ARGUABLY the greatest philosopher of the 20th century said ‘you don’t win friends with salad.”

Perhaps, in retrospect, it may not be wise to take dietary advice from Homer Simpson, or any cartoon character for that matter.

It is an interesting concept, for anyone who does not live by a certain lifestyle when it comes to eating, to adopt a different one.

Morgan Spurlock famously ate nothing but McDonald’s for one month during his ‘Super Size Me’ documentary to showcase the issues behind a diet consisting solely of fast food, and there are countless shows on TV on how to eat well for less.

My diet is, hopefully, fairly balanced but to me, it is a totally foreign notion to eat like a vegetarian.

For one week, in the lead up to National Vegetarian Week, this was my life, albeit on much smaller scale than Mr Spurlock.

One week – or 168 hours – of eating no meat or products which are unsuitable for vegetarians to consume – how hard could it be?

It began on a Friday and within a few hours the first obstacle, a Maynard’s Sports Mixture as it would transpire, proved the first day of the challenge would be the hardest.

A momentary lapse of concentration and the squidgy red gum landed on my tongue, but the packet said no – the sweets contain gelatine, thus unsuitable for vegetarians.

What followed was the shame of having to spit out the sports mixture in front of my fellow colleagues at the South Wales Argus to keep the agreement of the weekly challenge.

A bad start all things considered, but it would not be the first time that gelatine would come back and goad me during the week - a packet of mint imperials, which were in my car, were out of the question.

It then dawned on me that a friend of mine had invited me to visit him in Bradford-on-Avon – a chill of terror went down my spine at the possibility of having to order in a restaurant.

It is a common complaint among the vegetarian community that the vast majority of restaurants struggle to cater for those adhering to a meat-free lifestyle.

This statement proved to be true – the tiniest of bracketed v’s accompanied only one or two meals in the restaurant, a pasta dish or two.

Undeterred, my order was placed and that concluded the first day of the challenge.

On my return to Wales that weekend, fortunately my fridge was emptied from any remnants of meat products previously.

Bacon and lamb – my two favourite meats – gone.

Prior to the challenge, my colleague at the paper, who is a fully fledged vegetarian for 52 weeks of the year, offered me advice on how to accomplish this food-based feat – eggs (scrambled by preference) which would become a vital source of protein.

At university, my culinary horizons broadened, so peppers, onions – spring and shallots – falafel and halloumi all featured prominently on my plate while my meat hiatus was in effect.

The remainder of the working week went fairly smoothly, although where the Maynard’s Sports Mixture had fallen by the wayside, the Krispy Kremes, suitable for vegetarians as their website confirmed, which were brought in for an office birthday were allowed.

The real challenge lay ahead.

To further explore the idea that restaurants perhaps lack the breadth of options for vegetarians, Newport’s mEAT bar and grill was my mid-week dining location.

Sat before me was the homemade sweet potato and halloumi burger, both ingredients which were fully utilised during the week.

The burger, while delicious and ravenously eaten, was missing something in my personal opinion, and that something was meat.

My dinner guest, she opted for the meaty option, a beef patty and bacon combination. There were no words suitable to adequately describe my food envy.

It was at that point that it became clear to me that my future lay, most definitely, in the realm of pork, lamb, beef or ostrich, if you are that way inclined.

It is a novel idea however, the concept of a meat-free week. Many parents who wish to introduce vegetables to children could use the week or anyone looking to freshen up their plates with something different.

There is, of course, a serious to idea of vegetarianism. To many people, the idea of eating meat is inhumane, while others suggest that the amount of livestock set aside for consumption is unsustainable.

The Vegetarian Society was established in 1847 and it is the longest serving vegetarian organisation in the world.

National Vegetarian Week, one of its ideas to help showcase the idea of the meat-free diet, is in its 24th year, and runs from Monday, May 16 to Sunday, May 22.

The society commissioned research into the number of UK citizens adopting a herbivorous diet, finding that 29 per cent of people have reduced their meat intake in the past year.

"We commissioned this research because, for some time, we have noticed people are positively engaging with the idea of eating less meat, but until now there has been little academic evidence to support this,” said Lynne Elliot, chief executive of the Vegetarian Society.

“Vegetarian options are an easy, healthy and tasty way to eat – and it's clearly an option being enjoyed by a large section of the population."

My at-times tortuous end to my meat free week was ended by, of all things, a burger from a fast food restaurant, the shame of which can still be felt, nee tasted, to this day.

Looking back, the week did prove that it would be possible for someone like me to adopt a vegetarian way of living.

However, the thing which was I missed most during the week was the freedom of choice.

This, presumably, must be a common problem felt by vegetarians across the country as the supermarkets and restaurants appear to be geared towards those of a carnivorous disposition.

It must be said that my respect for vegetarians has grown over the course of the week. Although it was a bit of fun, it must be hard to abide by vegetarian principles especially abroad where the idea is perhaps not so well established.

Naturally, it is difficult when ordering out as the vast majority of menus contain meat products, but there are restaurants which offer fantastic vegetarian options.

So Mr Simpson, you may not win friends with salad but you will win a host of allies from the non-meat eating communities.

For more information on National Vegetarian Week 2016, visit nationalvegetarianweek.org or search for the #NVW16 on Twitter.