html> Lostvestige: My veggie anniversary

My veggie anniversary

I have now been a vegetarian for one whole year! I don't remember the exact date I ate my last piece of meat because I never officially made a big decision to stop eating meat, it just sort of happened, and I know it was sometime during the last week of may. So I figured why not make June first the date of my veggie anniversary.  Or should I say, veggieversary! hehe. (I know, I'm a few days late writing this) Anyway, I thought I would share the story of my first year being a vegetarian.

Not eating meat was something I had wanted to do for years, but never thought I would be able to; there seemed to be so many good meals that contained all kinds of meat! And how would I cope at Thanksgiving? Easter? At summer cookouts?!! But one day last year I realized I hadn't had any meat in about 3 days as a fluke, so I was curious as to how long I could keep it up. I didn't really expect it to last that long but before I knew it a whole week had gone by!  I decided that maybe I would just try to avoid eating meat and only eat it on occasion, but whenever the occasion came up I felt like it would be cheating to eat it. Plus I've always liked to see how long I can keep something going, and the thought of starting all over again after I had a little bit of meat felt like a failure.

 At first it was kind of hard; I felt like I could hardly eat anything. I remember going to a charity cookout downtown for lunch one day with some coworkers and the only thing that was served was hamburgers. So I ate a tomato with cheese on a bun, and I don't even like tomatoes very much! Another time I went to a wing restaurant and just snacked on celery the whole night. But I soon noticed that I didn't even miss the meat, in fact, I thought a lot of meals were actually improved without it! Like lasagna! Being a vegetarian also made ordering at restaurants very easy, I usually only have about one or two options at most places and for an indecisive person like me, that's great news! 

Throughout most of the year I was unsure I could actually avoid eating meat forever. For instance, before I became a vegetarian Steven and I had decided to serve a bunch of hot wings at our wedding and his uncle's delicious beef stroganoff, which was one of my favorite meals. But surprisingly enough I didn't feel like I was missing out by not eating it. I also thought for sure I would have to have my mom's famous meat pie at Christmas time (something I would crave the entire year!) But nope. I didn't even want that. It's funny how once you stop eating something you eventually don't even want it anymore. I used to love bacon, now the thought of it grosses me out. I think after declining the meat pie last Christmas was when I really knew I could be a vegetarian forever! 

I thought I would share a few veggie recipes, some of my favorites and some I would like to try.

Zucchini fritters- This look so good! Like healthy pancakes :)

Spinach burgers- We usually have store bought veggie burgers, but I'd love to try making my own!

Vegetarian bean chili- Just because you don't eat meat doesn't mean you can't have chili! We made this last winter and it was sooo good.


Spinach balls- One of my favorite treats used to be my mom in law's sausage balls so I was kinda sad about not eating them anymore. But then I found this amazing recipe and have made these a bunch of times!


  Zucchini squash sandwich- I came up with this yummy sandwich recipe when I was trying to come up with vegetarian sandwich ideas.


I'm so glad I decided to finally go for it and I am still surprised I was able to do it! I don't even think twice about eating meat now. And  I also don't feel  guilty when I see cows anymore. Haha



So if any of your guys have ever thought about being a vegetarian, you should try it! It may be easier than you think.

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