Top 5 Difficulties of Being Vegetarian

Welcome Back Veggie Lovers!
Throughout my journey as a vegetarian, I have found that some things are more difficult as a vegetarian. The vegetarian lifestyle has an abundance of positives that come as a result of the diet but, there are also negatives that come with it as well. Unfortunately, some of these difficulties of this lifestyle make people not want to switch over from a meat-based diet. For me and many other vegetarians, these disadvantages and challenges are easy to overcome but can still be a annoying.

1. Going Out to Eat: For meat eaters, going out to eat is nothing to stress over since there are always countless food options for them. However, for vegetarians, it's not as easy since most restaurants do not offer many vegetarian options or just don't offer any at all.
2. Nutritional Challenges: Even though there are many ways to get enough protein on a daily basis without eating any meat, it still can be quite difficult. Protein is something that you have to think about on a daily basis and make sure each meal as a substantial amount just so at the end of the day, you eat a sufficient amount. Additionally, essential vitamins like B12, which is necessary for numerous reasons, can only be found in animal products. So, as a vegetarian, I have found taking a multivitamin or a B12 vitamin a good idea. 
3. Holiday Traditions: In my family, for Christmas we have turkey and ham, for Thanksgiving we have ham, and for Easter we also have ham so, as a vegetarian, this can obviously get a little difficult. Normally, I end up just eating all the sides which don't contain meat and it's fine! However, many of the side dishes that my family always makes for Christmas dinner contains chicken stock so I end up having to make one with chicken stock and one with vegetable stock so I am still able to eat the same side dishes at least. 
4. Reading the Labels of ALL Food: Many pre-made foods that are labeled as vegetarian or don't contain any meat actually end up having some sort of meat based product. Because of this, I always have to read the label of everything I buy to make sure it is vegetarian friendly. 
5. Friends and Family Having Different Eating Habits: Among my family and friends, I am the only one who is vegetarian. This makes going out to eat, eating at home, and grocery shopping so much more difficult. 

Commonly Asked Questions

“What about bacon?”

This is always my favorite question to be asked since my answer is always so shocking to people. Personally, I have never been that fond of bacon since it is has such a weird texture to me no matter how it is cooked. For me at least, after switching over to a plant based diet, all the meat based foods that I used to love become almost nauseating just thinking about them.
So eliminating bacon out of my diet was never a huge deal.

“How do you get protein?”

Incorporating protein into my diet can get a little tricky from time to time especially while having to eat Sodexo but there is always a way. Peanut butter has become a huge part of my diet just because of the high protein content (not complaining since it is so delicious). For me, it is one of the easiest ways to increase my protein intake since you can eat it with almost anything or just right out the jar.

Most foods that people eat on an everyday basis actually contain more protein then people think too. So even if I did not eat peanut butter, I could still get enough protein on a day to day basis with minor modifications to my diet.

“What can you eat?”

I never understood why people always asked this question since there is so many different foods that do not contain meat. Honestly, being vegetarian taught me about the extensive amount of foods out there that do not contain any meat products.

So anything you can think of that does not contain meat, I can eat.

Other questions that I also get asked include: "You're a vegetarian?", "What food do you miss most?", and my all time favorite "Why would you do that to yourself?!"

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Hello fellow veggie lovers!

My name is Rebekah, and welcome to my blog! In the future throughout my posts, I hope to share a bit about my vegetarian journey, how to manage being vegetarian in college, recipes that can be made in a dorm, and much more.