37 days without eating meat and … that’s okay!

In today’s chapter I am going to tell you about my first 37 days without eating meat, the difficult challenges or struggles that I have faced, and how I have overcome them. So, let’s get started!

The first week was a bit hard, especially at breakfast time because sometimes (before the pledge) I did have a toast with paté or cold cuts. In fact, it was especially difficult because these products were still in the fridge and I could not eat them. So, I had to watch and wait for my partner to finally finish them!

On the other hand, before the pledge, I had already reduced my meat consumption a bit. A typical breakfast of mine would be toast with a fried egg, a banana omelette, or a bowl with oatmeal, fruit, and kefir. Certainly, still animal products. One cannot expect to change habits of years in such a short time. Better start step by step, with little-big changes.

In fact, changes hurt. Because when you decide to change something,
you are giving up privileges. And this takes time. Rome was not built in a day.

During these 37 days I have eaten many new vegetarian dishes that I was unaware of and which have turned out to be very tasty. Although it is true that my partner accompanies me in this process of not eating meat, he has cooked some dishes with meat. There were very funny situations, when I had to put aside the pieces of meat because he totally forgot that I don’t eat it.

I think eating out is also a challenge. The other day we went to a Spanish restaurant here in Hamburg and he really wanted to try the Valencian paella. Normally, when you order a paella, you have to order at least two portions … So we ordered it, I only ate the rice and the vegetables, leaving the meat for him. Surprisingly, that wasn’t much of a problem, but the ham croquettes were. At that particular moment, I was tempted to skip the pledge and order them. I think Spaniards have something with croquettes, they are simply irresistible. 😊 But I resisted and did not ask for them.

For a barbecue without meat, you must be prepared- not only mentally!

Another thing I’ve struggled with a bit has been the barbecue or “Grillen” time. In Hamburg, when the weather is nice, it is the law to go to the park and barbecue. So one of those 5 days of the year (notice the irony), we decided to inaugurate the BBQ 2021 season with some friends.

When the meat is cooking and you smell it, you really have to do your best not to eat that demonic combination of sausage, date and bacon. Instead, you get a slice of roasted zucchini. And bread, a lot of bread with ketchup. I’ll just say that I’ll be better prepared for the next meatless barbecue.

From a meat lover to a no-meat diet

If you have read this far, felt inspired by or identified with my story, then I invite you to follow my pledge at @european.footprints. During this time, I will share with you my struggles, challenges, sorrows, happiness and successes in this new no-meat journey for me.

Elionor