I'm Back!!!!!! Georgia Adventures!

Sorry folks! I have been on vacation in the mountains of Georgia for the past week! Turns out, being a vegetarian in the mountains of Georgia ain't all that easy. When we arrived, I hit up the local Wal-Mart with my mom and figured I'd just grab a few boxes of veggie burgers for easy lunches, and as add on's to whatever dinner was happening. There I roamed...up and down each freezer aisle, 3, maybe 4 times. NADA! So I had to eat a steak that night.





JUST KIDDING! I grabbed a few eggplant and ended up slicing them and grilling them (family was having chicken that night). Of course there were tater tots and salad, so I was pretty content. Similar meals followed, and then we went out to lunch...to Rib Country...the Mecca of Meat. Bring on the side dishes please! My lunch that day consisted of onion loaf, salad, and fries with bbq sauce on them. What can I say, I'm a health nut :-) Thankfully, we don't really go out all that much when we are in Georgia. The only other time we did was to Mike's Seafood. I am a big Mike's fan, so I wasn't really looking forward to my crab cake free dinner. Thankfully (can't believe I'm saying this), I had one too many Miller High Lifes that day and wasn't really into eating much by the time dinner came around lol I ordered a salad and baked potato...just for show.

My dad finally found some veggie burgers at a local supermarket, so I had those a few nights, and all was good. On the ride home, we made our annual Sonic stop. I was surprised to see the lack of veggie options on their menu, so I did what any good vegetarian would do...ordered a Sonic cheeseburger: extra cheese, extra tomatoes, no burger! And it was delicious!

And thankfully, both beer and sweet tea are vegetarian!

So anyway...back onto cooking!!!!!

Still on the Fence about Seafood

So when I first declared no more meat, I was pretty set on eating seafood...but since seafood really doesn't play a big role in my diet normally, I haven't been presented with the choice. I think it makes me feel more comfortable knowing that I could always opt for the seafood choice when out at a restaurant (shhh! don't tell Justin, because in the past every time I have ordered any seafood other than crab cakes, I always end up making him trade dinners with me because I don't like it!). I suppose I don't need to make a solid choice at the moment, but it's something to consider.

I discovered a mini-challenge of sorts yesterday during the kids' lunch time...the side dish was mashed potatoes with gravy. I know that I'm a mashed potatoes and gravy kind of lady, no hiding it. So I'm setting out to find a good veggie gravy substitute (and a cuter name, because let's face it...veggie gravy doesn't sound so wonderful).

On the food note, Potbelly has a lovely new set of salads, one being the Uptown. They even knock off some money if you order it without chicken! It's a pretty simple mix of apples, grapes, dried cranberries, red onion, bleu cheese, and candied walnuts (YUM!). I also really like their non-fat vinaigrette on pretty much anything. The other salads have hard boiled egg in them, which, if you know me, is a big NO in my book. Sure, I could order it sans egg, but I don't even like the thought of it, so I'll stick with the Uptown.

Hope everyone has had a great week so far!!! Only 2 more days until the weekend!!!

No More Meat

A little over a month ago, I decided to give up meat...for good. Now this isn't a new thing for me. When I was 6, I declared at Thanksgiving dinner that I couldn't eat the turkey because "he had a family!" After living on mac and cheese for 6 months, I finally gave in to a chicken nugget from McDonalds. Since then, I've tried to limit my meat consumption to only free range, but I tended to bend the rule a lot, and then would feel incredibly guilty. After putting a lot of thought into it, I finally decided that I needed to give it up for good. I thought about my cats, Horton and Morris, and my dogs that I grew up with, and then thought about cows, chickens, and all other animals. Would I ever eat a cat or dog??? of course not. So who am I to judge which animals are "pet worthy" and which animals are simply brought to life to kill and eat? So that, generally, is why I have decided to go vegetarian! I'll be posting new recipes as I try them, my husband's opinion of the recipe, and any struggles I encounter along the way! I will also be adding in stupid things Horton and Morris do, because, well, it's funny. I'll be referencing Aunt Peg quite often...she is my biggest vegetarian supporter, as she has been vegetarian since before it was an "in thing" to do! So here we go!