Dabble in vegetarian cooking for a change

By Angela Stephens
Gannett News Service

There are many obvious reasons for adopting a vegetarian diet: compassion for animals; the environment; ecology; health benefits; lower-fat meals.

You might subscribe to any or all of these. Or you might just be tired of the same old meals and want to try something a bit more healthy. Some things to consider:

• Vegetarian meals are naturally nutritious and (usually) lower in fat than meat meals.
• Vegetarian convenience products have proliferated even in some standard supermarkets, and information about vegetarian diets is easily come by. With only one or two vegetarian cookbooks, a couple of favorite recipe Web sites and a few family favorites sans the meat, you'll never get bored.
• Start out slow. If you're a hard-core, meat-and-potatoes person, substitute one vegetarian meal per week. Slowly add as many vegetarian meals as you feel comfortable eating.
• Try new things. There are hundreds of vegetables, fruits to learn about.
• Don't be afraid to try something you thought you hated. Just because you detested those mushy boiled brussels sprouts your mother used to cook doesn't mean you won't absolutely love them now — if they're sauteed with lots of garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts.
• If you don't want to commit to the investment of vegetarian cookbooks (not just yet, anyway), check www.vrg.org, www.vegetariantimes.com, www.vegkitchen.com and www.vegweb.com.