I am not a veggie cos of beliefs - just that I hate any kind of meat or fish - the taste is vile and the smell of it even worse. I don't eat anything that has a face.

I'm a commited veggie but I have trouble managing it as I seem to eat meat on almost a daily basis

Got easier over the years back in the 60's it was difficult at school we would be given a lump of cheese with gravy poured over it that was their idea of what a vegetarian would eat.

Now there is a vast array of opitions for us.

These days there ia a veggie alternative for just about everything, so there is no need to struggle, its simple.

Im not a veggie but same as the OP i just dont like most meats or fish

Never liked meat or fish so I became a veggie about 8 years ago, I manage fine although it can be difficult finding something to eat in restaurants when abroad.

Well I'm still alive and kicking so, yes I "manage". Maybe you could explain your post a bit more, rather than pandering to the meat eaters stereotype version of "weak, anaemic sandal wearers"

I manage ok as well. It's alot easier these days. 20+ years ago it was much more difficult.

I was a veggie for about 3 months. I was good at not eating stuff that was obviously meat but failed at having to check everything else I bought incase it wasn't suitable.

I've heard that China and Japan are very difficult as the concept of vegetarianism doesn't exist there. Conversely in most major European cities the Chinese and Japanese restaurants have veggie dishes on the menu. The UK is still clinging to the principle of the vegetarian option, which drives me mad: if there are two or more vegetarians in the group, why should they all have to eat the same thing?

Can't speak for Japan but, having lived and travelled through China, they have an abundance of inventive non-meat dishes (the home of tofu etc) and, yes the idea of not wanting to eat dead animals is alien to them, but say you're buddhist and they totally get it and then not a problem.

I thought that was the point the OP was making in the question, I'm forever being asked 'how do you manage?'

In answer to the question, it's really easy these days. I became vegetarian at 13 and it was much harder then. I also like a lot more things now, however I get annoyed when I go out to eat and the only option is something with butternut squash. I hate butternut squash.

I feel the same about goats cheese.

Where did I pander to anyone It seems you are stereotyping as in "weak, anaemic, sandal wearers" Get a grip.

I'm not a vegetarian but a number of my friends are, so from their experience and my own when entertaining them I can honestly say that, in the main, they manage their diet comfortably.

I was at uni with a veggie whose veggie mother had fed him from that old veggie bible - a Cranks recipe book - so this is where I made my first forage into veggie cooking. Many of these recipes were very stodgy and the book did include the ubiquitous nut loaf - but some stood the test of time and I soon learned to knock up a tasty and healthy soup with just a few veg, a stock cube and a blender.

Since those early days I have moved on. If I'm entertaining a veggie guest I might adapt an Indian or Thai chicken curry by substituting Quorn for chicken - on other occasions I just follow a recipe but omit the fish/meat. Veggie casseroles, tagines, risottos etc. make hearty meals and I've cooked lots of veggie en croute dishes that have speedily gone from plate to stomach with a satisfactory sigh (and loosening of the belt.)

I once held a buffet party when I went to great lengths to ensure that the veggies were catered for adequately - only to find that the carnivores 'fancied a taste of veggie food' and by the time they'd piled their plates high with meat and vegetable dishes there was little left for genuine veggies. The carnivores were happily sated and impressed but the veggies went hungry. Next time I hosted a completely vegetarian party - and guess what? Everyone was happy.

I might not have answered your question OP - but a vegetarian diet can be manageable, healthy and tasty; it just needs a little adaptation and imagination.

Bizarrely, on one occasion I found a completely opposite scenario. My second brother was marrying an Indian lady and as they did not have a lot of money at the time, they asked me to do the catering. It was for 70 people and I dutifully asked what everybody wanted. Only 5 people wanted vegetarian.
I wont bore you with the details but because of the inter-racial aspect I had thought it would be great to have 2 options for each course - one "white" British, one "Indian" British. And guess what - the so called vegetarians went for the British Indian option for every course - regardless of whether it contained meat or not! Luckily I had made loads, so nobody went hungry - but I was not that pleased.

Anyway, I am vegetarian for at least 3 days out of the 7, eat fish on 2 days, so most weeks I barely eat meat more than 2 or 3 times a week.

I am told that large quantities of meat are not good for you anyway, and eating vegetables certainly is better for the planet (except for when you live in non-arable areas where goat or sheep have to be part of your diet).

You can have a really healthy life on just veggies but you cannot afford to be picky! Essential amino acids are scattered over a wide variety of vegetables - no one vegetable contains them all - but even the smallest lump of meat does. So mixtures of fruit and veggies every day is the answer

I am not sure what you are asking here, 'manages fine' in what why. As in avoid the temptation of eating meat or finding it difficult to get access to vegetarian food or what ?

I have been a vegi since I was 12, am in my 30s now, and I manage just fine.

I have been vegetarian for thirty years and get very disheartened by the limited choice offered when dining out, as a previous correspondent noted we don't all like goats cheese! When I visited New England a few years ago I was very apprehensive at the eating prospects but was pleasantly surprised, indeed a roadside diner in Maine had an entire multi-page vegetarian menu. The waitress said that whenever they had a veg dish on the regular menu it was so popular that they took the bold step of introducing the aforementioned full menu.
The worse place I found to be was Barcelona where tapas was the only real option but there's only so much you can do with potato and tomato.
Mrs Okapi is coeliac which makes her requirements even more complicated but she will eat fish if there is nothing else suitable on a menu.
In conclusion, eating out is a nightmare and something I tend to avoid.

Being a vegetarian is easy. I'm not sure what there is to manage?

Standing in a greengrocer looking at all the veg and fruit - sorted


Eating out - I never have any problems at all

I hate this... whenever I'm at a place and there is a buffet if you don't move fast enough the so called 'carnivores' pile in.

I find the title confusing?

I am not a veggie but if I wanted to be I could easily 'manage'?

I tried being veggie once. Only lasted 4 weeks. Seriously....

Gave me chronic wind, made me bloated, tired and irritable.

Had a 26oz steak after that and felt immediately better.

I don't know how you guys do it.

I didn't know you were a veggie Joey? It's the only new year's resolution I manged to keep 23 years ago.

I gave up meat then followed it with stopping eating fish and seafood 12 months later.

I used to love meat. As a kid I used to be given Black pudding,kidneys,liver by my grandma which I never turned down.

My diet wasn't great for the first few years because the options were so limited but veggie food is much more available now and most of my meals are taken from veggie cookbooks.

I have no palate for meat anymore, the best decision I ever made was to stop eating the stuff.

I've come up against this time and again too. Only recently I went to an Italian restaurant where a selection of meats, breads, olives etc were available as a starter and guess what was eaten first and what was eaten last by the carnivores....

This is the main reason I avoid going to tapas places in groups.

Back to the question however, I manage just fine in this country but I am very unfussy generally. Paris however was a nightmare.