Hi Deanne,

I have been a vegetarian since I was 8 and DH has been since he was toddler. We both just didn't really like the taste of meat but now it's for the same reasons as you, and it makes us feel good

We rarely have the meat substitute, sometimes tofu though. We use a lot of lentils, kidney beans and chick peas. I quite like the schnitzel and nuggets that you get in the freezer section but DH isn't keen on them so I have them occasionally when I'm on my own.

Any recipe that you have that you really like, just try substituting the meat for a heap of extra vegies or adding some chickpeas or lentils. I've found the women's weekly website helpful for finding new vegetarian recipes.

The one thing that I find really hard to avoid is gelatine, it's in most yoghurt and lollies which I find hard to give up completely. And there are some vegetarian cheeses but I don't think they are as good, so I guess that is a choice you need to make eventually. You'll get really good at reading ingredients on packets as there are meat products in things that you wouldn't expect. I would suggest as you're going to make the transition slowly to start getting used to reading the ingredients, there are meat products in some tomato pasta sauces, curry pastes, even chocolate biscuits!

I'm not sure where you're located but here in Melbourne there is a fabulous asian restaurant that is completely vegetarian. The menu is just like a regular menu though, there is a vege section but you can also order things like lemon chicken or ribs and it does really look (and I've heard) taste like the real thing but it's all meat substitute. If you want to try the fake meat this is excellent place to do it.

I hope that helped, sorry I've rambled!

Sare