This is where carbon taxes will be absolutely critical. It will help shift consumer behavior away from carbon-heavy products to cleaner products en masse.
This is where carbon taxes will be absolutely critical. It will help shift consumer behavior away from carbon-heavy products to cleaner products en masse.
I have a condition that means I can be getting all of the nutrients that I can get, and still be suffering malnutrition, my gut just randomly ignores or doesn't absorb some nutrients. So for me...
I have a condition that means I can be getting all of the nutrients that I can get, and still be suffering malnutrition, my gut just randomly ignores or doesn't absorb some nutrients. So for me it's very, very important that I get enough, readily absorbable vitamins.
As it turns out, vitamin supplements are much less readily absorbed than actual meat, plus we aren't really sure if there are vitamins in meat that we aren't able to test for. We only recently discovered a new B-vitamin (I can't remember what it's name is), so the chances that 'we don't know everything' in current medical science, with only 100 years of clinical trials (of which about half are not actually in circulation or have severe problems due to malpractice by research companies) behind us, is quite good.
I don't have a biochemistry / dietetics / gastroenterology degree, so I can't give an answer. As I mentioned though, artificial meat presupposes that the only thing that's worth eating in meat is...
I don't have a biochemistry / dietetics / gastroenterology degree, so I can't give an answer.
As I mentioned though, artificial meat presupposes that the only thing that's worth eating in meat is the protein, but there are a ton of other minerals and nutrients in meat that they seem to be ignoring. It feels like when you see people saying that someone can live on a mcdonalds because it meets the calorie component. Sure, but if you do that for long enough you'll get scurvy. I've had mild scurvy, it's not fun. People aren't really taught about nutrients. I wonder how many people have B12 deficiencies and don't know about it.
Getting back to the original topic, from what I've read the agricultural systems that replace meat is just as harmful to the environment just in different ways. And this doesn't even possibly address the main source of the carbon generation. It feels like people are rearranging deckchairs on the titanic. Except, in this case it will do something, but because it's not addressing the main and the bulk of the causes, it's an imperceptible difference.
I also wish that-- if someone decides to keep eating meat-- that they'd at least stop making vegans the butt of jokes. I was very disappointed to see Trevor Noah do this recently and make light of...
I also wish that-- if someone decides to keep eating meat-- that they'd at least stop making vegans the butt of jokes. I was very disappointed to see Trevor Noah do this recently and make light of the UN's earnest plea to have everyone tone down their meat consumption.
I'm privileged enough to live in a city where everyone's OK and totally familiar with vegan/vegetarianism, but anytime I set foot elsewhere, it's judgemental-jokes city.
I don't even mind the mocking/jokes about being a vegetarian. What gets me is when people start doubling down and pull out the ole "oooo well now it looks like I'm gonna have to eat extra meat...
I don't even mind the mocking/jokes about being a vegetarian. What gets me is when people start doubling down and pull out the ole "oooo well now it looks like I'm gonna have to eat extra meat tonight lololol". I know it's all supposed to be a joke but man, you sound like a moron and its only passable because omni diets are the norm. It's like someone littering, getting called out for it and saying "oh well I guess I gotta throw more trash out my window lolol". I see mountains of comments like that anytime plant based diets are brought up.
You know those moments we all have where you look back into your past and cringe hard over something? Well, one of mine was telling my vegetarian friend that I was going to eat extra meat because...
You know those moments we all have where you look back into your past and cringe hard over something?
Well, one of mine was telling my vegetarian friend that I was going to eat extra meat because of her, and then ordering a sub in front of her with like, every meat possible, just to drive home the point.
God, I was such an ass. That moment was fifteen years ago, and I still look back on it in horror.
I would never make fun of a vegan/vegetarian just because they don't eat meat/animal products. I might make a joke if they're being self-righteous though. Although that isn't too common. Sorry you...
I would never make fun of a vegan/vegetarian just because they don't eat meat/animal products. I might make a joke if they're being self-righteous though. Although that isn't too common. Sorry you experienced that.
Oh it's alright. I just feel comedy needs to punch UP, and I recognize that the louder vegans have a reputation of being smug, upper-class, dogmatic people in some parts-- but I feel like that's...
Oh it's alright.
