Hello to all of my vegetarian and vegan friends. If you're not one of those two trying to confirm your decision and actually eat meat, then fair play to you. I may have done a bit of a spoiler in the title, but this is about my month of vegetarianism and how I feel now that I'm back eating meat again. I started on the 28th of January with a beautiful vegetarian burger with my granddad and finished on the 1st of March (I thought it would be cheating if I just did February, seeing as it's only 28 days).

So I guess we should start with why I even bothered trying this challenge in the first place. I've seen videos on social media of the horrible treatment of animals. I saw a video during my month where pigs were being burned alive and had their throats cut so that they slowly bled out in pain (Halal is much more moral, if you're wondering). I couldn't finish the whole video. Whilst that did give me extra motivation, it wasn't the root cause for my test.

From my extremely hypocritical perspective (considering the amount of travelling I do), it was the impact on the environment and the effect this has on others. Meat-eating is terrible for the environment: according to PETA, creating one hamburger produces enough fossil fuel to drive a small car for 20 miles (more stats here: https://www.peta.org/about-peta/faq/how-does-eating-meat-harm-the-environment/ ). The thing is, as resources and space become less and less available, rich countries can afford the increase in costs, whereas people in developing countries can lose their livelihoods and sometimes their lives.

The first thing that I realised was that I really should have done more research before starting the adventure. When you're eating meat, it's easy to do the whole meat, two veg deal, but when you don't have that meat at the centre of the meal, you have to actually think about what you're making.

The next thing I learned was that I need quite a lot of protein - about 1g/1kg of bodyweight - on sports days and that it's really quite easy to get that amount as a vegetarian. Seriously. The whole "you need meat for protein" argument is bollocks. Animals get protein by eating plants and then we eat them to get ours. It's not difficult to cut out the middle man. It also blew my mind just how much protein cheddar and mozzarella have! I bought quite a few half price Margherita pizzas during this month.

What was a bit weird about this month was my attitude to food. I didn't really miss meat, but at times, I really missed the simplicity of cooking with meat. My go to meal is my own little pasta bolognese - I vary it a bit and I usually cook enough to last me two days, plus it's super easy and takes about 15 minutes from prep to mouth. With being a vegetarian, I was having to constantly search what I wanted to make (BBC GoodFood was heaven-sent) and it was usually a bit trickier and I'd have to buy new spices.

The downside of this was that I sometimes had evenings when I would just snack for dinner because I just could not be arsed to go through the effort or didn't want to spend money on spices I might not use that often. The plus side, however, was that I was trying brand new meals and, as a foodie, that really excited me! I made some really damn tasty soups, a decent attempt at my mum's recipe for stuffed peppers and my first-ever curry! There was also this weird cooked salad with sweet potatoes that was an absolute banger. And even though I did have to research, some of the recipes were really quick and easy - I reckon it would be easier with more time.

Tell you what though, the biggest surprise of this whole thing: Quorn. Holy crap, it's delicious and genuinely tastes like meat (with flavouring). Lasagne, Cottage Pie, "Fish" in breadcrumbs, they've got it and it's cheap - usually a pack is about £3, but I got it 3 packs for a fiver. 3 meals for just £5! They say the packs are for two people, but I called B.S. and ate them whole. Despite my appetite, it's still so cheap and was perfectly timed for my bank balance being a little on the 'modest' side.

Now, I wasn't always perfect during this month. Whilst I don't feel like I cheated, I did mess up a bit. Within the first few days, my new flat mate (she's an international exchange student) offered me a dumpling and I ate it without thinking. This dumpling had meat in it. That meant I had to give Rafe a fiver because I'd bet with him that I could complete my month without fail. On the 28th February, so close to the end of my month, I also had some gravy and stuffing (my block was having an Easter Roast) which had meat, but once again, that wasn't obvious. I'd said no to the roast chicken, so my heart was in the right place.

I'm now on my second day of eating meat again and it's a bit weird. I've still got Quorn meals left, so I'll eat those before I go back to meat dinners. I bought some ham to fill out some sandwiches a bit more and a Chicken Kiev for a few days time, but I really don't feel an urge to eat meat. I guess that means my month targeted at helping me to reduce my meat consumption has been a success - we'll find out in the coming months.

I think one thing all meat-eaters and vegetarians can agree on is this: how the flying fuck do vegans do it? I couldn't live without dairy products (even though cows are kept in perpetual pregnancy so that they can lactate - sorry if you didn't know). Chocolate and ice cream were definitely needed at certain points.

Anyhow, I hope that this makes you think about your meat consumption habits, whatever they may be.

Happy voluntravelling,

The Voluntraveller