Thinking of Switching To Vegetarian? A systematic approach.

Thinking of Switching To Vegetarian?
by Bridget Mouton at HealthEsense group on Facebook
For more information, visit our blog at: healthesense.blogspot.com

Thinking of switching to Vegetarian meals? Maybe a systematic way of doing it will help. Here’s a suggestion to follow for a 2 month journey into Vegetarianism. These are just suggestions, and you may find that only some of these changes are enough for you. Hope you find some of the information helpful.

Step 1) First 2 weeks:

Substitute one meat meal by one or all of the following:
--make a stir fry, or chef salad with a few strips of meat
--decrease to half a portion of meat, and increase your vegetable portion
--lighter meats like chicken, fish, veal, beef with at least 80% less fat

Substitute one meat meal for a vegetable and/or pasta meal by following these tips:
Goal is to get to 3 days of meatless meals / week
--mushrooms/veggies instead of meatballs in your spaghetti
--vegetable lasagne or other casseroles
--add more vegetables and fruits as you decrease your meats
--make simple changes to your favorite recipes, don’t make drastic changes
--learn about juicing and getting in your fresh vegetables, herbs, and fruits
--learn about smoothies and getting in your fresh fruits and vegetables
--learn about blending fresh made sauces for your meals and salads
--learn about avocado, coconuts, soybeans, nuts, and seeds for great sources of protein . . . . . . . raw almonds are a great start! Soaking the raw almonds first, helps to activate their nourishing properties

**Get some good tools and equipment:
--starting out, all you need is a good sharp knife and cutting board, juice squeezer
--later you should consider a blender, food processor, and a juicer

Step 2) Next 2 weeks:

Meatless meals 3 days / week
--start to study the natural food aisles at the grocers, get ideas from local health food store
--start to add new vegetarian food items into your recipes, like tofu, edemame beans, various beans, and sprouts, milk and oil alternatives, etc.
--see what the restaurants have on their vegetarian menus, and get inspired

Step 3) Next 2 weeks:

Meatless meals 5 days / week
The other 2 days, use the tips in steps 1 or 2

Step 4) Next 2 weeks:

Meatless meals 7 days / week

Yay, you made it! Be Creative, make it fun! Continue making a variety of recipes!
And then help someone else do the same thing!