Growing up in the midwest, the dinner table always included the same basic elements.  Most of the plate was taken up by meat of some kind and the other part of the plate had either potatoes/rice and a canned vegetable.  Whatever the dinner was, the meat was always "what dinner was."

I spent 2010 educating myself about my own diet and how it's related to the way I feel and how I can change my diet to change how I feel.  I've discovered the importance of plants in the human diet and how important of a role they play to combating and preventing chronic diseases.  Finally, I've discovered that the American diet is made up of FARRR too much meat.

Whenever I think of meatless, I think of slimy tofu and let's just say my mouth doesn't water.  However, I've ventured out of my comfort zone and tried some vegetarian dishes and have been pleasantly surpised.  I perfected a recipe for lentil soup and loveeeeee it so much and there's absolutely NO meat in it.  There's a vegetarian restaurant here in California called "The Veggie Grill" and their food is amazing.  I had a "chicken" sandwich there that was incredibly yummy.  I'm likely never to give up meat completely because I love it so much, but I would just like to start weaning myself off of the idea of having to have a big honkin' piece of meat every time I sit down at the table.

You may have heard of "Meatless Mondays" by now.  Meatless Monday is a grassroots campaign that has been quietly growing since 2003.  Basically, the point of the group is to point out that Americans eat way too much meat, and that overconsumption has been linked to cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Thier goal is to help you reduce your meat consumption by 15% in order to improve your personal health and the health of the planet.

I think in 2011, I'll give "Meatless Monday" at shot.  I will also post some meatless recipes up here for any of you who want to try it too.

Monday can be the day we try something new by experimenting with an unknown spice, grain or plant-based protein. Who knows what new food we discover and incorporate into our regular diets that we never would've tried otherwise!