How To Do It

It's been said that the most common question vegetarians get asked is "What do you eat?"
I can tell you from experience that it's probably true, and the answer is definitely: EVERYTHING!

Nearly everything I used to love to eat, I still eat. Sometimes it just takes a little tweaking. I really think that the food I eat now is more delicious and more satisfying (not to mention better for me) than when I ate meat. 

Having been on the other side of the fence, I can definitely understand the concern some people have at the thought of eliminating meat from their diet. I used to love a medium rare hunk of steak just as much as the next guy, and my motto - when it came to meat-eating, anyway - was the age old adage "for every animal you don't eat, I'm going to eat three!" Yeah, I think a lot of us have been there. From a health standpoint, as long as you eat a variety of foods (which you should do anyway), you'll be fine. This article provides some good info.

I can't say for sure exactly what it was that made me reconsider my diet. I think it was really the combination of a lot of little stuff. As is true for most things in life, the first step is always the hardest. Change of any kind is never easy. I am a serious condiment lover, so the real challenge for me was finding a way to redirect my love of things like barbecue sauce and hot sauce onto a different food source. 

The easiest way to introduce yourself or anyone else to vegetarianism or flexitarianism (eating vegetarian a few times a week) is to start with foods that lend themselves very easily to meatlessness: stir-fries, pastas, and casseroles. If you feel like you're missing some bulk, mushrooms are a really great way to add a meaty factor to a dish. They hold up well during the cooking process, and they will absorb pretty much any flavor, so they're really versatile. They're also good for your prostate (and if you don't have a prostate, you can just pretend)!

Soy foods can also be a good meat replacement, but the trick is to stay away from over-processed soy (actually, it doesn't hurt to stay away from over-processed foods in general). I'm not a huge fan of fake meat, although I do enjoy the occasional Boca burger. Soy in its simplest forms - edamame, tofu, tempeh - is, according to Alton Brown, nutritionally equivalent to meat. It offers the same proteins as beef or chicken without all the fat and cholesterol.

One of the greatest things about being a vegetarian is that once you truly cultivate your love of all things produce, you can happily eat as many vegetables as you want without having to worry about gaining weight!

Whether going full-time or part-time with vegetarianism, it is definitely a journey. Reading labels, discovering new items and methods, and choosing raw foods may seem like a pain at first, but it becomes really rewarding to know exactly what you're eating and how those foods benefit your body...all while being kind to animals and the planet.