There was a mindset shift similar to what you describe that made it easier for me -- stop pursuing replacements for the meat in the dishes you already eat, and instead discover new dishes. Indian and Thai cooking, for instance, has a long history of delicious vegetarian dishes. Look at some of the rich foods developed by some of the poorest people and there's a whole culinary world there.

Once I did that, and understood how to spice ingredients, then I circled back to my previous habits a bit.

Agreed, you have to stop trying to find a vegan steak that bleeds like the real thing, that's really critical to finding great veg & vegan food (science experiments like beyond meat aside)

I've gone heavy on mediterranean style cooking, which is not strictly vegetarian, but might use 1-2oz of meat for a whole dish. Meat just kind of dwindled on our shopping list. It's delicious food, and it's really hard to go back to meat & potatoes now.

Indian is incredibly good, but it's been harder to learn.

The problem that I have is generally a social one. I live in a pretty progressive city, but even then it's a pain in the ass to order veg at many restaurants and get anything that doesn't suck. Many places do have at least one solid option, but there are a ton where a veg offering is still just an afterthought.

And I'm in one of the most veg friendly cities in America. Eating out in many many places is practically impossible as a vegetarian. Especially many parts of Europe.

There's 3 things to keep in mind: taste/flavour, structure, and visual.

These [1] by "The Vegetarian Butcher" come close.

[1] https://www.devegetarischeslager.nl/producten/informatie-ove...

Have you tried the Impossible burger? I've had it at some restaurants (lots of other flavors at play) and it feels like meat, and with the other flavors it tastes very similar to a burger.