A Day in the Life of a Vegetarian

Time and time again when I tell people that I’m a vegetarian, they are in disbelief. Everyone is overly concerned about my protein intake and that I’m not getting enough nutrients. They think they can’t take me anywhere because I won’t be able to find something to eat on the menu. This could not be farther from the truth, in fact it makes going out to dinner more interesting. I’m constantly trying new dishes instead of just ordering a salad with grilled chicken as most of my friends do. Yet, if I am staying home to eat or preparing a meal on the go, these are three of my go to choices.

A Vegetarian Breakfast:

Breakfast is an easy meal for me, I like to start the day off with a Greek yogurt (I prefer Fage, but to each his own) with a side of fresh blueberries mixed in.

Lunch:

Preparing lunch takes a little more time but its nothing that you can’t handle. My go to is a salad. After studying abroad in Israel I decided that I was over lettuce so my salads now mostly consist of toppings. I start with a base of cucumbers and tomatoes, usually add in carrots and peppers, some chick peas for protein (duh), sprinkle some sunflower seeds on top for a nice crunch and if I’m feeling crazy I’ll add in some mozzarella cheese or a slice of avocado.

Dinner:

Dinner takes the most time to make, but that holds true for most meat eaters too. One of my favorite dinners is what my friend and I named “Quinoa Surprise” As I’m sure you could already tell the base of this dish is quinoa. Then I sauté broccoli, asparagus and zucchini and throw that into the mix. I add in half a cup of lentils and finally some toasted pine nuts and dried cranberries at the end. My go to “dressing” is olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper but this dish goes well with balsamic vinaigrette as well.

I’m not a pro vegetarian, I’ve only been doing this for about a year but it hasn’t altered my life style at all. These dishes are easy to make and bring to class or work. If you’re feeling crazy one day try out a day in the life of a vegetarian and then get back to me. Like I always say, don’t knock it till ya try it.

Check out Cooking Light for some awesome Vegetarian recipe ideas