Why I decided to stop eating meat

This month I challenged myself to go vegetarian.Truth is, I've always been curious about going vego and over the past few years I've been less and less likely to eat a lot of meat. But convenience and compromise got the better of me and I really, really didn't want to be cooking two meals per night to accomodate for myself and Sparky and the kids. So I went along eating meat and cooking 2-3 meat-free meals a week simply because I enjoyed them more and it boosted the amount of vegetables we were all eating.But I came to the realisation that it wouldn't be too much of a change for me to shift to a vegetarian diet, so come the beginning of October I thought I'd give it a shot: 31 days of meat-free eating.In the interests of complete transparency, there has been one bacon-related misstep. But aside from that (which I was surprised to discover wasn't all that enjoyable anyway) it has been a simple and easy transition for me and I've decided to keep going with it beyond the end of October.There are a few reasons why it's been such a simple switch for me, and I want to be clear about them because they've definitely made life easier as I've made the change.

• The kids are a little older now and I can find an extra 15 or 20 minutes to prep my meals every few days.
• I've always enjoyed vegetarian food and was never a huge meat-lover anyway. If given the chance to cook what I wanted, it was almost always vegetarian or meat-lite. When we go out to eat, I always opt for the vegetarian dishes. So I was primed for the change anyway.
• I'm more than happy to eat repeat meals and leftovers.

Moreover, I realised I wasn't enjoying the meat I was eating. I have no real problem with the idea of eating meat but I recognised that resources were going in to producing this meat that I wasn't even enjoying. Which really is the driving force behind my change. Why should something die for my food if I don't actually want or enjoy it? It seemed wasteful and the opposite of mindful living.

Making the change to vegetarianism is not, strictly speaking, making life simpler. It is undoubtedly making the food I eat much simpler though, and that is agreeing with me.I feel lighter and healthier. My digestion is better than it has ever been. I have lost a little weight. I'm eating more vegetables than ever before. I'm also making an effort to eat a much more balanced diet and not relying on meat to provide me with protein. I'm mindful of things like my iron intake, and eating a wider range of foods as a result.I'm reading a lot more about nutrition and thinking about my food in a new way. Some resources that have been helpful are:

• No Meat Athlete by Matt Frazier
• The Wellness Warrior by Jess Ainscough
• The Veggie Mama by the delightful Stacey Roberts
• Food Matters

Later in the week I plan to ressurect my Slow Kitchen series, this time featuring some of the vegetarian recipes I've been eating a lot of lately. This week - lentil and vegetable chilli as given the thumbs up by a dedicated omnivore!Are you currently eating a vegetarian or vegan diet? Or are you interested in trying it? Let me know if you have any questions about the transition or how to feed a meat-eating family while maintaining a vegetarian diet and I will try to drop some of my limited knowledge on you.