Any other Vegetarians out there?

[Akira]

I'm a vegetarian and I've been one for nearly 8 years, I think I was about 12 or 13 when I decided to do it, I cut out everything except fish cos I liked tuna mayo, but I soon stopped eating the fish too. Because of my age everyone thought it was typical teenage fad vegetarianism - although to my mum's credit she took it seriously, she's wonderful about it bless her! She's not the most imaginative cook but she still manages lots of dishes. Anyway 8 or so years later and I'm still proving them all wrong hehe!

Eating out is ok for me because I will eat anything without a face (except beetroot!!) and I seem to have gotten over my random-mushrooms-making-me-sick thing, so I can eat any veggie dish. In London especially in Soho there are a lot of vegetarian places so it's not too bad, however the lack of dishes at pubs and restaurants up north sometimes frustrates me, but I'm really not that fussy. Like mrs harry, I love Italian, which helps cos I absolutely love cheeses and tomatoes, especially goats cheese! Potatoes are also good, and form a lot of my diet when away from home as microwaved 'cheating' jacket potato is very quick, easy and filling!

Going over to friend's houses has been hard in the past, but now I suggest we just have usual party/get-together food i.e pizza and chips, and make sure one of the pizzas is veggie! My boyfriend's family are very used to me as they've known me for a good few years - was best friends with my boyf for a logn time before we went out - and they are very good at integrating my meals and theres, so they'll cook veggies, sides etc, and then hand me some veggie sausages while they have their meat ones, or a cauliflower cheese grill when they have a steak.
Most people's mums b*tch about having to cook two seperate dinners, but integration is easy, provided you are careful not to contaminate any veggie food by using utensils that have been used for the meat before (something that irritates me tbh!). My mum was fine with it because she was already cooking a meal for me and her and a different one for my ill father, and she's just awesome like that (I can't wait to see her when i go home today! Although we'll probably be arguing in 10 mins haha!).

As for the social side... I have had a bit of stick about it when I was at school but I got badly bullied anyway for other things so it didn't really bother me. What does my head in is people insistent that I am wrong, and convinced they can outwit me and point out how I am wrong, and 'win' and also they think they're doing me a favour by 'making me see the error of my ways' or just by being plain a**eholes. Live and let live guys!! I don't have a go at people who eat meat, so they should leave me the hell alone.
Incidentally, my vegetarianism is on ethical and moral grounds, but I'm not one of those veggies who goes round shouting 'stop eating dead animals!!' cos that's only gonna get people's backs up, and it's rude! I think animals should be treated well before death at the least, and have a right to good living conditions.

People who say they are veggie but eat anything with a face annoy me!

I now have a vegetarian student cookbook, which is great cos the stuff is easy and veggie, and my mates are giving me more veggie cookbooks. Whether I can afford the stuff for the fancy dishes in them is another matter, because my fave meals are ones that take about 15 minutes to cook! My eating is not amazing but it could be a lot worse, I have hardly ever cooked before leaving home but it's been nearly 2 months and no food poisoning or death yet so it's all good! My meals are simple and basic, but becoming more varied, and they're healthy, I don't buy snacks to save money! Being poor is good in a way!

Eep that was a long post - sorry bout that - not been able to talk about it for ages!