Vegetarian Experiment

JD and I are experimenting with going vegetarian for a week.  We don't eat a ton of meat as it is since we are big fish eaters.  We sometimes have chicken or turkey products and rarely ever red meat.  We thought we would give it a try to see how it goes.

The challenge for me this week is to cook vegetarian dinners without going overboard on fats and carbs to make up for the missing meat.  Breakfasts and lunches are easy because we can do fruits and cereals for breakfast or eggs, lunches are also pretty easy to do with salads or veggie wrap type things.  The kids are part of the experiment.  They are getting their turkey sandwiches for lunch, but otherwise they are unknowingly going veg this week too.

Monday night dinner:  I went for cheese quesadillas on the grill.  I used flour tortillas and 2% Mexican cheese blend for the quesadillas.  For a side I made brown fiesta rice which was basically brown rice with grilled red and green peppers, grilled onions, fresh corn, some salsa, and a little lime.  Dessert was peaches, blackberries, and watermelon.  I got two thumbs up from the kids, and JD and I both enjoyed the meal.

Tuesday night dinner:  Eggplant lasagna with fat free ricotta, skim mozzarella, and marinara sauce; focacia bread; cheese tortellini for the kids because I don't think they are going to go for the eggplant; and a tomato and cucumber salad with balsamic vinegar.  I loved the eggplant lasagna, but I'm a big eggplant fan.  It was not so much of a hit with the rest of the gang.  Dessert was watermelon and strawberries.

Wednesday night dinner:  Pasta primavera with low fat alfredo sauce and salad.  Used julienned green and yellow squash, onions, carrots, red peppers, and asparagus as the veggies in the pasta.  Watermelon for dessert again.  Everyone loved this one.

Thursday night dinner:  Veggie burgers for the boys and portabello mushroom burgers for me with roasted fingerling potatoes and salad.

I'm thinking about trying Tim Olson's diet next week which is sort of paleo but not totally.  I'm enjoying experimenting with different meal planning.