[001] Going Vegetarian

I am challenging myself to explore the world of vegetarianism. There are hundreds of meatless meals out there just waiting to be consumed by me. If not completely meatless, I'll accept a delicious fish dish. Pescatarian anyone?

You might be asking yourself, "If she wants to go meatless, why isn't she dropping fish off the menu?" Because I can't afford to buy supplements in pill form. Those fish oils are good for you. Did I mention I love sushi? Yum. Let me reassure you, I won't be dining on fish every night. That will ultimately cause me to lose my love for the taste of fish. Which brings me to my next point...

One reason I am taking on a vegetarian (or pescatarian) diet; so I can enjoy the taste of beef more so than I do now. Through out my junior high and high school years, I often preferred the taste of chicken to beef. It wasn't until I was working for a KFC - Taco Bell that my preference for chicken started to decrease. I cannot tell you how delicious a cheeseburger tasted after eating so much chicken.

The second reason I'm going veg? Health reasons. No, not because I think being a vegetarian will automatically make me some sort of health nut. I'm curious to see if a change in my diet will some how effect my eczema. I've seen some vegetarians use a mushrooms as the "meat" of their dish. Unfortunately, I can't do that. I came across an article while doing research on eczema and what foods, chemicals, and environments/weather cause breakouts.

The article stated high fungus, dairy, and sugar diets can cause an increase in eczema breakouts. I've had mushrooms cut from my diet for about a year now. I love a variety of dairy products. Sugars... I can cut down on those, easy. That means 1 freeze-pop every couple days, right? Shucksss.

This diet goes into full effect starting August 1st, 2010.

What am I looking for? RECIPE'S GALORE! I have a brand new notebook (with a cute owl on the cover) ready and waiting to be filled with veg-friendly recipe's. So please, start sending them my way!