I never usually take part in Lent but this year, I decided to give it a go and stop eating meat. I know that this post is quite controversial but I'm not trying to criticise or offend anyone - I'm doing this for myself and I hope that we can respect one another's preferences.

I'm not actually a huge meat eater in the first place - I usually only ever eat meat if it's a pepperoni pizza or if I go out to dinner at a restaurant somewhere. If I have meat at home, I usually push it to one side and don't go anywhere near it. I really don't like the taste of it and for as long as I can remember I've always associated it with live animals. I've never enjoyed walking down the meat aisle in supermarkets - it freaks me out so much to think about how many animals have been killed for that one aisle. I've also never gone near fish in years. I have a huge phobia of minced meat and I don't think I've ever eaten it before which makes it super awkward when my mum's favourite meals to cook are lasagne or cottage pie.

Over the last year or so, I've become so much more aware of the meat industry from watching documentaries (I'm sure a lot of you guys have as well e.g. Cowspiracy). These documentaries have taught me so much about the meat industry and the benefits of having a meat free diet or better yet, a vegan diet for ourselves as well as for the environment. I tweeted at the beginning of the year that I wanted to have a go at becoming vegan, however after doing some research over the last month, I think that easing myself into a vegan diet gradually is a much better option for me. So I decided that for Lent I would simply give up meat and see how I feel afterwards.

If you didn't already know, Lent began this year on Wednesday 10th February and concludes on Thursday 24th March. I know this post is two weeks late but so far my meat free diet is going great. In terms of meals, I've ate carrot spaghetti with basil oil (going to sprinkle some herbs and nuts on it next time), vegetable lasagne, quinoa and salad, a pie full of vegetables with curry sauce and my absolute favourite meal, risotto with peppers, onions, butternut squash and peas. I'm not saying they are the healthiest meals in the world or the best vegetarian recipes as I know that there are a lot more exciting recipes out there but seeing as I'm not the best cook, it's definitely an ongoing learning process. I also don't like cheese (I know, I'm weird) so finding vegetarian recipes that don't involve cheese is such a huge challenge for me! (I know I mentioned lasagne above which contains cheese, but I scraped the cheese off)

I'm googling every day for new recipes and alternative ways to get protein and iron in my diet which I'm sure will get more challenging as time goes on, but so far I'm really enjoying this challenge. I know I said that I didn't eat a lot of meat before, but I'm really trying to utilise this time to eat healthier and improve my cooking skills. If you didn't already know, vegetarian recipes involve a lot of ingredients and food prep (or so I've noticed!)

I've also decided to give up my favourite Friday and Saturday night snack which is Pringles. Pringles have always been a favourite of mine since they always used to be a treat when we visited my grandparents or they visited us, but over the last year or so I've become completely addicted to them which I'm sure have gone straight to my hips. With any luck, by the end of Lent I'll have sorted out my addiction once and for all.

I'm sure I'll keep you all up to date on my vegetarian journey either on the blog or on twitter so look out for that. If you have any tips for me or recipe suggestions, please let me know in the comments!

Also, have you guys given up anything for lent? If yes, then tell me what and why!