One of my best friends recently converted to a new way of life: vegetarianism. The road ahead will be difficult and marked with temptation, but with determination and the right veggie burgers, I am sure she will persevere.
As I listened to her describe the bacon cheeseburger she enjoyed for her last meal as a meat eater, I thought about how many alternatives are available today, making it easier than ever to be a vegetarian.
 I have been a vegetarian for roughly 10 years. I look back with some regret on a relapse involving poultry, but I don’t foresee myself enjoying any meat in the future.
It all started on a whim. My older cousin had decided she was going to give it a try and because I looked up to her, I decided I would try it too. I remember my mother’s exasperation when I announced my plans. It meant her daughter, a picky eater since birth, was going to be even more finicky. At first, I was a fair weather vegetarian - choosing meat free dishes only when it was convenient to do so - but I soon realized I didn’t particularly enjoy meat and physically, I felt better when I didn’t eat it.
 The overwhelming variety of vegan and vegetarian products available in grocery stores show a meat free lifestyle is a growing phenomenon in our country. It used to be you had to travel to out of the way natural food stores to find tofu or other meat alternatives, but today most grocery stores offer veggie cheese, fake sausage patties and even vegan mayonnaise or “vegannaise”. I’ve tried a lot of these products out of curiosity and have been happy to discover most are pretty tasty with a few exceptions. I don’t think I will ever be able to stomach vegetarian pepperoni, for example. With its rubbery texture and dog food like odor, I find it even less appetizing than real pepperoni.
When I first started being a serious vegetarian, I made an effort to prepare a variety of healthy and balanced meals rather than eat salad and grilled cheese sandwiches everyday. I bought tofu for stir-fry recipes, made soups with vegetable broth and experimented with couscous.
By nature, however, I am more of a grazer than a meal eater and my enthusiasm for cooking was short-lived. I’ve fallen into a self-made rut and can’t seem to escape the “grab a bite on the go” mentality.
Seeing me nibbling on a cheese sandwich at lunch time, I remember co-workers laughing and saying, “Your children are going to starve.” I laughed too because little did they know, I had a bag full of snacks and what’s more, I planned to have a personal chef.  
With more people aware of the potential health benefits of being a vegetarian, I find it’s easier to navigate restaurants and family gatherings without having everyone fuss over me because they are afraid I will starve. I remember accompanying a boyfriend to a family gathering and seeing his grandmother’s confused and crestfallen expression when he told her I didn’t eat meat. She wasn’t quite sure what to do with me and I felt as though I had insulted her cooking on some level.
Many times people would make it their mission to find me something suitable to eat, however, I don’t think they understood the extent of my vegetarianism.
“Have some chicken,” they would say. Or, “This only has fish in it, you can eat it.”
I smiled politely, nodded and stuck to salad.  
Now that my friend is becoming a vegetarian, I am happy to help her on her journey. I have a stack of vegetarian cookbooks, filled with delicious recipes, just waiting to be cracked open. I am more than happy to offer them to her for inspiration as her interest in cooking has proved to be less fleeting than my own.
I’m hoping her enthusiasm will be contagious or at least she makes enough to share!
– Amanda Estes