Turning over a new leaf (lots of them)

Vegetarianism is going well so far. I'm discovering the delights of Quorn, Linda McCartney and other meat-free products. It also turns out that Asda does some tasty veggie frozen roasts and cutlets.

Am I missing meat? Not so much, although sometimes the thought of a juicy burger is enticing. My skin is a bit crappy and my tummy has been a little bit out of whack but I'm hoping that's the remains of animals working their way out of my system and my body adjusting.

As well as going vegetarian, I am doing a lot of financial belt-tightening. This means I'm cutting down on non-essential groceries like booze, fizzy juice and takeaways. Hopefully this makes me overall healthier.

I even went on a two mile walk this morning!! What the hell is going on?

Part of the reason for the walk was to try and work through an idea I have for a potential TV show. I have a very basic kernel but I need to get the premises and the characters fleshed out. First new idea I've had for a while, let's see how it goes.

In which I make a change

I posted before about my guilt over eating meat. So I've made the decision to be vegetarian.

I'm doing all my research and pinning a lot of recipes on Pinterest. Pay day is Friday so I will stock up then and in the meantime use up the last of the meat in the house and lower my use of it.

Habits easily made are just as easily broken if you put your mind to it.

The cats, however, will remain carnivorous. I once knew a woman who refused to feed her cats meat. She was a fucking weirdo.

I wish I could be more ethical about animals

Not that I abuse animals or anything (are you kidding me??) but I have meat lover's guilt. I also have leather and fur wearer's guilt.

I could possibly become a vegetarian. I am aware enough of how to get the nutrition you need while removing bad things from your diet (see my adherence to the Paleo diet as proof). I do love bacon and lamb, but I think like most things it has become a habit. There are so many tasty meat substitutes and vegetarian recipes now - I think I could enjoy being a veggie.

The sole reason I would do this is because of the animals. Most of the time I try and ignore the fact that the bit of meat on my plate was once a living, breathing (possibly cute) animal who had no choice about whether or not it ended up on my plate. But as I get older and become more aware of the rights and wrongs of the world, this is a guilt that increases.

But then I think, "is that enough?" Am I really helping the animals unless I also give up wearing leather, suede and fur too? And then do I need to give up any and all products that have been animal tested? In the UK there is a ban on testing cosmetics on animals, but some products are shipped over from other countries and there aren't the same restrictions.

And do I need to go full vegan in order to stop contributing to the horrible mass production of dairy products etc?

If I am going to be ethical do I need to go the whole hog, or can I comfortably play a small part by reducing, but not entirely cutting out, the killing of animals to live my life?