Accidental vegetarian?

I couldn’t help but notice that since my husband has been gone since Sunday, I have not eaten any meat! When I went grocery shopping over the weekend, I completely avoided the meat department (not my favorite place anyway) and even the meals I have eaten out at restaurants have been meat free. It got me wondering…is this something I want to do long-term?

I have always been interested in vegetarianism (it’s health benefits and environmental impact), I love all the different meat-free products on the market, and have even experimented with it a bit as a teen and young adult. However, back then it was just not eating meat and instead living off of grilled cheese and veggie pizza, which are fine, but not truly a balanced diet. So now that I am healthier in my lifestyle, is it time to try again?

This will probably devastate the hubby, the meat dish of our meals was basically the last thing holding us together — he’s not a big vegetable eater and therefore our side dishes are hardly ever shared. But, I guess it’s only important that we eat together when we can, not necessarily that we eat the same thing, right?

I took a Nutrition class earlier this year and I learned through a diet analysis and cost analysis experiment that meat is actually the most expensive thing we buy at the grocery store, so I don’t think it would cost us any more money for me to not eat it or replace it with something else.

I think I will just keep going along and not really go out of my way to avoid meat but not seek it out either. I think I will eat it occasionally or when I don’t have a choice (like at a family gathering or that type of thing) but as far as shopping and restaurant choices, I will keep it mostly vegetarian. If I get a craving for some grilled chicken though, I will probably eat it.

I don’t know, but it’s something to think about. I sure do feel good and energetic this week, can’t help but wonder if not eating meat contributes to that. Anyone have any thoughts?

🙂