Firstly, I apologize if this kind of dilemma is actually a common one that frequently gets answered, but I suppose that it is not, hence the title of the thread. I came here for some advice as I am not around many vegetarians/vegans first hand these days.
I have considered going vegetarian (not vegan) for years now and now feel that I am close to doing so. However, I am quite frankly terrified because, oddly enough, there are only 4 or 5 vegetables that I actually like. As such, meat has always been a vital part of my diet for obvious reasons. Not counting potatoes and lettuce, I can legitimately only eat corn, peas, carrots (when sweetened), and green beans. No other greens, onions, peppers, tomatoes, nothing. And by dislike I mean legitimately dislike (as in your least favorite food), not that I simply don’t prefer them but find them tolerable. On the other hand, I do like all fruit, and they already maintain a quality amount of my diet. Sadly, it’s worth noting that I also dislike a lot of other common foods, such as most condiments, salad dressings, etc. which means I can’t eat many casserole-type items at all. It is extremely frustrating because while I desire to be a vegetarian, I cannot even order most vegetarian items in restaurants due to my limitations. Given the restrictions, I know that I will probably be eating a little more unhealthy than most because my options simply aren’t there unless I want to get burnt out quickly. I am currently only eating meat once a day, with is the entree with dinner. I can already foresee that by going veg, a lot of my dinners are going to be pasta-based, etc.
I am wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and was able to overcome it going veg. If you were and did not or struggled immensely, I would like to hear about that as well. I would really like to finally go vegetarian but obviously I am very intimidated because the switch is going to be a lot more difficult than it is for most. I appreciate this Q&A source and would appreciate some responses. Also, please do not respond by saying something like “just give the other vegetables another shot” or “you’ll come around to them” … unfortunately my taste-buds have stayed exactly the same for 21 years and will not change in the future.
Thank you!