Not a vegetarian yet? 10 ways to get started

If you like the idea of becoming a vegetarian but have never taken the leap, October is your chance. That’s because October is World Vegetarian Awareness Month. But don’t wait until the last minute to give vegetarianism a try. Here are 10 ways to give it a go early and often.

1) Take the pledge to try vegetarianism, even if it’s only for one day.

2) Make good on your pledge and whip up a delicious vegetarian breakfast. 

3) Pack a vegetarian lunch for work. Don’t know what to make? Hummus and raw veggies. Veggie enchiladas filled with sauteed onions and green peppers, plus black beans, corn, chopped chiles, cilantro and cumin. Cottage cheese with chopped tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers and zucchini. Good ol’ peanut butter and jelly (you never thought of that as “vegetarian,” did you?)

4) Take another, bigger veggie lunch to work and share it with three friends. Better yet, organize an impromptu potluck and have your colleagues bring veggie food to share, too.

5) If you can’t eat veggie every day, you can find a terrific community on Facebook and Twitter with whom you can share recipes and information.

6) Replace meat with tofu. You can steam it, saute it, stir fry it, whip it and grill it. Add it to soup or marinate it for your salad. You can even make tacos with it. Who needs chicken, beef, pork or fish when you’ve got tofu.

7) Read an inspiring vegetarian cookbook.

Here are 3 I like: 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes by Carol Gelles, for appetizers, entrees, soups, salads and more. The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, by Deborah Madison, with a terrific section up front that tells you what ingredients and seasonings to use to compensate for the big meaty tastes you might otherwise be used to. Almost Meatless by Joy Manning and Tara Mataraza Desmond, in case you can’t go totally meatless but are willing to cut back and just use meat as a condiment.

8) Make a filling salad as your main meal. You probably already toss together lettuce, tomatoes, carrots and cucumbers to serve on the side. Turn this into a main veggie dish by adding hard-boiled eggs and cheese chunks, white Cannelini beans or chickpeas, toasted walnuts or pecans.

9) Eat at a vegetarian restaurant.

10) Make a (veggie) burger. While burgers seem to be a staple in many homes, they certainly don’t have to be made from meat.

Read more: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/not-a-vegetarian-yet-13-ways-to-get-started.html#ixzz3naSjWBY7