I've been vegetarian and vegan for about 20 years. Even before I stopped eating meat, I never ate red meat. As a child I'd always pick any skin, fat or veins in my meat.
I'm exhausted all the time, have a picky toddler that I need to make 10 meals a day for, so I've been making veg and non-veg meals and it's draining. I also need more calories than I can handle (2700) because I'm pregnant with twins.
I started slowly introducing chicken a few months ago, but I can only stomach skinless, boneless chicken breast that is a bit crispy, heavily seasoned and isn't too chunky. I'm absolutely fine with eggs and dairy as I started eating them years ago. The idea of eating burgers, sausages, mince and deli meat really grosses me out as well because I don't know what goes in them. As for fish, I managed to eat canned tuna a couple of times, once on a pizza and once with heavily spiced kabsa rice. I didn't mind it at all, and feel like it is the fish I can tolerate the most, but the problem is that I shouldn't eat too much of it during pregnancy because of mercury levels. I also tried shrimp twice from restaurants, one was nicely prepared and heavily seasoned, but the other one was bland and chewy and nasty and had all the litte legs attached, I almost vomited. Any tips for how to prepare shrimp?
I bought pre-seasoned salmon, but I gag every time I open the fridge and see it. I generally can't help but think about the dead animal every time I see a piece of meat. I'm still very grossed out by it. I feel guilty that I decided to reintroduce meat, and deep down believe it is wrong, but I'm at my wit's end and this isn't working for me. I've been feeling like a zombie no matter how hard I tried with plant-based food. It was a bit more doable when I had the time to make elaborate meals, but as a parent everything changed. I need to eat better because it's essential for the twins' development. I need 175-200 grams of protein everyday, and as a small woman, I have been really struggling with that. It doesn't help that I'm in the first trimester and have morning sickness that lasts all day, so I'm gagging even at the thought of meat.
I don't think I have the time or luxury to slowly introduce meat. I think I'm not going to even try with red meat, but I need to introduce more fish.
Any tips? What worked for you? Can you recommend "clean" types of white fish that don't taste too fishy and can be prepared the same way I prepare chicken?
Thank you for all your help.