Veggie Pizza, soooo good!

I did some grocery shopping today and picked up more veggies than I usually do, since I am trying to gradually replace meat dishes with vegetarian dishes. I looked up a few recipes and made a plan for the week's cooking.

This evening I made a veggie pizza with spinach, tomatoes, vidalia onions, and loads of garlic...

Garlic, and lots of it, is a key ingredient in lots of things that I make!

This pizza was sauce-less. I used olive oil, basil and parmesan (pesto) as the base, and piled it high with fresh spinach, veggies, a few sliced jalapenos, and crumbled feta cheese. It came out garlicky, cheesy, and delicious!

Suggestions for quick, easy, and cheap vegetarian meals?

My first no-meat day.

As I wrote about previously, I am planning on making a massive reduction in my meat consumption. I am starting this by gradually replacing my usual meals with vegetarian meals. Yesterday was my first day to purposefully go "meat-free"!

I certainly will not say that this was a perfect example of a well-balanced, nutritional, and completely animal/enviornmentally friendly, but it was a small step in the right direction.

Breakfast:
Cereal with Skim Milk
Organic Apple

Lunch:
Fresh Spinach Salad with
     olives, radishes, green onions, carrots

Snack:
Raw Almonds
Mozerella String Cheese

Dinner:
Whole Wheat Pasta with Spinach, Ricotta Cheese and Tomatoes

So, all in all, I didn't even notice that there was anything different about today's meals. I didn't experience any cravings or feel like I was lacking in any area!

I plan on doing a little more research on vegetarian meals and putting together some delicious recipes, but will update as things move along.

Know any great and easy "meat-free" recipes?

Am I really going to do this vegetarian thing?

I've been putting off even thinking about "going veggie" for awhile now. I am a foodie. I love food. And (surprise!), I love meat.

I love chicken wings, pork chops, bratwurst, cheddar stuffed bratwurst, spaghetti with meatballs, meatloaf (it's like a loaf of bread, but it's meat!), steak kabobs, steak tips, giant cuts of medium-rare sirloin steaks, filet mignon, and don't even get me started on the possibilities that come with bacon!

But I am also a human with a conscious. I feel the weight of responsibility of being at the top of the food chain and being the species that is in control of our planet and its resources. Also I luuuuuurv me some living animals too! Furry, feathery, cuddly or not, I have pets and I love them.

As a student of yoga, I cannot ignore the yama, or ethical aim, of ahimsa, or non-violence. This includes non-violence towards any living creature.  There are some monks who wear masks over their mouths to prevent the accidental inhalation of bugs and carry brooms at all times to sweep away bugs that might be about to be under their feet. I know that I will never take it to that extreme. There are so many more reasons why I am interested in making this change other than merely a love and respect for all animals. I could write a whole other blog just on the environmental impacts of raising cattle. Check out 49 Good Reasons For Being a Vegetarian.

It will also be a challenge to find a way to eat that is healthy and well-rounded, imagine the damage I can do with macaroni & cheese, cake, and nachos! I read a great blog on Elephant recently about just such a dilemma, Why vegetarian does not equal healthy.

I may not ever cut meat out of my diet completely. I plan to continue to eat seafood as well as dairy products, but I do intend to cut back drastically on my meat intake. Everything I've read so far recommends taking it slow; having one or two meat-free days per week, slowly building a vegetarian recipe collection, and using meat substitutes when I'm having a craving. So that is my plan, beginning with this week. For the month of August, while I am attending the yoga teacher training, all of my meals prepared on-site by the chef will be vegetarian. That will be my first true test!

Could you ever go meat-less? If you are a vegetarian, how did you make the change?