How to be a Vegetarian

So, living with and cooking for a family of cowboys, I’ve taken on the challenge of going meatless.  I’m trying to do the vegetarian/vegan thing, and I’ve had quite a bit of success, although I haven’t been totally hard-core about it. The biggest challenge has been what I’ve termed “dual-cooking”; preparing a main course that satisfies both the vegetarian and the carnivore. I’ll prepare veggie spaghetti and cook the ground meat separately for the guy(s) to add in. It works, but takes more prep time; hey, life is just a series of compromises, right?

On the up-side, I’ve lost weight and inches, lowered my cholesterol, and regulated my digestive system (if you know what I mean ;>) . It really hasn’t been bad at all; I’m almost never hungry, and I haven’t gotten tired of eating fruit and veggies. . .yet.

Eliminating meat, fat, bread, and dairy hasn’t been the struggle that I imagined it would be. In fact, I rather enjoy it. I’ve adapted some of my traditional recipes and come up with some original ones for this new way of eating.