First, I need to clarify, technically I’m a pescatarian. Many people don’t know what that means so often I’ll just say I’m vegetarian to keep things simple. In case you’re wondering, the photo below explains the difference between vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian.

I’ve never liked meat, but growing up in the Midwest I didn’t know any vegetarians and I didn’t realize not eating meat was an option. I would wash my cooked ground beef to remove all the fat and meat taste before adding seasoning. I would marinate my chicken, steak and pork or put it in some sort of sauce to disguise the taste. The idea of eating chicken skin or wings off of a bone made me gag. As I got older I just naturally ate less and less meat. When our daughter tried a 30-day vegan diet several years ago I learned A LOT about protein – how much we really need and the huge variety of protein sources. I enjoyed researching new recipes, reading labels and creating things like fresh vegetables and pasta with a cashew “cheese” sauce.

Our daughter has been vegan for a couple of years which made it even easier for me to go vegetarian. (I was the easy-going one because I would eat foods prepared with milk or cheese.) If you know us, you know we enjoy going to restaurants for great cocktails and dinner at least a couple times each week. Quickly I discovered that many vegetarian options in restaurants would be things like fettucine alfredo with broccoli or something deep fried like eggplant parmesan. Not the healthiest options, and as someone who is lactose sensitive and gets sick from deep fried foods they aren’t an option… So, I decided I would include fish in my diet when we went out to eat since most restaurants offer a simple fish dish or at the very least a shrimp cocktail and a salad.

Luckily, my husband is very easy going and will eat just about anything I make myself for dinner and he’ll just grill a chicken breast, pork chop or steak to eat on the side. On the other end of the spectrum, our son has recently invested in a Yoder Smoker Pellet Grill. Most of his meals are centered around meat and he considers most vegetables and fruit as garnishes. The upside of having such diverse diets in our family is everyone has learned how to cook.

If you’re interested in reducing the amount of meat in your diet (Meatless Mondays, perhaps?), I have a lot of meatless and vegan recipes on my Pinterest page.