One of my best friends recently converted to a new way of
life: vegetarianism. The road ahead will be difficult and marked with
temptation, but with determination and the right veggie burgers, I am
sure she will persevere.

As I listened to her describe the bacon cheeseburger she enjoyed for
her last meal as a meat eater, I thought about how many alternatives
are available today, making it easier than ever to be a vegetarian.

 I have been a vegetarian for roughly 10 years. I look back with
some regret on a relapse involving poultry, but I don’t foresee myself
enjoying any meat in the future.

It all started on a whim. My older cousin had decided she was going to
give it a try and because I looked up to her, I decided I would try it
too. I remember my mother’s exasperation when I announced my plans. It
meant her daughter, a picky eater since birth, was going to be even
more finicky. At first, I was a fair weather vegetarian - choosing meat
free dishes only when it was convenient to do so - but I soon realized
I didn’t particularly enjoy meat and physically, I felt better when I
didn’t eat it.

 The overwhelming variety of vegan and vegetarian products
available in grocery stores show a meat free lifestyle is a growing
phenomenon in our country. It used to be you had to travel to out of
the way natural food stores to find tofu or other meat alternatives,
but today most grocery stores offer veggie cheese, fake sausage patties
and even vegan mayonnaise or “vegannaise”. I’ve tried a lot of these
products out of curiosity and have been happy to discover most are
pretty tasty with a few exceptions. I don’t think I will ever be able
to stomach vegetarian pepperoni, for example. With its rubbery texture
and dog food like odor, I find it even less appetizing than real
pepperoni.

When I first started being a serious vegetarian, I made an effort to
prepare a variety of healthy and balanced meals rather than eat salad
and grilled cheese sandwiches everyday. I bought tofu for stir-fry
recipes, made soups with vegetable broth and experimented with
couscous.

By nature, however, I am more of a grazer than a meal eater and my
enthusiasm for cooking was short-lived. I’ve fallen into a self-made
rut and can’t seem to escape the “grab a bite on the go” mentality.

Seeing me nibbling on a cheese sandwich at lunch time, I remember
co-workers laughing and saying, “Your children are going to starve.” I
laughed too because little did they know, I had a bag full of snacks
and what’s more, I planned to have a personal chef.  

With more people aware of the potential health benefits of being a
vegetarian, I find it’s easier to navigate restaurants and family
gatherings without having everyone fuss over me because they are afraid
I will starve. I remember accompanying a boyfriend to a family
gathering and seeing his grandmother’s confused and crestfallen
expression when he told her I didn’t eat meat. She wasn’t quite sure
what to do with me and I felt as though I had insulted her cooking on
some level.

Many times people would make it their mission to find me something
suitable to eat, however, I don’t think they understood the extent of
my vegetarianism.

“Have some chicken,” they would say. Or, “This only has fish in it, you can eat it.”

I smiled politely, nodded and stuck to salad.  

Now that my friend is becoming a vegetarian, I am happy to help her on
her journey. I have a stack of vegetarian cookbooks, filled with
delicious recipes, just waiting to be cracked open. I am more than
happy to offer them to her for inspiration as her interest in cooking
has proved to be less fleeting than my own.

I’m hoping her enthusiasm will be contagious or at least she makes enough to share!

– Amanda Estes