Vegetarianism | What I've Learned & Tips

I've been a vegetarian for almost a year now so I thought I'd be able to share tips and things that I've learned so I can help anyone who wants to try vegetarianism and wants to know the basics, and there's also a few things I wish I knew when I first started. I'm currently only vegetarian, which means I don't eat meat but I still have dairy and eggs, I do want to become vegan at some stage but for now this is where I'm at.

The meal above is a 100% vegan burger and wrap from Brighton.

The Basics

It seems like there are many people converting into vegetarianism and veganism these days, which is great. I'm quite a new vegetarian in the scheme of things, but I can never imagine myself eating meat again. I don't believe anyone when they tell me being a vegetarian is too hard for them and their lifestyle because generally speaking, the majority of products are vegetarian. Being vegetarian instead of vegan means you can still eat cheese and eggs, if you choose, and other dairy products, which isn't too limiting. It's just the changing of your mentality that needs to change if you wish to become vegetarian, you just need to be more aware of what you are putting into your body and it's not a bad thing, and in my opinion, made me more healthier and definitely more informed. I feel as if growing up I never thought about being able to actively choose what I'm eating, and being such an animal lover, the thought of killing an animal and eating it began to really upset me at every meal, which is why I turned vegetarian, I wish it hadn't taken me so long though. 

Meat Substitutes

If you think being vegetarian means you have to give up your favourite foods like chicken and beef, you're wrong. There are a lot of brands out there that do meat free substitutes to your favourite meats, which is perfect for transitioning into vegetarianism. At this stage there is a substitute for almost everything in your local supermarket. Good brands to try are Quorn and Linda McCartney, both of which have helpful websites with recipes, my favourites are the Linda McCartney 1/4lb Mozzarella Veggie burgers, Quorn hot dogs and chicken pieces. All of these products taste exactly like the meat they are substituting, but much better in my opinion, some people could find this off putting but for others this is a simple way to adding 'meat' into a vegetarian dish. Shops like M&S are my favourite because they have easy labels that say which of their dishes and products are vegetarian or not, which saves the time and stress of trying to figure out if things are vegetarian or not by the ingredients, having simple labels should be a requirement. 

Above is the Beanie burger, which is veggie and fries from Nandos.

Eating Out

Eating out is sometimes more difficult than cooking at home. Some places offer very little to no vegetarian options, which I find very odd in this day and age. Yet, the majority of restaurants do a good variety of vegetarian options. The best place for vegetarians to eat out is for Italian food, pizza and pasta are always a good option. The thing about eating out is even if there are no veggie options you can always ask for anything without the meat on it and then it will be okay. I know some people say being vegetarian is more expensive but it just depends what you order in my opinion. Most sides and starters are vegetarian and there is normally a veggie burger option on menus. Surprisingly, one of my favourite places for veggie burgers is Nandos, a chicken restaurant, ironic. Even fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Burger King do veggie burgers and wraps, which is perfect for food on the go, and still getting your fast food fix, I will also say that the veggie burger from McDonalds is one of my favourites. You can also get ready made sandwiches in shops which are vegetarian, places like Boots and M&S do really nice wraps for on the go. 

Foods and Ingredients to Avoid

The one thing I'd say I struggled with the most starting off was checking the ingredients of products which are not necessarily labelled as vegetarian. The products that are often hard to define as vegetarian are sweets and chocolate snack products. Some products are not vegetarian in the US but are vegetarian in the UK and Ireland, like smarties. Most products made of jelly contain gelatine, which is made from beef or pork by-products - which are clearly not vegetarian. Good vegetarian jellies are jelly tots and the veggie jellies from M&S. Another ingredient which people don't realise isn't vegetarian is Carmine/Cochineal - also known as E120 - used to make the shell like products like M&M's and often used for it's red food colouring - this is made from the Cochineal insect which produces a red colouring. You have to look into some deserts and yogurts also as I have found these ingredients in many things I had thought to be vegetarian before.  

Above is a margarita pizza and garlic dough balls from Dante's Pizza.

