Vegetarianism was always a choice for me. I began avoiding meat when I was around eight years old while visiting my distant family’s mini farm full of dogs, pigs, and chickens. Needless to say, the night didn’t end well for eight-year-old me who went from playing with the pigs to being served pulled pork for dinner. After that, choosing to avoid meat altogether wasn’t difficult for me.
While it took some convincing from my parents, I eventually adopted the lifestyle and stuck to the commitment for around seven years before I eventually caved and took a hiatus. Now, I’m a freshman in college and back and better than ever on my meatless journey!
Not many people are enamored by the idea of cutting out all meat consumption in their lives, and that’s okay! Becoming a vegetarian is not for everyone, and that’s acceptable. There are a ton of people who believe the diet is essential to the lifestyles and well-being of everyone on planet Earth, but, honestly, it’s a huge decision and a personal one, too!
So, here are four reasons as to why I went vegetarian:
- Easier Meal Prep
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As a college student who recently readopted vegetarianism, I can confirm that having a vegetarian diet is so helpful for meal prepping. Along with the diet, I spend a lot of my time at the gym.
While finding protein-heavy foods for my fitness goals is hard, meal prepping in a dorm gets a lot easier once you find cheap staples to always have on hand! For example, peanut butter, for me, has become a much cheaper and more universal staple in comparison to meat. For breakfast, I can make protein balls with oats, chocolate chips, peanut butter, and more. For lunch, I can make peanut butter sandwiches. For a snack, I can use peanut butter for dipping! Becoming vegetarian has made my meal prepping much cheaper as a college student on a budget!
- Vegetarianism Isn’t Law
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A nice thing about being vegetarian is the flexibility of it! I like eating healthy foods for my mental and physical health, but there are also some things I can’t live without…like sushi!
Personally, giving up sushi is one of the hardest things I can imagine doing, and I’ve still yet to try. So, the nice thing about adopting vegetarianism is that there are so many variations! Some people just eat meat in moderation, some become pescatarian and eat fish as an exception, and others go all the way to veganism: a completely animal-free lifestyle! There are so many options when contemplating this.
- Vegetarianism Can Increase Your Creativity
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Another reason I’ll always broadcast vegetarianism as a lifestyle option is the creativity it can bring to your life. I was never much of a chef before I became vegetarian or even when I was younger. However, the diet has encouraged me to be more creative with my protein intake and the meals I eat.
I’ve learned how to prepare meals for myself that I wouldn’t have originally known how to make, and Pinterest has become my best friend along the way for that. It’s the go-to spot for easy recipes and meat alternatives for some of my favorite foods. For example, I’m a cauliflower lover and discovered that addiction through my recipe experimentation on Pinterest. Air-fried buffalo cauliflower has become a must for me since I went vegetarian!
- New Takeout Options
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A less expected benefit of becoming a vegetarian is all the new cuisines I managed to familiarize myself with. As a kid, I wasn’t privy to the excellence that was Indian food. Growing up, I began to realize that it has a lot of vegetarian-friendly food choices, which pushed me to try more and more dishes. To this day, Indian food continues to be one of my favorite options when ordering takeout, and I owe that all to my decision to go vegetarian!
Becoming a vegetarian isn’t a decision I made lightly, especially knowing it could change a lot in my day-to-day life. The temptations to quit and gorge on some delicious bacon were nearly impossible for me to combat, but again, the lifestyle isn’t a decision for everyone! It’s why I chose to specifically indulge in the pescatarian side of it and limit my meat intake to just fish. Everything has its pros and cons, including vegetarianism!
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