I’ve been a pescetarian for the past four years of my life, and every time I tell someone this, they have the same reaction. After four years, I have experienced many things that every non-vegetarian will experience at least once. Since I am starting to eat meat again, I decided I wanted to document some problems I’ve experienced as a vegetarian.
Let's go through these hardcore #vegetarianstruggles:
1. “Why did you stop eating meat?”
People are vegetarians for many different reasons. It may be for religious purposes, they may be raised vegetarian and have never eaten meat in their life, or it may have been done for the purpose of animal rights. I personally stopped eating meat because I was bored and wanted to challenge myself. Everyone thinks it's funny, but not eating meat is one of the biggest challenges I’ve faced.
2. “Soooooo, when are you going to eat meat again?”
Again, people stop and start eating meat for many different reasons. Some people are only doing it for a short amount of time, like a month or a year; or they may have a longer goal, such as five to ten years or for the rest of their lives. Some may just want to test themselves and see how long it takes for them to eat meat again. Some may have a goal for a specific time. My plan was to only eat meat when I was accepted to study abroad, or once I was able to travel abroad. With that, others may only eat meat when they’re abroad so they don’t have to miss out on specific foods of a particular culture.
3. “What can you eat? Can you eat this?”
The diet depends on the person. Some people restrict themselves to not eating any meat, dairy, or eggs (AKA they're a vegan). Some people just don’t eat any type of meat, so they are a typical vegetarians. Those vegetarians are also “lacto-ovo-vegetarians,” which indicates that they eat dairy and eggs, but no meat. With that, people may eat dairy, but not eat eggs, or vice versa. Some may restrict their diets to no meat with the exception of fish, so they are pescetarians. Just to be safe, if you’re having a vegetarian over for dinner, make them an option without meat.
4. “Soooooo, how do you get your protein?”
Ah, the infamous “protein question.” Every vegetarian has been asked this at least once. There are so many different ways to get protein without eating meat! Beans are an excellent and easy way to sneak some protein into a meal. With a wide array of options, you can easily disguise them into salads, soups or pasta without noticing any difference. Plus, tofu is super easy to cook and use as a protein in meals, especially in salads or Chinese food. Most grocery stores have a section of vegetarian proteins, in the freezer or vegetable sections. If you go to a store like Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, there are full aisles of vegan and vegetarian proteins!
5. Taking forever to pick out restaurants.
Going out to restaurants are the worst when you’re a vegetarian. Unless you’re headed to a place that has a wide variety of vegetarian options, you’re often stuck with three choices for a meal. Places like Applebees or TGI Fridays are terrible at accommodating vegetarians, since there are so few choices. Don’t even try to eat at a fast food restaurant like McDonalds or Burger King since there are next to no options, and even the “safe foods,” like french fries, are still cooked in animal fat. There are some restaurants with many vegetarian options, however. If not, they have a lot of foods that can easily be modified for a vegetarian’s needs. Easy vegetarian options are Indian and Chinese restaurants, Panera and Chipotle.
6. Always eating salad and pasta.
Like I've already said, restaurants are terrible for vegetarians. There is a huge lack of options for vegetarians, but a lot of options for people who eat meat. If you head to a restaurant with few vegetarian options, at times it is actually horrible watching your friends eat anything they want while you’re stuck with the blandest most boring options. Most of the time you can only eat salad or pasta. Even then, you have to make sure that the options are meat free and do not have anything that may contain a meat or animal product. After some time, all you end up eating is pasta because it's fast and easy to cook, and you can be sure that it doesn't contain meat.
7. People sneaking meat into food.
Now, I’m not sure if this is something that has happened to everyone, but I know in my case, I've had meat snuck into my meals countless times. I remember once I tried eating a salad at a family member's house, and all of a sudden I tasted bacon in my food. This has also happened with pasta and soup. All three are meals which I assumed were vegetarian safe, but in fact were not.
8. The Taylor Ham/Pork Rill debate.
Coming from New Jersey, the Pork Roll/Taylor Ham debate is a popular one. People from North Jersey swear that it’s called “Taylor Ham,” but people from South Jersey prefer it being called Pork Roll. New Jerseyans constantly fight about what the meat is called. But as a vegetarian, you sit and watch as people fight over the name of meat. As a vegetarian from New Jersey, I am relieved that I don't have to worry about this dispute when ordering a breakfast sandwich.
9. College food.
Dining halls can make or break a college campus. Everyone complains about the food and how gross it is. One perk of being a vegetarian is you know that the salad and pasta you’re about to eat isn’t undercooked and won’t give you food poisoning, unlike the undercooked chicken waiting to be eaten. One negative aspect, however, is how few options college dining halls have for vegetarians. When I go to a dining hall, my meal consists of pasta and salad. If I’m lucky, the night's special will be vegetarian friendly. Late nights in college means fourth meal, and when the only places that are open are pizza and wings (or fat sandwich) places, life can be a real struggle. Friday nights somehow always end with a visit to one of these establishments, and while your friends have a wide selection of food, you have one, maybe two, options… If you're at a wings place, you may just end up having your friends' celery and carrots. College, am I right?
10. The transition back to eating meat.
This is not a problem all vegetarians face; some vegetarians have never eaten meat and won't have to worry about transitioning back to meat ever again. I have yet to transition back to eating meat, although I am starting to eat meat soon. People always say that starting to eat meat again is super painful and rough. Nausea and stomach problems are to be expected the first month of eating meat. Although it's exciting to begin the process again (depending on the person), transitioning back to a meat eating diet is tricky.