I just feel comedy needs to punch UP, and I recognize that the louder vegans have a reputation of being smug, upper-class, dogmatic people in some parts-- but I feel like that's just a confirmation bias. I know a lot of vegetarians and vegans who you'd never know were such until you were getting something to eat together. I myself haven't eaten meat in well over 10 years and some of my friends still forget that's the case because it just doesn't come up. And aside from that, the core tenets of veganism are typically either animal rights, personal health, or climate concern-- none of which feel like they need to be made the butt of a joke, compared to more pressing concerns of bigotry, concentrated wealth, etc.. Like... punch up comedians!
That's mostly my experience too. The annoying vegetarians and vegans seem to be the minority. That's just what lots of people think of when they think of a vegan/vegetarian, which is unfortunate.
know a lot of vegetarians and vegans who you'd never know were such until you were getting something to eat together.
That's mostly my experience too. The annoying vegetarians and vegans seem to be the minority. That's just what lots of people think of when they think of a vegan/vegetarian, which is unfortunate.
I honestly don't think I could ever go meat free, for more than a day or two at least. Pretty much every dinner I eat is some form of pasta or meat in the form of chicken, burger, or pork. And...
I honestly don't think I could ever go meat free, for more than a day or two at least. Pretty much every dinner I eat is some form of pasta or meat in the form of chicken, burger, or pork. And whenever I've tried vegetarian style dinners I feel unsatisfied, they just all end up tasting very boring with a texture I really don't like and not very full by the end.
Still need to get around to trying something like the impossible burger, heard really good things about them but I can't really get them around me.
I wonder if it just comes down to not having had any great vegetarian cooking. I found vegetarianism hard to swallow until I experienced tasty vegetarian meals myself.
I wonder if it just comes down to not having had any great vegetarian cooking. I found vegetarianism hard to swallow until I experienced tasty vegetarian meals myself.
Absolutely. Don't just remove the meat from a meal whose centerpiece is said meat. Making curry? Don't just remove the chicken, replace it with something. Tofu can be really good for texture,...
Absolutely. Don't just remove the meat from a meal whose centerpiece is said meat. Making curry? Don't just remove the chicken, replace it with something. Tofu can be really good for texture, plain beans aren't bad either.
I've tried to fade most meat out of my diet over the last few months. At this point, I'm down to about 1 meal a week that actually has substantial amounts of meat in it*, and quite some of that is socially when I have little control over the menu.
The things I have the most trouble replacing are bacon (cubed on Flammkuchen, sliced and fried, as a part of a tomato sauce) and ground beef (burgers**, sauces, meatballs, chili con carne, stuff like that). If any of you got a clue, do tell.
* this excludes a slice of salami or two for breakfast, e.g.
** I've had rotten luck with replacement producs for burgers and meatballs. I haven't tried the hip brands (impossible burger/beyond meat), but I can make a nut/cheese/tater based alternative that.... isn't really a burger at all though.
I think that it's a good idea to reframe the question you're asking. When you're trying to make a burger and replacing the meat (with things you make yourself, not with impossible / beyond...
I think that it's a good idea to reframe the question you're asking. When you're trying to make a burger and replacing the meat (with things you make yourself, not with impossible / beyond burgers) then what you end up with is a shitty facsimile filled with disappointment. You can't just put a portobello on a bun and call it a burger; that's just a mushroom on a bun.
I find it useful to look at things that already exist as vegetarian cuisine and try those. A lot of the time, it's delicious, and it tends not to have that same "I want the real version of this meal" feeling that goes with things like mushroom burgers. So instead of trying to replace bacon with something, you end up having something different that's just not bacon. I've never found a good meat-free bacon substitute, but I've also never had a great meat substitute for falafel, and if I reframe what I'm looking for, then I don't feel that disappointment that the replacement isn't as good.
Certainly a good point. I'm not saying I need to have a facsimile of bacon or ground beef; I'm just asking for things that could fill the gaps left by the mentioned foods. I just now read of a...
Certainly a good point. I'm not saying I need to have a facsimile of bacon or ground beef; I'm just asking for things that could fill the gaps left by the mentioned foods. I just now read of a bacon alternative for Flammkuchen: Smoked tofu. Yeah, can see that work. Fills the same gap in a different way.
Oh, and don't get me wrong about my mentioned burger alternative - it's not meant to scratch the burger itch per se, it's not nearly beefy enough. But it's really good anyway, and fits nicely into regular burgers. Think enough mashed potatoes and starch to keep the rest together, then onions, ground nuts, some cheese; shaped to patties and fried.* Nowhere near beef, but very delicious. So in that sense, a portobello on a bun isn't a burger, and you certainly can't make it a hamburger. But it can still be damn delicious.**
And I'm not disinclined to grab something from the store to get some "carne" back into my chili, I just haven't found anything I'd wanna use yet. Likewise for cooked bacon in the morning. Kinda worried how vegan ground will do in taco salad and similar stuff, but I guess there's no point in not trying.
