The Reluctant Vegetarian

So we have been living in southwest Georgia now for about a month, and for just that long, I have become a sort-of, kind-of vegetarian. Not really my idea. But, Steve decided when we moved that he wanted to make some life changes to become a better person. So, we made some drastic changes.

1. We gave up TV. We still have one, and watch movies sometimes, but we no longer have cable or satellite. I didn't really think I could make it without one, but through the miracle of the Internet, I can get my TV fix through USA and TLC online, plus Hulu! It's actually great because I'm finding a lot more time to read and accomplish a lot of goals I've had for a long time. I don't think we'll be getting TV service anytime soon.

2. We only have one car. With Steve being the only breadwinner at the time, we decided we could save a lot of money by only having one car. Steve still has his motorcycle, so it's really not an inconvenience at all. Except when we first moved here and the car broke down and it took the car shop 3 weeks to figure out what was wrong ...... I should save that for another post :)

3. Steve decided that he wanted to lose some weight. In the past, he's tried many different diets: South Beach, Atkins, etc, but he decided the good, old-fashioned way of eating healthier and exercising more was probably going to be the best way. Great. I am all for eating healthier. But when he announced that he was going to become a vegetarian, I freaked out! I love chicken and ribs and bacon and ..... I'm salivating right now so I should stop. Anyway, his compromise is that he still sometimes eats fish, eggs, and dairy. I was very hesitant to help him with this goal because I love meat and I hate beans (where most vegetarians get their protein) and I just didn't know where to start. But, because I love my husband, I reluctantly gave some vegetarian recipes a try. And it's actually not all that bad. We've even had a couple of recipes that we LOVE and will keep on our menu for the rest of our lives, such as:

*Shrimp and Peanut Stir-Fry

*Potato and Kale Enchiladas

*Pinapple Cashew and Quinoa Stir-Fry

*Broccoli and Swiss Soup

*Homemade Pizza with Wheat Crust

*Spinach and Broccoli Lasagna

Now, I should mention that I still eat meat. When Steve's at work during the day, I will sometimes cook myself some chicken or beef for lunch. We went out to eat at Outback last month. Steve got salmon, and I got steak! But I'm seeing some good results happen from this diet. Steve has already lost 25 pounds! I have only lost 2, but I've been eating some candy, so that's something I'll have to change. We have found ourselves trying new veggies, and because of that, we're feeding them to our daughter. Lydia loves them! Maybe this new diet will help her be healthier, because we haven't even introduced any junk food at all to her (besides the 1 lick of ice cream Steve gave her a couple of months ago) and hopefully she will continue to like good, nutritious food. Luckily, with this new diet, we haven't totally cut out dessert. We just eat it less frequently. For example, I made homemade peach cobbler, and we both just loved it! Anyway, we'll see where this diet takes us, but I'm less reluctant than I was at first to eat like a vegetarian.