The author, vlogger and mum-of-two talks about her stint as a veggie

<p>Three years ago, around this time of year, I went on a detox and had an intensive few weeks of juicing to clear my system of all the rubbish I&rsquo;d been filling it with.</p><p>I spent my nights happily flicking through cookbooks, dreaming up the nutritious meals I would eventually start cooking, as well as watching endless food documentaries. I found it fascinating and knew I needed to tweak the way I viewed food. </p><p>One documentary, Earthlings, which is narrated by actor Joaquin Phoenix, changed my outlook completely &ndash; and Tom&rsquo;s, too. After watching it, we both decided to swear off eating meat. </p><p>I became a vegetarian while Tom bravely opted to become a vegan. As I was drooling over cookbooks by Hemsley + Hemsley and <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/product/6-months-baby-food/ellas-kitchen-the-purple-one-pouches/910001268652" target="_blank">Deliciously Ella</a>, packed with amazing veggie recipes, it didn&rsquo;t feel daunting. <center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div> <p style=" margin:8px 0 0 0; padding:0 4px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BTGmy-tFBSN/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none; word-wrap:break-word;" target="_blank">So much love!!!! ❤ xx #buddy #summerrae #niece #son #mum</a></p> <p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;">A post shared by Giovanna Fletcher (@mrsgifletcher) on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-04-20T10:07:11+00:00">Apr 20, 2017 at 3:07am PDT</time></p></div></blockquote></p><p><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></center> For the first few months, it was great. I hadn&rsquo;t known <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/dept/fresh-food/vegetables-potatoes/1215665891579" target="_blank">vegetables</a> could taste so good. Every meal, from veggie-filled cottage pie to creamy coconut lentil curry, was a culinary delight and we relished being in the kitchen.</p><p>More than that, though, we felt amazing &ndash; sparkier, brighter with endless amounts of energy. </p><p>However, things got more difficult. Tom was on tour and the options for vegan meals were almost non-existent. I&rsquo;d started working on a new book, so I didn&rsquo;t have hours to creatively experiment.<center><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-version="7" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:658px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"><div style="padding:8px;"> <div style=" background:#F8F8F8; line-height:0; margin-top:40px; padding:50.0% 0; text-align:center; width:100%;"> <div style=" background:url(data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAACwAAAAsCAMAAAApWqozAAAABGdBTUEAALGPC/xhBQAAAAFzUkdCAK7OHOkAAAAMUExURczMzPf399fX1+bm5mzY9AMAAADiSURBVDjLvZXbEsMgCES5/P8/t9FuRVCRmU73JWlzosgSIIZURCjo/ad+EQJJB4Hv8BFt+IDpQoCx1wjOSBFhh2XssxEIYn3ulI/6MNReE07UIWJEv8UEOWDS88LY97kqyTliJKKtuYBbruAyVh5wOHiXmpi5we58Ek028czwyuQdLKPG1Bkb4NnM+VeAnfHqn1k4+GPT6uGQcvu2h2OVuIf/gWUFyy8OWEpdyZSa3aVCqpVoVvzZZ2VTnn2wU8qzVjDDetO90GSy9mVLqtgYSy231MxrY6I2gGqjrTY0L8fxCxfCBbhWrsYYAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC); display:block; height:44px; margin:0 auto -44px; position:relative; top:-22px; width:44px;"></div></div><p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BS4cik8FPU4/" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Giovanna Fletcher (@mrsgifletcher)</a> on <time style=" font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px;" datetime="2017-04-14T22:08:12+00:00">Apr 14, 2017 at 3:08pm PDT</time></p></div></blockquote></p><p><script async defer src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script></center> We ended up having the same meal on a loop, namely some form of veg pasta. It got boring. Plus, Buzz, then eight months, had started eating food and I didn&rsquo;t want to force him to be meat-free!</p><p>We decided to reintroduce <a href="https://groceries.asda.com/dept/fresh-food/meat-poultry/910000975206" target="_blank">meat</a>, but in a more considered way. We still eat lots of veggie meals because, as it turns out, vegetables are flipping delicious &ndash; I&rsquo;m chuffed I discovered this before properly introducing my boys to food!</p>

Giovanna Fletcher on her stint as a vegetarian

By Asda Good Living,2nd May 2017

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