Vegetarian Lent

Last year for Lent, I gave up red meat--the horse meat scandal was going on, so it seemed like a good one. This year I decided to go a little more pious and give up all of it-- meat, poultry, fish--and go vegetarian for 40 days. I'm still having dairy & eggs--I love cheese too much to ever go vegan--but it's been an interesting challenge. With two weeks left to go, here's a little update on it:

The biggest surprise I've had is that I have actually gained weight--two pounds in the first two weeks. Vegetarianism is not a low-calorie diet. You have to be careful about your replacements. Replacing meat with mushrooms, beans and kale= low calorie, high volume food, but replacing meat with cheese and nuts=high fat, low volume food. This leaves you feeling hungrier and more likely to snack. There's also something of a "halo effect". I think I've been being "good" by not eating meat, so I treat myself to extras that I wouldn't have had normally. During those first couple of weeks, I made bad choices--I'd pop in to Sainsbury's on the way to the office and grab a Starbucks latte and a chocolate chip cookie to keep in my bag for a mid-afternoon snack. That's about 500 calories, though, which is more of a meal than a snack. It's no wonder I put on the weight.

Chocolate Chip Cookies: Meatless doesn't mean healthy!

I was comfort-eating, to be fair--the PhD and job hunting stress has been getting to me. I've now developed a nervous habit of absent-mindedly messing with my hair, so I may end up bald but at least I've stopped snacking.

On the bright side, I've had two good food discoveries that I never would have tried if not for vegetarian Lent. Firstly, for Saint Patrick's Day, I'd normally make lamb with colcannon and soda bread. This year, I made sausages and colcannon instead, and used Quorn sausages for my portion (Richard had normal sausages--he gave up alcohol for Lent, so he's still eating meat occasionally--and I'm still drinking occasionally!). It was brilliant--I don't normally go for the fake meat thing, but I love Quorn mince (ground beef) and sausages.

 

Quorn sausages: Pretty darn close to the real thing

Last night, we had a crazy pasta dish that I never would have tried normally: you can grate zucchini/courgette to make it look like spaghetti. It sounds weird, but it actually works. I mixed it in with wholewheat spaghetti and served it with Quorn mince pasta sauce (with spinach in it--how healthy!), and it was brilliant. It was a bit lighter than normal spaghetti with meat sauce, but still filling and tasty. I added chili flakes to the sauce and served it with freshly grated pecorino cheese on top. Amazing! I had leftover sauce with normal pasta for lunch and added sundried tomatoes and a portabello mushroom--it was gorgeous.

Zucchini spaghetti: Weird and wonderful

My approach to the whole vegetarian Lent thing has been to look at it as a cooking challenge, rather than a diet thing (obviously, since I gained weight, LOL) or a self-denial thing (although that is the point of Lent...). I've discovered some new interesting things, and I really haven't missed meat that much. The only thing I've really craved is barbecue, which I rarely have anyway. After Lent's over, I'm going to continue making some of my favourite vegetarian meals, like the zucchini spaghetti and black bean enchiladas--and we're going to It bar & food joint for bbq ribs, too!