(In response again to veggie stuff) i think the best thing u can do is instead of finding meat alternatives (which often dont taste as good youre right) is find similar items that are already 100% veggie to begin with thatll curb the cravings. For instance i often crave fried chicken when i want unhealthy food but some deliciously unhealthy onion rings get the job done!! My other biggest craving is chicken noodle soup, not bc of the chicken itself but bc chicken broth based soups are (1/?)
Sorry I didn’t see this message until now!
You’re right, fake meat does NOT do the trick lol. I always warn my friends who think that fake meat is a good transition food for becoming vegan/vegetarian to not do it, because honestly it’s… kind of gross lol. But yes, ONION RINGS ♡ I find even BBQ veggies such as asparagus or potatoes loaded with cheese, sour cream, green onion etc. will give me my BBQ cravings, even adding vegetarian BBQ sauce mm.
For my Chinese food cravings, I’ll basically make a typical stir fry but use tofu n make it all crispy in a honey sauce.
Most of my protein comes from beans and eggs. I live in British Columbia so thankfully my university, grocery stores and restaurants have pretty good options compared to somewhere like Manitoba. I’m thankful but I understand lots of people don’t have that option!
Sort of off topic, but I would like to further delve into the social impacts of being vegetarian as well, as I’ve got some very strong cultural ties to Eastern Europe (I’m Ukrainian) where a lot of traditional food contains meat. My family is pretty accepting for the most part, but I want to support other vegetarians who struggle at family gatherings that have strong heritage ties. I’ve ended up preparing my own meal before hand to avoid conflict with family members, and so far it’s worked :)
Anyways thank you so much for the message! I really appreciate it!