A pretend vegetarian

Tristram

So today I kicked off my journey into the realm of pretend vegetarianism. Basically my plan is to eliminate meat Monday - Thursday but let anything go at the weekend. Perhaps this is a recipe for failure but who knows. It’s something I have been thinking about for almost a year but kept flip-flopping on. I live in Japan which isn’t the easiest place in the world to be a vegetarian which is why I am not bothered about the weekend. I’ll try to keep the meat intake down at the weekend but I want to enjoy eating out.

Are there any obvious pitfalls that seasoned veterans can point out to aid me on my way?

sweet-rasmus

You are either vegetarian are you aren't :P. As a vegetarian for ethical reasons I can't really offer you any advice. The pitfall is eating meat which you intend to do anyway!

Breezer

I don't really understand what you mean by "pitfalls" I'm afraid Do you mean products that have sneaky meat derivatives in them, gelatine and the like?

Gauge

Not sure if you'd be too worried about it if you're planning on eating meat occasionally, but as you're living in Japan you'll need to keep an eye out for dashi stock which is in pretty much everything and usually contains fish.

PurpleFistMixer

Apparently the trick in Japan is to ask for the Buddhist option rather than the vegetarian option, though I have never tested this.

fillefatale

I don't really like the term 'pretend vegetarian', it kind of satirizes vegetarians I feel. It's great that you're reducing your intake of meat, but its not vegetarianism, unless you only eat fish which means you'd then be a pescetarian. Good luck on your quest! My friend ate quite well as a vegetarian when she was in Japan so I'll ask her what she ate/asked for.

They actually call this approach Flexitarianism.
You might find some resources if you search for that term.

Personally I'm not one for all or nothing ethics. It is difficult for most people to sustain those kind of efforts longterm. It still makes an impact if you decide to lessen your animal consumption. That is not a pretend result. Good luck with it!

I think the best advice, is to try your hand at figuring out how to cook veggie meals. That will make your efforts more sustainable long term.

Tristram

Thanks for all the comments folks. Apologies if I caused any offence, none was intended! I meant to poke fun at myself. I had never heard the terms pescaterian or flexitarian until this week so thanks for pointing them out.

I am going to try find a good cookbook on Amazon today. I think that my biggest challenge will definitely be finding new and easy meals to make. I am not a very accomplished cook and don’t even know a whole lot about what vegetables are out there so I need to educate myself.

Things have gone well so far. No red meat or chicken and to be honest I haven’t missed them which has surprised me. What is even more surprising is how I feel after eating. Maybe I am imagining it but I don’t seem to have the same food-coma type feeling after dinner.

Btw I am not cutting out fish, definitely not giving up my once a week trip to the sushi joint over the road!

Thanks again!

(if there are any good cookbooks for people like me please recommend!)

Breezer

Tristram wrote: »

Maybe I am imagining it but I don’t seem to have the same food-coma type feeling after dinner.

Then you're not doing it right!

--LOS--

I appreciate someone doing something instead of nothing, it's how I started out, people shouldn't take offence to that, ofc you can't call yourself a vegetarian. Are you just worried about sticking to it, is that what you mean by pitfalls? Are you hoping to become vegetarian at some stage?

Tehachapi

Tristram wrote: »

So today I kicked off my journey into the realm of pretend vegetarianism. Basically my plan is to eliminate meat Monday - Thursday but let anything go at the weekend. Perhaps this is a recipe for failure but who knows. It’s something I have been thinking about for almost a year but kept flip-flopping on. I live in Japan which isn’t the easiest place in the world to be a vegetarian which is why I am not bothered about the weekend. I’ll try to keep the meat intake down at the weekend but I want to enjoy eating out.

Are there any obvious pitfalls that seasoned veterans can point out to aid me on my way?

Sorry if I'm stating the obvious but - Why are you doing this, and more importantly why this approach? I'm vegan for ethical reasons which is why I don't understand this sort of approach, but if it was for health reasons perhaps I'd understand.

Btw it's perfectly natural to feel good after a healthy, cruelty-free vegetarian meal :-D

Tar.Aldarion

Why would you not understand it? Are you not vegan to minimise the amount of animal deaths you cause? He is trying this and is taking a step towards reducing his meat intake and therefore deaths, same as you, which should be applauded.

Breezer

Tehachapi wrote: »

Btw it's perfectly natural to feel good after a healthy, cruelty-free vegetarian meal :-D

I said ":p"

Mellor

Tar.Aldarion wrote: »

Why would you not understand it? Are you not vegan to minimise the amount of animal deaths you cause? He is trying this and is taking a step towards reducing his meat intake and therefore deaths, same as you, which should be applauded.

+1
I'm not a vegetarian and I don't pretend to be. But I can respect the diet choices people make and their reasons for them.
The post comes accross with an air of superiority , which, frankly, is a terrible attitude.

edit: by the post i mean Tehachapi's why are you doing this and not Tar post. Tar got the +1

Tristram

Plainly speaking, I am doing it for purely selfish reasons i.e. my health. I recognize the ethical argument behind changing consumption patterns but that was not a primary motivating factor.

It has been over a week now and things are going well Onwards and upwards!

Oh yeah, by pitfalls I guess I wanted to hear about problems other people faced when making such a transition. I really have no idea what to expect. I don’t know a whole lot about nutrition so I hope I am taking proper care of myself. I guess if I wasn’t I would know about it pretty quickly.

maameeo

aw thats pretty cool, well done!
and brave of you to write it up in a veggie forum :P

I think what you are doing will be both good for your help and the environment so well done

I dont think you'll have any nutritional problems, for one you'll be eating more veg and two, your still gona have meat on the weekend so you wont need to worry about getting protein anywere else i dont think.

i reckon you're just gona start feeling great

keep us updated!

jealous your in japan btw!

ToniTuddle

Tristram wrote: »

So today I kicked off my journey into the realm of pretend vegetarianism. Basically my plan is to eliminate meat Monday - Thursday but let anything go at the weekend. Perhaps this is a recipe for failure but who knows. It’s something I have been thinking about for almost a year but kept flip-flopping on. I live in Japan which isn’t the easiest place in the world to be a vegetarian which is why I am not bothered about the weekend. I’ll try to keep the meat intake down at the weekend but I want to enjoy eating out.

Are there any obvious pitfalls that seasoned veterans can point out to aid me on my way?

Fair play to ya! I'm trying to do the same which is near impossible with an old Irish mammy in the house :pac:

Bought this book awhile back but think it would be more suited to you esp where you live due to the fact there is alot of Japanese vegetables used and such things. There probably loads of varied vegetable markets there and in America.....not so much in rural Ireland :pac:
Plus it's an interesting read before it goes into the recipes!




Went and bought this one last week for €6.99 and it's alot more simple for me :D Plus explains about what it means by pulses/grains/cereals etc and the benefits of each vitamin and mineral. Also what foods you can get it from. Tells you about possible problems caused by deficiency in any of those vitamins and minerals so you can avoid those then! Now I'm in my own place gonna have fun with experimenting Good luck to you!