Pinsperation: Vegetarian Meal Edition

When I first met my husband he was a vegetarian, not the strict kind, but the "eats bacon" kind. He grew up on a chicken farm, ate meat his whole life until he took a course called Philosophy of the Environment. Through this experience, he had to write a paper in favour of becoming a vegetarian, and with that, he took the assignment to heart and gave up eating meat.

I have never gotten a clear answer regarding his decision to continue on a vegetarian lifestyle, but he will say things like, "I liked the variety of meals"... or things along those lines. And then we met. On our first date, I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza from our server only to follow it up seconds later with the realisation that he didn't eat meat. He, being far too kind, insisted we order my choice, and the rest is history.

Scroll ahead 4 years, I have now completed the same course. We have prioritized eating local, small-scale meat for the entirety of our  marriage, after reading the wonderful book Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer, I took a different perspective on the matter. The choices we have made are good for us, and we recognize the same choices are not necessarily the best choices for the rest of our friends or extended family. That being said, any food put in front of me is wonderful; I eat what is served. But when I am planning the meals or buying the meat I might do it a bit differently than you, and that is okay.

Through this course I did not become vegetarian, but I decided to limit the amount of meat we eat every week. This is an environmental choice, a financial choice, and to an extent a moral/ethical choice. But one of the things I have been struggling with is finding meals to try for the 4-5 days per week that we eat vegetarian.

So here is my meal wish list for the next few weeks:

1. Grilled Mushroom Cheesesteaks:

2. Spaghetti with Herb and Garlic Ricotta:

3. One Pan Caprese Pasta:

4. Black Pepper Stir Fried Noodles:

5. Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Omelet Sandwich:

Sooo... if anyone has vegetarian meals that are to die for, send them my way!