*If you wanna make something like that, I can give you the actual recipe.
**Really not much of a mushroom person, this one.
Grab your kitchen scale, because I don't believe in measuring cups. 250g taters or sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed; knead in 100g of potato (or corn) starch. Should be smooth. Let cool. Peel and...
Grab your kitchen scale, because I don't believe in measuring cups.
250g taters or sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed; knead in 100g of potato (or corn) starch. Should be smooth. Let cool.
Peel and chop an onion and some garlic.
Add onion, garlic, 150g grated cheese, 100g rolled oats, 30g cornmeal, 130g ground or chopped nuts as desired(I use almond or hazelnuts, walnuts would work here if you like them), SaltPepperNutmeg to the potato dough. Shape into patties, using a biscuit cutter and cling film to roll it if it's too sticky - it probably is. Coat patties in cornmeal. If you want to freeze some of these, do it before frying. (I put em on a plate separated by parchment paper, then transfer to a bag once frozen.)
Fry in copious amounts of oil, these soak up a fair bit. Let me know how it goes and what you pair them with; beyond the usual suspects I've done battered and fried apple slices.
I can't believe someone recommended tofu where you should be appealing to our lord of meat textures, seitan. Although depending on the flavor of the curry, paneer can be even better.
I can't believe someone recommended tofu where you should be appealing to our lord of meat textures, seitan.
Although depending on the flavor of the curry, paneer can be even better.
I think all my examples of rotten luck with meat replacement products refer to seitan. I'm sorry, either I had bad luck or the flavor is just really off to me and the texture requires heating it...
I think all my examples of rotten luck with meat replacement products refer to seitan. I'm sorry, either I had bad luck or the flavor is just really off to me and the texture requires heating it really accurately to be good.
I'd highly encourage anyone skeptical of, or interested in, vegetarian/vegan food to take a look at the Chef's Table episode on Netflix with Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan. I can't find any snippets of...
I'd highly encourage anyone skeptical of, or interested in, vegetarian/vegan food to take a look at the Chef's Table episode on Netflix with Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan. I can't find any snippets of it to link to but it does a remarkable job of challenging some of the assumptions we might hold about our food and encourages us to be a little more mindful.
No offense intended, but I'm suggesting because this sounds familiar - maybe you're just not very good at cooking? The good thing about that is it's a skill you can learn and develop, and you'd be...
No offense intended, but I'm suggesting because this sounds familiar - maybe you're just not very good at cooking? The good thing about that is it's a skill you can learn and develop, and you'd be amazed at how many options open up as you start learning some technique. You're only hopeless as long as you tell yourself you are.
Vegetarian cuisine is amongst the most varied and interesting, so if you're not finding something you like, you can make some changes. There are still some basic requirements for meals to trigger...
Vegetarian cuisine is amongst the most varied and interesting, so if you're not finding something you like, you can make some changes.
There are still some basic requirements for meals to trigger you being satiated. Generally, when prepping a meal, it's a good idea to think about protein, carbs, fats, and fiber, and I think a relatively common issue when trying to eat vegetarian is that people don't replace their protein (typically from meat) with a vegetable based protein. If you try to eat vegetarian by just not eating the meat part of a meal, you're going to have a bad meal, but if you make reasonable replacements, then you can have a vegetable based meal that makes you feel full.
If you want more information, check out basically anything @Gaywallet says in ~food; it's chock-full of science and information. Alternatively if you google macronutrients, fiber, vegetarian (or some combination of the three) you might find something worthwhile.
Yeah, I think going completely meat free isn't a reasonable expectation to ask of many people currently. At least in the US we're still a little too set in our ways and the article recognizes...
Yeah, I think going completely meat free isn't a reasonable expectation to ask of many people currently. At least in the US we're still a little too set in our ways and the article recognizes that. But, in my own life, I've taken steps over the last six years to significantly reduce the amount of meat I eat.
I started really small. I replaced two lunches a week with vegetarian options and gave myself time to find meals I actually enjoyed beyond salads. It took effort and in that first year I ended up eating more than a few meals I just hated but once I started down that road it made me a much more inventive cook and opened me up to a lot of cuisines I had no interest in before.
