican et c.) and major on that
This.
Going veggie just gets easier with time. You’ll find all sorts of meals that just don’t actually need meat to make them taste better. Although they are generally complex Ottolenghi’s veggie recipes are always great.
And the good thing is, if you are only doing it for health rather than moral reasons the occasional bit of meat if you are missing it is not an issue.
Was eavesdropping on 2 ladies yesterday, one of whom seemed an enthusiastic vegan and was enthusing about vegan recipes.
" I haven't eaten meat since..... ( I'm expecting a term of years).... last saturday, oh except for Monday when I had some ham"
By these standards being a veggie is a piece of piss.
On that note I’d imagine that processed veg is better than the meat equivalent, I’m thinking sausages here.
Depends where you buy your sausages. I'm fairly sure my butcher's don't include mechanically recovered meat or pigs scrotums.
Mrs Kennyp has been veggie for over twenty years. Means my evening meals are probably 70% veggie. That said I still, and always will, love a good blue steak. It’s all about compromise.
Bought some Linda McCartney vegetarian pies in Morrisons, had them before and I love them, really tasty with a peppery tang to them. I don’t eat much meat, mince in some dishes, fish and chicken. The sausages from her range are damn tasty as well.
The Joe Wicks veggie lean in 15 is brilliant. My wife has been veggie all her life and I have been for just under a year. There are great meat subs Available nowadays and the Greg’s vegan sausage rolls are fantastic.
Avoid fake meat, it's all rubbish. Quorn just produces excessive fartgas as it's mainly undigestable. Aim for good fresh veg cooked well.
I've been veggie for around 12 years, my wife has been veggie almost her entire life. i suppose the best way to approach it isn't to think of meals as 'without meal' or somehow not complete anymore. it does encourage you to approach food differently and on occasion, you'll be disgusted at the lack of options on certain menus.
I'm veggie as i care for animals and not vegan as living were i do in a small rural village would make thinks almost impossible on a day to day basis. If we ever move back into the city, it would happen overnight.
for me, the whole topic comes down to personal preference. eat what you want and like everything, a little bit of moderation is always the best. choose less meat has an environmental impact, a health impact and means you get to explore all sorts of new stuff. it makes sense for everyone to at least be aware were their food on the plate comes from, how it got there and choose accordingly. even doing a meat free day once a week is at very least making a tiny difference and introducing creativity in the kitchen that might just be fun.
I’m veggie as i care for animals and not vegan as living were i do in a small rural village would make thinks almost impossible on a day to day basis. If we ever move back into the city, it would happen overnight.
What would be harder?
Fwiw, I went vegan in 92ish, lived in a small town. I had a cook book which was American, like they all were back then, and most of the 'exotic' ingredients, seitan, soya milk, etc meant a 1.5h round trip to Lancaster on the train! Even then, it wasn't 'hard'. As someone suggested above, get great at cooking food which is mostly vegan by design - Asian etc - tons of stuff on t'web these day.
I like https://www.veganricha.com/
Don't forget cauliflower steaks. Almost identical to beef steaks. Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite and you don't have to cook it. I accompany it with cauliflower rice.
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/howto/guide/whats-best-way-cook-cauliflower-rice
Tofoo (not just any old tofu), is amazing.
I dice it, coat in cornflower, then fry in a big wok (don’t over cook, just till light pale colour). Goes all crispy. Then lob this lovely crispiness into something with sauce; stir-fry, currys etc. The crispy bits soak up all the flavour. It has fantastic texture. Super healthy. Great value, aprrox £2. IMO it’s way better than chicken.
Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite and you don’t have to cook it.
I can't eat it rare. I can't bear the sight of cytoplasm.
for me, the whole topic comes down to personal preference. eat what you want and like everything,
Probably the best advice on this thread.
Don't tie yourself up in knots over what the "rules" are or you'll be miserable and probably fail, decide what you're going to eat. If you're "vegetarian" then that excludes fish (a veggie who eats fish is a pescatarian) but that doesn't preclude you, personally, from eating fish if that's what you decide you want to do.
Psychologically, you need to move away from the notion that stuff like Quorn is a "meat substitute," rather it's a convenient way of packaging protein. You wouldn't consider a chicken burger to be a "beef substitute," it's just another type of protein.
