As someone who became vegetarian after reading a Glenn Greenwald article I found on HN about how the pork industry does
awful things and gets the government to prosecute people trying to expose it, the key I've found is to look to world cuisine.
Many cultures around the world have awesome food that's easily convertible to vegetarian or is vegetarian already, where meat might be a luxury.
Central America and the Caribbean have tons of dishes with rice, beans, plantains, and flavorful sauces with flatbreads. Or a million ways to prepare corn. West Africa has peanut stew that's amazing. Across the rest of the continent jollof rice and githeri are good solid bases for a meal. Misir wot is a spicy hearty lentil stew. North Africa has a rich vegetarian tradition of soups, stews, and rice dishes. In the middle east there's falafel, hummus, mujadara, shakshuka and about a million ways to combine spices, onions, tomatoes, flatbreads, etc. South Asia obviously has a massive vegetarian cultural tradition, as does Southeast and East Asia.
When I started, I found it hard. I kept thinking "beans and rice... I guess?" Once I started going, "ok, I'm going to pick a small region of the world and see what they eat there and try it" I had WAY more success. The first time I made tteok-bokki or sushi or vareniki I suddenly realized just how much of the world is really already preparing vegetarian meals for many of their meals.
Many cultures around the world have awesome food that's easily convertible to vegetarian or is vegetarian already, where meat might be a luxury.
Central America and the Caribbean have tons of dishes with rice, beans, plantains, and flavorful sauces with flatbreads. Or a million ways to prepare corn. West Africa has peanut stew that's amazing. Across the rest of the continent jollof rice and githeri are good solid bases for a meal. Misir wot is a spicy hearty lentil stew. North Africa has a rich vegetarian tradition of soups, stews, and rice dishes. In the middle east there's falafel, hummus, mujadara, shakshuka and about a million ways to combine spices, onions, tomatoes, flatbreads, etc. South Asia obviously has a massive vegetarian cultural tradition, as does Southeast and East Asia.
When I started, I found it hard. I kept thinking "beans and rice... I guess?" Once I started going, "ok, I'm going to pick a small region of the world and see what they eat there and try it" I had WAY more success. The first time I made tteok-bokki or sushi or vareniki I suddenly realized just how much of the world is really already preparing vegetarian meals for many of their meals.