I still love meat. That's unlikely to change. But I'm at a point where my meat consumption would need to be measured on a weekly basis instead of daily and I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to trend downward in the future. I guess my point is that it doesn't have to be "all or nothing" and nobody should expect their food preferences to change overnight.
There's more and more good-quality vegetarian substitutes on the market. Of course, there's also more and more people who make you swallow gruel and tell you it's just like real meat, so you have...
Still need to get around to trying something like the impossible burger, heard really good things about them but I can't really get them around me.
There's more and more good-quality vegetarian substitutes on the market. Of course, there's also more and more people who make you swallow gruel and tell you it's just like real meat, so you have to manage expectations. But last night I tried some belgian vegetarian Faux Gras, and it's fucking delicious. It's honestly better than most foie gras (and similar patés) I've tried and I highly recommend trying it out.
Relying on meat substitutes isn't really the way forward IMO. They're nice and all, but really people need to get more comfortable with cooking vegetables and making them tasty. Indian cuisine is...
Relying on meat substitutes isn't really the way forward IMO. They're nice and all, but really people need to get more comfortable with cooking vegetables and making them tasty. Indian cuisine is mostly vegetarian and even most carnivores are okay with it.
If you specifically cite meals feeling unsatisfying, then it's likely there just isn't enough fiber or fat in the vegetarian dishes you're eating. That's generally the culprit with the lack of feeling "full" or "satisfied."
I subscribed to the vegetarian version of HelloFresh for a while and actually liked it more than the meaty version. The meat meals all followed a very predictable formula: meat with seasoning,...
I subscribed to the vegetarian version of HelloFresh for a while and actually liked it more than the meaty version. The meat meals all followed a very predictable formula: meat with seasoning, starch, vegetable - while the vegetarian meals were a lot more varied in style and flavor. I don't think I could go full-veg but trying decent vegetarian meals changed my mind about skipping meat regularly. The trick is to make sure you're eating something with lots of protein like roasted chickpeas, and using good spices.
This is where carbon taxes will be absolutely critical. It will help shift consumer behavior away from carbon-heavy products to cleaner products en masse.
I have a condition that means I can be getting all of the nutrients that I can get, and still be suffering malnutrition, my gut just randomly ignores or doesn't absorb some nutrients. So for me it's very, very important that I get enough, readily absorbable vitamins.
As it turns out, vitamin supplements are much less readily absorbed than actual meat, plus we aren't really sure if there are vitamins in meat that we aren't able to test for. We only recently discovered a new B-vitamin (I can't remember what it's name is), so the chances that 'we don't know everything' in current medical science, with only 100 years of clinical trials (of which about half are not actually in circulation or have severe problems due to malpractice by research companies) behind us, is quite good.
In that case, wouldn’t lab-grown meat satisfy your dietary needs?
I don't have a biochemistry / dietetics / gastroenterology degree, so I can't give an answer.
As I mentioned though, artificial meat presupposes that the only thing that's worth eating in meat is the protein, but there are a ton of other minerals and nutrients in meat that they seem to be ignoring. It feels like when you see people saying that someone can live on a mcdonalds because it meets the calorie component. Sure, but if you do that for long enough you'll get scurvy. I've had mild scurvy, it's not fun. People aren't really taught about nutrients. I wonder how many people have B12 deficiencies and don't know about it.
Getting back to the original topic, from what I've read the agricultural systems that replace meat is just as harmful to the environment just in different ways. And this doesn't even possibly address the main source of the carbon generation. It feels like people are rearranging deckchairs on the titanic. Except, in this case it will do something, but because it's not addressing the main and the bulk of the causes, it's an imperceptible difference.
I also wish that-- if someone decides to keep eating meat-- that they'd at least stop making vegans the butt of jokes. I was very disappointed to see Trevor Noah do this recently and make light of the UN's earnest plea to have everyone tone down their meat consumption.
I'm privileged enough to live in a city where everyone's OK and totally familiar with vegan/vegetarianism, but anytime I set foot elsewhere, it's judgemental-jokes city.
I don't even mind the mocking/jokes about being a vegetarian. What gets me is when people start doubling down and pull out the ole "oooo well now it looks like I'm gonna have to eat extra meat tonight lololol". I know it's all supposed to be a joke but man, you sound like a moron and its only passable because omni diets are the norm. It's like someone littering, getting called out for it and saying "oh well I guess I gotta throw more trash out my window lolol". I see mountains of comments like that anytime plant based diets are brought up.
You know those moments we all have where you look back into your past and cringe hard over something?
