Going Vegetarian

At a recent doctors appointment my doctor gave me the news that my headaches are being caused by my meat consumption. After I stopped laughing at him, he explained that it is why I am having so many health problems and why I am fighting so hard to lose weight and going uphill with no results. I protested that I rarely eat red meat and mostly eat chicken, which is supposed to be better for you. He was not swayed by what I thought was a perfectly logical argument. He then suggested that I cut out caffine, white flour, white sugar and white rice out of my diet to which I responded with that I was white so white food should be just fine! Again he was not moved by my heartfelt argument. I then tried to convince him that this was not healthy to which he stared me down and very calmly told me to cut the bull from my argument and my diet and stick to a diet that is primarily fruits and vegetables. Scale back my meat consumption to once or twice a month and to not overindulge. He suggested I google recipes and sent me on the way telling me I would be much happier.
So I went home and googled it. It was overwhelming. The primary site it sent you to and that most vegans recommend is goveg.com. While this is a good site is overwhelming with the anti meat campaigns. It is run by PETA and while I agree with the idea of not abusing animals and treating them fairly, I find PETA too in your face for me. I acknowledge there is a problem I just don’t need my kids to walk by and see an animal being tortured if I click on the wrong link. The site did offer me a link to vegan recipes, which exclude all animal products, and were not particularly yummy. My kids were not interested. Unfortunately not one ofthem told me how to balance this nutritionally for my kids and me. I spent a week constantly eating veggies and fruits and never feeling full I was miserable I couldn’t sleep through the night and I was starting to fantasize about a hamburger. At a community event at our preschool a well-known Vegetarian Mom saw me looking miserable and staring longingly at a hot dog and asked me what was wrong. I told her my sad story and how hungry I was and she explained to me about complete proteins and how to make them and add them to my diet. I could have kissed her. She emailed me a list of nutritional information on how to eat meat free without being vegan. She still eats eggs and dairy. I was so grateful. I went home and made a dinner for my family with the white bean hummus recipe on page 3, and everyone slept through the night and their behavior improved.