hi!

i have been interested in vegetarianism for years, but lazily so. until recently, it was a matter of my affection for animals, but at the dinner table, i sucked it up and pretended my steak was a mushroom.

more recently, my interest has turned more global, to sustainability, economy, and conservation, and i am trying harder than ever to remove meat as the staple of my diet to an occasional indulging, to humoring relatives who fix it, to not consuming it at all.

i am inspired my online friends who have no yard for their own veggie garden, but retired coffee tins and trash cans make perfectly suitable homes for their roots, and weekly trips to the farmers market are just a bikeride away.

i have a yard, but the dog digs up the garden, and funds are low in terms of fencing, and i live in the land of "convenience," walmarts and winn dixies rather than local markets with fresh, non-waxed, non-pesticide-treated veggies.

and worst of all, everything i know is meat. i am surrounded by meat. ALL of my recipes are meat-infested, and they are my husband's mother's and grandmothers, the stuff he was raised on and refuses to give up- please, good meat substitute suggestions are more than welcome. when he started dieting, he noticed i was substituting turkey for beef, and initially hated it, but now prefers it, or at least doesn't mind it. so i'm hoping to find a similar reaction. but, my daughter's eczema flared badly after trying a soy-laden product...so soy is out.

there is not a soul near me who is interested in eating non-meat...including myself, sorta.

i was the kid who NEVER ate the veggies- mashed potatoes was about as close as i ever got, and they'd better be slimed up real good with gravy.

but i have been able to wean myself, and more impressively, my family (3 young'uns who once LOVED mcd's) from fast food altogether. it went from being convenient, to an occasional craving, to, good god that's disgusting, why and how did we EVER eat it!!

so i thought i could shift us to veggies in a similar way.

but i am utterly clueless as to how to get going- i don't know how to or am too lazy to figure out this whole "veggie storage" thing- meat? i pop it in the freezer till ready to use, and i know just how long it will stay "fresh," not rotten.

my veggies usually go by the wayside before we have a chance with them, often puzzling me, since the story is usually, jeez, i just bought them two days ago.

and...again, i hate veggies. i tell myself when i go to bed at night, okay, you're going to eat fruit for breakfast, nuts for a mid morning snack, beans for lunch, more nuts later, and lots of veggies for supper...but i wake up, and it's groundhogs day...the same as yesterday. every day. i just can't make myself want to eat veggies...

but i'm trying!