Welcome!

Hello! Welcome to the blog of a meat-loving vegetarian. No, it doesn't make sense, does it? So, let me tell you a bit about the history of all this. Many years back, I was a vegetarian for 7-8 years. This was due to me trying to eat a bit healthier. Eventually, after many illnesses and doctor chats, I was encouraged to go back to eating meat. If I wasn't feeling any better, what was the point? I went back to my omnivorous lifestyle and I enjoyed it. I liked my steak rare and frequent. Duck was tasty as was lamb and chicken (when I cooked it correctly).

Then, awareness grew. I watched the videos of calves being taken away from their mothers and pictures were cropping up on my timeline more frequently with images of slaughter and terrible conditions. I'm not ashamed to admit I cried at a few of those. It was heartbreaking and, as an animal lover from a young age, I was questioning my decisions and morals and, it seems that I wasn't the only one. My Facebook feed was filling up with friends' vegetarian and vegan meals, the changes they've made to their lifestyles. I wanted back in.

A few months ago, I stepped back in to the vegetarian world. How things have changed?! Before, I had never been that impressed with vegan/vegetarian alternatives, sausages were strange, burgers were dry and going back to eating and enjoying meat had been far too easy. Now, there are more sections in supermarkets dedicated to the meat-free population and restaurants are not only having options available in restaurants, some are dedicated to having no meat in their establishments. It was suddenly easier to have a varied diet and there were meat-free 'steaks'. The question was 'Are these alternatives any good?'

Well...I don't know. So, here I am, ready to try a range of vegan and vegetarian alternatives to our favourite foods to see if they are worth their salt.

The aim of this blog is not to convert you to vegetarianism or veganism. I'm not here to throw images of dead animals in your face and guilt you into cutting meat out of your lives. I am here to give you reviews of the food so you have an idea of what to expect. I once tried vegan cheese from a supermarket's own brand. I can't say which brand as I cannot remember as this was years ago but I do remember that it was crumbly and left a horrid dryness in my mouth and put me off wanting to try a dairy-free cheese ever again. But that has changed and there are more alternatives to try than ever before. Therefore, if you decide to start making changes, or want to try them but don't want to put money into it blindly then this is for you.

I feel I should stress that I am NOT vegan. I am not eating meat and trying hard to now cut milk out of my life. Very hard as I love chocolate, cheese and ice-cream but beneficial to me as I do suffer from an intolerance. I still eat eggs and honey but try to source them from the most responsible places. I will still be eating some vegan alternatives and will try my best to describe their texture and flavour for you to read.

Thank you for taking the time to read this page and I hope you will find at least some of my posts helpful.

Signing off,

MLV

#veggie #vegetarian #vegan