You Should Be Vegetarian Once In A Week.

Try being a once-a-week vegetarian to introduce your family to the delicious options that accompany this style of eating. If you’ve even remotely considered changing your family’s diet this is the perfect way to find out if you’ve got what it takes to make a complete change.

Start slowly when incorporating these once-a-week changes. Switch up a favorite recipe–like tacos or chili–with a bag of mushroom crumbles. Found in your grocer’s refrigerator they are sold as a meat replacement for vegetarians or those who don’t eat red meat. In a dish like chili, you will be hard-pressed to even know the difference. For tacos, scramble the crumbles with taco seasoning the same way you would ground beef. The flavor will be very similar and the texture will only be a bit different. Children probably won’t recognize the swap.

The following week, try a meatless meal that isn’t all that unusual at all. Something like grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup is an easy way to try going meatless. Up the nutritional content with a side salad or some raw veggies with a nonfat yogurt dip.

By week three, try using beans in place of meat for a high protein, low-fat meal. Using one of your tried-and-true stir fry recipes or casseroles, simply substitute kidney or cannellini beans for meat and see if anyone misses the chicken, pork, or beef you normally use in the dish.

If you continue trying one vegetarian meal per week for four to six weeks, you’ll have a good idea as to whether or not your family can handle the switch to full-time vegetarian eating. Once you think they can start exploring more unique vegetarian recipes and up your changes to two meals per week instead. You’ll soon have everyone accustomed to eating your vegetarian offerings–and looking forward to them, too.