Four Quick Vegetarian Dinners

My wife and I are both still fully employed, even though we're getting very close to retirement age. Because of our busy lifestyles, we don't always have a lot of time to put together dinner. As a teacher, I'm often late due to faculty meetings, participation in extra-curricular activities, and staying behind to clean up my room and finish grading papers and exams. Since I do most of the cooking, I'm always on the lookout for a quick vegetarian supper that my wife and I will both enjoy.

The Health Benefits of Vegetarianism

This is one of my favorite topics. No, I'm not one of those vegetarians who goes around telling other people that they shouldn't eat meat. But I will defend my veggie lifestyle by testifying to the health benefits of eating less meat.

Meat Relapses

When people find out that I'm a vegetarian, one of the questions they get around to asking goes something like this: "But don't you miss meat?" The honest answer to that question is yes; I do miss the rare steaks, barbecued ribs, and pot roast of my old diet. I'd be lying if I didn't say that I have, from time to time, longed for things like pork chops, beef-on-toast, and ceviche.

My Favorite Vegetarian Breakfasts

Okay, I'll admit it. My absolute all-time favorite vegetarian breakfast is a box full of donuts and a giant mug of strong black coffee. I rarely enjoy this particular calorie-and-sugar fest, mostly because I don't want to go back to high blood pressure, arrhythmia, and unhealthy eating. But every once in a while, my wife will pick me up a donut or two and I'll enjoy a few minutes of blissful breakfast snacking.

Easy Meat Substitutes

The first year of my vegetarian diet was tough, I'll admit that right up front. I had no idea how to properly prepare meals that contained enough protein, iron, and other nutrients. I ate a lot of salads and carbs. Though I eventually figured out that you can balance your diet to include non-meat products and still get all the protein your body requires, I depended heavily on meat substitute products in those first twelve months of my new diet.

Types of Vegetarian Diets

Not all vegetarians follow the same diet plan. In fact, if you got ten people who call themselves vegetarians in the same room together, you'd likely find out that they each have their own definition of the word and probably each have their own unique veggie diet.

Why I Became a Vegetarian

Happy New Year!

We're just an hour into 2013, and I'm so anxious to get my blog up and running that I'm staying up extra late to write my first post. It's a topic near and dear to my heart - why I removed all meat from my diet about ten years ago. When people find out I'm a vegetarian, they always want to know why I chose this lifestyle. I figure we should get this question out of the way first.