Make Up Products

Only recently, I've realised the difference between cruelty free and vegetarian products with regards to makeup, which in my opinion should be one in the same. I've realised, only recently that a lot of my makeup products contain carmine, as I have mentioned before, which is a red dye colouring made from Beatles, which I don't understand as being cruelty free. The majority of my lipsticks and eyeshadows contain this product and I don't have any palettes that don't contain it, I wish I had noticed sooner. There's a few brands like NYX and body shop which have vegetarian lipsticks, but it's another thing you need to be aware of. Even I've found that even though NYX are cruelty free their eyeshadows, well the single ones I own, are not veggie friendly. I would actually love if anyone could recommend any good vegetarian or vegan makeup brands it would be super helpful as I'm still trying to figure this part of vegetarianism out! 

Is anyone else vegan/vegetarian and have anyother tips you'd like to add?

Tips On Dealing With Anxiety

This is a different type of post for me. I feel more vulnerable writing it but I want to share my tips and what gets me through things with other people. I like to think it will help someone out there similar to me. I've had this written for about 6 months and haven't had the courage to post it.

I've not been 'diagnosed' with anxiety but out of all the sorts of mental illness' you can suffer from, I'm pretty sure you'll know yourself how you're feeling, you don't need someone else to justify it for you. They won't ever know exactly what you're feeling anyway. I'm not super severe also so. Anyway, I get anxious a lot. Most of the time I can't even explain why I get it. Other times it makes more sense. I know everyone deals with anxiety and some people do more than others so I think we should all be more supportive of one another and if someone feels anxious about something we should know better than to give out or tell them to get over it, but to understand and listen a little.

I don't know how to stop feeling nervous about certain things but I know somethings that help me and calm me down or distract me. For example, I know that being near or seeing the ocean helps me feel at peace and calms me down, there's something relaxing about it, if it's calm.

• My number one tip is to control your breathing. If you're in anyway panicked about something, finding it hard to breath will make the situation worse. Even if you're anxious and breathing normally, focusing on your breathing should still relax your nerves a little. It helps you focus on yourself and not your surroundings and helps you distract yourself from whatever is bothering you, while calming your body. I normally breath in for about seven seconds and out for five. Taking deeper breaths helps a lot I find.
• Depending on what I'm anxious over, I'll most likely try and talk to someone close to me if I can. It helps a whole lot knowing you can talk to someone and feel more comfortable and knowing that someone's willing to understand. If there's no one I feel comfortable around with me or I'm in a situation makes me uncomfortable, the only thing that's best is to remove yourself from the situation if you can.
• If I can I think the best thing to do if your feeling overwhelmed is actually to cry and let it out. There's no use bottling emotions if they're upsetting you. I'm still trying to figure out the best way to stop myself from crying in public because it's difficult when there's a lot of people watching, even if they're not actually.
• If you're around people who make you uncomfortable, try and avoid them as much as you can. If you can't, avoid as much contact as you can. Give yourself space. If it's a certain place that makes you uncomfortable, again, avoid it.
• If you need to calm yourself listen to some sort of music. See which type of music suits your mood. It could be heavy or quiet, different music will sooth different anxieties and emotions. Sing your favourite song or get lost in the emotions of the lyrics, especially if they match your own.
• Do something to distract yourself. Do something you love doing and use these emotions for something useful like painting a picture, writing a song or putting them into whatever hobby you have. You'll find yourself forgetting the problem and getting into whatever you're doing.
• Reassure yourself over and over that it's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay and it always will be. The things we worry about are never normally a reality. We need to take a step back from the situation. 

I find when I over think I get anxious and I'm trying hard to stop thinking so negatively about things, it's really hard to stop doing things unconsciously but it's definitely worth a try. Sometimes it takes time to know why and figure out why things make you feel a certain way and you need to put thought into where and when you have anxious feelings and try and see if it makes sense in anyway, speaking for the random bursts of anxiety/panic attacks. That would be my main advice for trying to control our emotions and avoiding similar outbursts.

Recently I've been trying to be more open about it and to feel less stupid when talking about this topic, being personal it's kinda hard. I would much more likely talk to one of my friends to help me sort it out now rather than by myself. I also know that sometimes no matter how hard you try you can't always be in control of your feelings and it's okay to be able to let it all out and not stop it. 

If anyone needs someone to talk to about anxiety or panic attacks or anything really please feel free to contact me and I'll try my best to help. Please note I am no where near a professional and can only offer advice and understanding, basically all this post is. All I want to achieve from this post is to be able to speak about this openly and see if it helps other people or is just a reassurance for anyone that they're not alone. I really love seeing other people post about this as it makes me feel less irrational and annoying and more normal, especially because it is a completely normal thing.