Well, one of mine was telling my vegetarian friend that I was going to eat extra meat because of her, and then ordering a sub in front of her with like, every meat possible, just to drive home the point.
God, I was such an ass. That moment was fifteen years ago, and I still look back on it in horror.
I would never make fun of a vegan/vegetarian just because they don't eat meat/animal products. I might make a joke if they're being self-righteous though. Although that isn't too common. Sorry you experienced that.
Oh it's alright.
I just feel comedy needs to punch UP, and I recognize that the louder vegans have a reputation of being smug, upper-class, dogmatic people in some parts-- but I feel like that's just a confirmation bias. I know a lot of vegetarians and vegans who you'd never know were such until you were getting something to eat together. I myself haven't eaten meat in well over 10 years and some of my friends still forget that's the case because it just doesn't come up. And aside from that, the core tenets of veganism are typically either animal rights, personal health, or climate concern-- none of which feel like they need to be made the butt of a joke, compared to more pressing concerns of bigotry, concentrated wealth, etc.. Like... punch up comedians!
That's mostly my experience too. The annoying vegetarians and vegans seem to be the minority. That's just what lots of people think of when they think of a vegan/vegetarian, which is unfortunate.
I honestly don't think I could ever go meat free, for more than a day or two at least. Pretty much every dinner I eat is some form of pasta or meat in the form of chicken, burger, or pork. And whenever I've tried vegetarian style dinners I feel unsatisfied, they just all end up tasting very boring with a texture I really don't like and not very full by the end.
Still need to get around to trying something like the impossible burger, heard really good things about them but I can't really get them around me.
I wonder if it just comes down to not having had any great vegetarian cooking. I found vegetarianism hard to swallow until I experienced tasty vegetarian meals myself.
Absolutely. Don't just remove the meat from a meal whose centerpiece is said meat. Making curry? Don't just remove the chicken, replace it with something. Tofu can be really good for texture, plain beans aren't bad either.
I've tried to fade most meat out of my diet over the last few months. At this point, I'm down to about 1 meal a week that actually has substantial amounts of meat in it*, and quite some of that is socially when I have little control over the menu.
The things I have the most trouble replacing are bacon (cubed on Flammkuchen, sliced and fried, as a part of a tomato sauce) and ground beef (burgers**, sauces, meatballs, chili con carne, stuff like that). If any of you got a clue, do tell.
* this excludes a slice of salami or two for breakfast, e.g.
** I've had rotten luck with replacement producs for burgers and meatballs. I haven't tried the hip brands (impossible burger/beyond meat), but I can make a nut/cheese/tater based alternative that.... isn't really a burger at all though.
I think that it's a good idea to reframe the question you're asking. When you're trying to make a burger and replacing the meat (with things you make yourself, not with impossible / beyond burgers) then what you end up with is a shitty facsimile filled with disappointment. You can't just put a portobello on a bun and call it a burger; that's just a mushroom on a bun.
I find it useful to look at things that already exist as vegetarian cuisine and try those. A lot of the time, it's delicious, and it tends not to have that same "I want the real version of this meal" feeling that goes with things like mushroom burgers. So instead of trying to replace bacon with something, you end up having something different that's just not bacon. I've never found a good meat-free bacon substitute, but I've also never had a great meat substitute for falafel, and if I reframe what I'm looking for, then I don't feel that disappointment that the replacement isn't as good.
Certainly a good point. I'm not saying I need to have a facsimile of bacon or ground beef; I'm just asking for things that could fill the gaps left by the mentioned foods. I just now read of a bacon alternative for Flammkuchen: Smoked tofu. Yeah, can see that work. Fills the same gap in a different way.
Oh, and don't get me wrong about my mentioned burger alternative - it's not meant to scratch the burger itch per se, it's not nearly beefy enough. But it's really good anyway, and fits nicely into regular burgers. Think enough mashed potatoes and starch to keep the rest together, then onions, ground nuts, some cheese; shaped to patties and fried.* Nowhere near beef, but very delicious. So in that sense, a portobello on a bun isn't a burger, and you certainly can't make it a hamburger. But it can still be damn delicious.**
And I'm not disinclined to grab something from the store to get some "carne" back into my chili, I just haven't found anything I'd wanna use yet. Likewise for cooked bacon in the morning. Kinda worried how vegan ground will do in taco salad and similar stuff, but I guess there's no point in not trying.
*If you wanna make something like that, I can give you the actual recipe.
**Really not much of a mushroom person, this one.
Grab your kitchen scale, because I don't believe in measuring cups.
