Fellow vegetarians...How am I going to get through Christmas?!?!?!

This will be my first year of being a vegetarian. I became a veggie completely due to animal welfare, besides that I absolutely love meat. It's been so hard not giving into temptations of the medium-rare steak I used to always order out. And bacon, and chicken,and hot dogs... But this Christmas is going to be so hard! I need some advice guys, or I'm afraid I'm going to relapse!

:puppyeyes:

Reply 1

shawn_o1

Mince pies can be for vegetarians. Oh, and buy Quorn brand food because they're all meat substitutes

Reply 2

BookBird

Original post by Twinpeaks

Do people celebrate Christmas with no meat? Animals... see what I did there? (;

Reply 3

Sabertooth

Roasted veggies are delicious! Bit of honey on the carrots and parsnips along with sweet potatoes and crispy regular potatoes. I eat meat (but don't like turkey) and would be happy with just those for my Christmas dinner. :drool:

Although I gotta say dude....those pigs in blankets. :puppyeyes:

Reply 4

bluezara

Original post by Twinpeaks

It'll be my first veggie christmas too! The only thing I'll miss is the pigs in blankets...

I'm just going to eat a tonne of roast potatoes to fill the void

Reply 5

Mpagtches

Do everything in exactly the same way, but just don't eat the meat.
(That's basically what a vegetarian is).

Reply 6

thatdannigirl

Haha I became a veggie for the same reason as you - the meat industry is an absolute farce and revolves around £££ as opposed to the welfare of animals.
This'll be my 3rd veggie Christmas :claus:

Coming from a South African household I know how hard it is to say no to meat when your family eats it for breakfast lunch and dinner :oink:

I'd say prep is key - stock up on fresh veg&fruit, have some quorn in the freezer for a turkey replacement, buy some snacks like mini pizzas, spring rolls, doughballs, stuffed peppers, etc... so that when people are tucking into pigs and blankets you're not going to cave in😉
IMO all the best festive foods are veggie friendly anyway: chocolate, mince pies, gingerbread, roast potatoes, Baileys...

Reply 7

Katty3

Original post by Twinpeaks

Try making a really nice nut roast.

You can get soya bacon that's absolutely delicious, vegetarian hot dogs, vegetarian chicken chunks etc. It's all absolutely delicious.

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Reply 8

NinjaPirate

Quorn 'chicken' fillets cooked in gravy are glorious (and avoid all the "your plate's missing something, love" jokes from your gran when you've just got vegetables and potatoes for Christmas dinner). If you're being strict about it you can use Trex instead of lard for mince pies and roast potatoes, although it can make your pastry a bit short if you use too much. Good luck!

Get to know!

Original post by NinjaPirate

I use my great great grandmother's recipe for pastry.

Just use ordinary soft margarine for pastry. It works better than anything else. Vitalite is best.

I cook my roast potatoes in olive oil and herbs. They're delicious.

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Reply 11

chloeabeki

The Quorn roast is your best friend. Tastes just like the real thing :biggrin:

If you're a fan of gravy you can get vegetable stock as well, altogether it makes for a really nice, cruelty free Christmas dinner! Usually when I find myself tempted to eat animal products (usually it's Haribos and stuff that tempts me- I miss bubblegum/cola bottles!!) I just remind myself of WHY I became vegetarian, and it puts me back on track!

Reply 12

RobML

Nut roast bub.

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Reply 13

username1567177

sit in your room by yourself and cry for the full day

Reply 14

Speckle

Original post by thatdannigirl

Haha I became a veggie for the same reason as you - the meat industry is an absolute farce and revolves around £££ as opposed to the welfare of animals.

Of course it's not about the welfare of animals. However well you treat them, you are raising them to be killed and eaten.

Reply 15

e aí rapaz

Christmas pizza innit.

Reply 16

yasaminO_o

I hate Quorn and nut roasts, so I would recommend something like a pie/quiche or stuffed butternut squash. Last year I had these aubergine and smoked cheese bakes from Sainsbury's but they don't stock them anymore :frown:

I just remembered M&S do a really good mushroom and chestnut wellington, there are recipes you can look up too :smile:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 17

BefuddledPenguin

Stuffing balls and roast potatoes are our best friend. I'll probably have a quorn steak too, and there's no reason you can't have cranberry sauce with quorn. Throw in some quorn sausages too and you can easily have a full plate. I guess you could wrap a quorn sausage in facon to replace pigs in blankets, though I've no idea how good facon is as I've yet to try it.