Any ex-meat eaters?

 I like sauteed veggies and olive oil in mine. Margarine works fine, too. Joyce's idea of vegetarian chilli sounds pretty awesome, right now, with the cold wind blowing me away.

Tofutti makes a soy "sour cream" but I'm not a big fan. I don't do fake cheese or ice cream, either. It's just a tease. I like almond milk, and the occasional soy or rice milk, but none of the fake dairy.

scrubsfiend

How did you do it, being a big time meat eater?  I'm so much a meat and potato girl (with salads and cereal quite often) that I almost don't know HOW to eat anything else.

A lot of people use veggie "meats" as substitues but with the exception of veggie burgers (which to me can be just as good as the real thing, if not better, I like Morningstar) I don't eat them too much.  I think it was pretty easy for me because it opened my eyes to so many other delicious foods that I was NOT eating because I was eating meat all the time.  I like lentils and beans and veggies (still need some encourgement with fruit though!) and i just *feel* healthier after a veggie meal than I do after a greasy, fatty meat-based meal.   Instead of the meat sauce I used to make with spaghetti every weak, I cook up some peppers and onions in the sauce and it's delicious.

For baked potatoes, I like to top mine with some vegetable based margarine,  chives and bacon bits (the fake ones like Bacos) and you can top with any seasoning of your choice.  Sometimes I use some Mrs. Dash, and other times I use Cajun seasoning (yum!).  You can experiment with pretty much anything.

 If you cut out red meat it's important to make sure you are getting enough iron.  I eat an iron-fortified cereal for breakfast every morning such as cheerios or wheat chex, and eat other iron rich foods like nuts, lentils and dried fruits.