Going Veggie Has Never Been Easier

Whether you're vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, or omnivorous -- veggie meat substitutes are becoming more and more popular. Now, not only does Vons have a vegetarian section, many of the options there are even vegan!

For those who need a quick rundown of the differences between the labels:
Vegans - eat only plant products, no animal products (including milk and eggs) Vegetarians - eat no animal flesh or parts of the animal that came from directly harming it Ovo (egg) or Lacto (milk) Vegetarians - include one or the other or both (Ovo-Lacto) in their vegetarian diet Pescatarians - eat only plant products with the exception of fish Fruitatarians - eat only fruits, nuts, and seeds - products that do not harm the plant Omnivores - eat both plant and animal products

We became vegetarian while studying abroad in the UK (a thrill when we went to Switzerland and France, let us tell you) and are slowly but steadily moving towards the fully vegan end of the spectrum.

Whatever your reason for eating less to no animal products -- your health, the environment, animal rights, religion -- there are a myriad of benefits to moving towards veggie. And it's becoming easier to do by the day.

Our entire carnivorous family has embraced the new meat substitutes from Morningstar Farms: Veggie Corn Dogs, Vegan Grillers, Veggie Hamburger Crumbles and Veggie Sausages, to Quorn's Meatless Roast. These are not people who want to become vegetarians but they don't necessarily want to eat what's in an old fashioned hot dog either. Our father and our boyfriend eat Tofu Dogs and Veggie Corn Dogs, while our boyfriend and our niece share a love veggie chicken nuggets (we cannot handle a lot of these meatless substitutes because they taste too realistic for us and we were always a picky eater anyway.)

Even reducing your meat intake partially vastly contributes to your health and the health of the planet by reducing carbon emissions (yours and those of the animals bred for you to consume.)

PS. Look for an upcoming article by our friend and guest blogger, Brent Robinson, on just how much what we eat affects the environment -- not to mention the animal!

PPS. We've also just become hooked on the veggie plate at Daphne's Greek Cafe -- and we're hooking others.