novice

I would just like to acknowledge for a moment how hard it is to try something new. Yes, I love a challenge and thoroughly enjoy a fresh endeavor, but at times, it's really hard to be a novice again. My current, lumpy attempts at learning crochet are testimony to this.

 

I didn't spring from my father's head as a fully formed vegetarian. No, I was raised in a happy home where meatloaf and pork chops and spaghetti with meat sauce were frequent and well-loved guests at the table. And even though she often found baking inspiration in the butter and honey-dripped pages of Southern Living (yea us!), my Mom always served healthy, balanced meals. Salad was on the table every single night. I peeled a lot of carrots in my formative years. And now, looking back, I see how remarkable creating those beautiful meals really was. My Mom worked and volunteered and gardened and cared for neighbors, friends and our family with love. She simply made it a priority to create a great meal everyday.

If you are finding that it's becoming a priority for you to eat vegetarian, please accept my warm congratulations and honest encouragement. I started on this path because I really like vegetables. Growing up, I used to make myself a snack I called "salad sandwiches" for heaven's sakes. But my main motivator was that my body started rejecting meat - stomach aches and all over general malaise. It's awful to feel awful after you eat. Terrible, actually. The purpose of food is to nourish your body and soul, not drag you into a nauseated funk.

So, I changed. I first cut out the red meat and then slowly cut back on white meat as well. I checked out every single vegetarian cookbook from the library and scribbled down lots of recipes. I tried all kinds of new stuff from the health market with very mixed results. (A bizarre blue corn casserole served, unfortunately, on Thanksgiving Day comes to mind as one of my greatest disasters.) And, I felt really good inside. Really, REALLY good. Good enough to say enough to meat. Good-bye.

It took a while for me to find my groove in cooking vegetarian food everyday, but it came with time. And lots of black beans. And unbelievably loving support from my dear meat-eating husband who likes to remind me occasionally that I used to make a mean meatloaf, just like my Mom. And that this whole veggie mama thing was not in our original contract. But, he really likes what I cook and I like seeing him at the dinner table, so we've worked things out. :)

So, the point of this post is: don't despair. Be a novice and try new stuff and don't freak out if your meals aren't perfect. Just enjoy yourself and have fun in the kitchen. And, of course, eat your veggies.