250g taters or sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed; knead in 100g of potato (or corn) starch. Should be smooth. Let cool.
Peel and chop an onion and some garlic.
Add onion, garlic, 150g grated cheese, 100g rolled oats, 30g cornmeal, 130g ground or chopped nuts as desired(I use almond or hazelnuts, walnuts would work here if you like them), SaltPepperNutmeg to the potato dough. Shape into patties, using a biscuit cutter and cling film to roll it if it's too sticky - it probably is. Coat patties in cornmeal. If you want to freeze some of these, do it before frying. (I put em on a plate separated by parchment paper, then transfer to a bag once frozen.)
Fry in copious amounts of oil, these soak up a fair bit. Let me know how it goes and what you pair them with; beyond the usual suspects I've done battered and fried apple slices.
I can't believe someone recommended tofu where you should be appealing to our lord of meat textures, seitan.
Although depending on the flavor of the curry, paneer can be even better.
I think all my examples of rotten luck with meat replacement products refer to seitan. I'm sorry, either I had bad luck or the flavor is just really off to me and the texture requires heating it really accurately to be good.
Paneer's good though, done that, works.
I'd highly encourage anyone skeptical of, or interested in, vegetarian/vegan food to take a look at the Chef's Table episode on Netflix with Buddhist nun Jeong Kwan. I can't find any snippets of it to link to but it does a remarkable job of challenging some of the assumptions we might hold about our food and encourages us to be a little more mindful.
No offense intended, but I'm suggesting because this sounds familiar - maybe you're just not very good at cooking? The good thing about that is it's a skill you can learn and develop, and you'd be amazed at how many options open up as you start learning some technique. You're only hopeless as long as you tell yourself you are.
Vegetarian cuisine is amongst the most varied and interesting, so if you're not finding something you like, you can make some changes.
There are still some basic requirements for meals to trigger you being satiated. Generally, when prepping a meal, it's a good idea to think about protein, carbs, fats, and fiber, and I think a relatively common issue when trying to eat vegetarian is that people don't replace their protein (typically from meat) with a vegetable based protein. If you try to eat vegetarian by just not eating the meat part of a meal, you're going to have a bad meal, but if you make reasonable replacements, then you can have a vegetable based meal that makes you feel full.
If you want more information, check out basically anything @Gaywallet says in ~food; it's chock-full of science and information. Alternatively if you google macronutrients, fiber, vegetarian (or some combination of the three) you might find something worthwhile.
Yeah, I think going completely meat free isn't a reasonable expectation to ask of many people currently. At least in the US we're still a little too set in our ways and the article recognizes that. But, in my own life, I've taken steps over the last six years to significantly reduce the amount of meat I eat.
I started really small. I replaced two lunches a week with vegetarian options and gave myself time to find meals I actually enjoyed beyond salads. It took effort and in that first year I ended up eating more than a few meals I just hated but once I started down that road it made me a much more inventive cook and opened me up to a lot of cuisines I had no interest in before.
I still love meat. That's unlikely to change. But I'm at a point where my meat consumption would need to be measured on a weekly basis instead of daily and I wouldn't be surprised if it continues to trend downward in the future. I guess my point is that it doesn't have to be "all or nothing" and nobody should expect their food preferences to change overnight.
There's more and more good-quality vegetarian substitutes on the market. Of course, there's also more and more people who make you swallow gruel and tell you it's just like real meat, so you have to manage expectations. But last night I tried some belgian vegetarian Faux Gras, and it's fucking delicious. It's honestly better than most foie gras (and similar patés) I've tried and I highly recommend trying it out.
Relying on meat substitutes isn't really the way forward IMO. They're nice and all, but really people need to get more comfortable with cooking vegetables and making them tasty. Indian cuisine is mostly vegetarian and even most carnivores are okay with it.
If you specifically cite meals feeling unsatisfying, then it's likely there just isn't enough fiber or fat in the vegetarian dishes you're eating. That's generally the culprit with the lack of feeling "full" or "satisfied."
Going fully vegan is another story though. . .
I subscribed to the vegetarian version of HelloFresh for a while and actually liked it more than the meaty version. The meat meals all followed a very predictable formula: meat with seasoning, starch, vegetable - while the vegetarian meals were a lot more varied in style and flavor. I don't think I could go full-veg but trying decent vegetarian meals changed my mind about skipping meat regularly. The trick is to make sure you're eating something with lots of protein like roasted chickpeas, and using good spices.