As others have said, there are plenty of dishes which are naturally vegetarian. Curries are great for this, pretty much any dish on an Indian menu is either vegetarian or can be made so. Quorn chunks or sliced fillets work well in home-made curries. See also, stir fries, pasta, rice dishes. It's not my thing as I'm not a fan of mushrooms, but I've got a recipe for mushroom risotto which has gone down an absolute storm with anyone I've inflicted it on.
If you're looking at Quorn mince, the trick here is not to overcook it. If you try to make a chilli that's been on a low simmer for two hours you'll end up with slurry, really it just needs to be chucked in at the end and warmed through for a few minutes. Alternatively, fry it off separately first with a good lug of oil and a generous dash of Worcestershire sauce, dollop of Marmite or Maggie "liquid seasoning" , it gives it more 'bite'.
Cauldron sausages are good as others have said. Brush / spray with a little oil, bang 'em under the grill, then stick them in a giant Yorkie with a pile of mash, drown in Bisto Best onion gravy. Nom.
Also from Cauldron, falafel balls. I've started making wraps with these: flour tortilla spread with garlic hummous, greenery (I like rocket), grated carrot, falafel, drizzle with mango chutney. Simple, quick and really tasty.
Tivall hot dogs are amazing if you can find them, I know this gets said a lot and is usually wishful thinking but they really are indistinguishable from their porky bretheren. Otherwise Sainsbury's and Tesco own-brand ones are almost as good. Avoid Quorn hot dogs, they're a weird texture and kinda grim. Quorn sausage rolls taste almost identical to the Greggs vegan ones.
Quorn breaded 'chicken' burgers are great and come in a variety of styles.
I don't think it's been mentioned yet, but Fry's range is generally good. Their pepper pies and curry pies are both ace. http://www.fryfamilyfood.com/uk/category/our-food/meat-free-range/
And then there's the whole world of soup. I love making home-made soup, it's less like cooking and more like alchemy. Stalwarts like leek & potato or more exotic like Thai chickenless noodle soup, I once did a bulk batch of my chicken noodle for a couple of dozen people and it was demolished in minutes. It's almost Rule 34: if it exists, you can make soup out of it.
Oh, and, I'm pleasantly surprised that we've made it well into page 2 without any bellendery. Well done, guys.
Cauliflower steak tartare is my favourite
Not quite the same, but this just popped up on my FB feed:
https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a27544267/grilled-cabbage-steaks-recipe
+1 for cauldron falafel balls (and Aldi’s) often have them for lunch.
Just had another slip, this time a Gü cheesecake thing 😣
I like meat too much to be veggie, but I find I need spices and/or cheese to replace meat yumminess. So:
Chili or Tex-Mex (refried beans a staple)
Indian
Eggs + cheese + kale
To add a bit of taste to veggie stuff try more salt, marmite, veg stock or soy sauce.
Today was the first bash at a meat free day. Nearly came unstuck at lunch as I found myself wandering around a retail/Industrial estate waiting for my car to be fixed. Regardless of what Id said previously I tried the Greggs vegan sausage roll, seemed an ideal opportunity to do so. And actually it wasn't bad at all as far as sausage rolls go. Probably better than the normal ones. Dinner has been taken care of with Delia's cheese enchiladas, I used to make this years ago and amazed myself then that I was eating a meal without meat in it. So today has been a resounding success if not exactly hitting the veggies.
Well done.
Is it not a bit weird that we've become so socially conditioned to think that every main meal has to contain some form of meat? You'd never see a thread going "I eat too many tomatoes so I'm going to stop eating as many... had dinner tonight and I was amazed that I was eating a meal without any tomatoes in it!"
I went to a café with a couple of mates a while back, one of them ordered a veggie sausage sandwich. The other went "oh, I didn't know you were vegetarian!" He replied, "I'm not, I just like them." The second mate was incredulous. It's all a bit odd, really.
Similar mindset with alcohol free beer too. Does take a bit of deconditioning.
Vegetarian is easy! Vegan is more of a challenge, but a good positive challenge (Life's boring if it's easy)
I followed a vegetarian diet, felt pretty crap, too much cheese/dairy I think! Lasted couple months.
A year later I went vegan, lasted 7/8 months, and found the whole thing tremendously positive. The community around food/recipes ideas are amazing. And I felt fanatstic, lots of energy.
I am not vegan now, I kind of failed when my wife was very ill over Christmas, super stressed etc..
I’m still 90% plant based though. Will go back to it soon.
But the period being vegan taught me a lot about food, nutrition, what we need, what can be done. Learned to use lots of new foods in new ways.
Wtf is this fish bullshit? How in anyway is that not meat? You can't claim to go fora veggie iet then eat fish.
After watching Dispatches last night, I think post-Brexit I'll be veggie too, to avoid any chance of eating USA-sourced meat.
It is a little “strange” how people classify fish, as not really animals. And I’ve actually spoken to some people that don’t consider chicken to really be meat!! WTAF. Mind blowing
(In before the inevitable digression into politics)
Nearly came unstuck at lunch as I found myself wandering around a retail/Industrial estate waiting for my car to be fixed. Regardless of what Id said previously I tried the Greggs vegan sausage roll, seemed an ideal opportunity to do so. And actually it wasn’t bad at all as far as sausage rolls go
Well done OP (although imo any kind of cheap sos roll is a poor lunch , ymmv)
Suggest keeping a cold veg samosa or two on you? Tin foil works. Rice and peas in a snap-shut container is also good, along with the samosa/s. Add an apple or other fruit for dessert.
Recently discovered Safeway is still operating via McColls convenience mini-markets, and have done lunch pitstops for their suprisingly tasty samosas. Other veg samosas are available. As is cooking up a batch the night before 👍🏼
i refuse to label myself Veggie; cant have this, cant have that - ill eat what i want thanks... but i choose to eat as little meat as i can. ive never been big on meat anyway, and the meat i did enjoy was the worst kind, processed. and pies, pasties, & sausage rolls were my biggest vice. so i decided to cut it all out at the turn of the year too.
ive lost weight and feel fitter than ever but the best thing is some the discoveries ive eaten since, ive had some fabulous meals out i would never have chosen before, but some vegetarian versions of meaty dishes that are so much better than their fleshy brethren!! I dont like going for substitutes either, veggie sausages are all awful!
There have been blips. i dont want anyone to go out of their way for me, so visits to elderly grandparents have involved a bit of roast beef.. and some countries ive been to id have just gone hungry without it - but i have survived the first few bbq's of the season without it!
^ this is pretty much me now. I just genuinely prefer the veggie options now. But might have meat as we’re out with friends or whatever..
We’ve got a good collection of veggie/vegan cookbooks too. Also some great sources for inspiration on YouTube. Matt Pritchard’s Dirty Vegan Channel is funny. And Gaz Oakley is really good
Veggie sausages are all awful
Not true. 
. Have been greedily demolishing these for last 6 months (Cauldron Lincolnshire or Cumberland). As a former lifelong porkaholic, I now prefer these to the spongey ammonia and fat texture and taste of ye old cheap pork/bread sausages I used to love (Waitrose basic sausages). Yes, the last supermarket pork sausage I tried made me feel a bit pukey. So, something to do with conditioning/familiarity? I never really liked the 'posh' 110% meat ones either, they also seemed to increase the taste of ammonia.
The scent of a hot pork roast OTOH still tests me to the limit 😬
OP! Suggestion for Easy Sunday roast lunch - few slices of (microwaved) Macsween haggis along with roast tatties, leeks, seasonal roast veg and Bisto roast onion gravy with a few tbsps of Savoury Yeast Flakes stirred in. Add mint sauce and or mustard on the side and Robert is your dad's sibling 👍🏼
How do you get it all to stick on the ceiling like that?
So how do veggies get round wine? Most of it is not veggie
I shall add a vegetarian haggis to the list of things to try 👍, any vegetarian black pudding going 😀? As for the fish thing, my only forays into fish is chucking a few extra fish fingers into the oven when the kids at having them. Bit of a throwback thing for me, fish finger piece with rid sauce. Falafel and houmous today at lunch, probably the driest falafel in the world, from aldi, looks like the same source as the beetroot burgers mentioned earlier. Halloumi wraps tonight.
