The best way to switch to a plant based diet, is to take baby steps. Start by eating at least one meat free meal a day. After a few weeks try giving up meat on one day of the week. The less meat you eat the greater the benefits for both your health and the environment.

Meatless Mondays are becoming popular around the country. There are some people who choose to be vegetarian on weekdays. Science has proved that there is a direct correlation between meat consumption and the incidence of cancer and heart disease. Vegetarianism is also an effective way to combat obesity, a growing health crisis in many affluent nations. When switching to a vegetarian diet, it is easy to give up meat and fill up with an excess of carbohydrates, fat and sugar. Although vegetarian, such a diet for an extended period of time will only accelerate the incidence of heart disease, obesity and other chronic health issues.

A balanced vegetarian consists of plenty of fruits, vegetables and whole grains. While protein is essential for optimal health, most westerners consume an excess of animal protein. Protein is present in almost all food including vegetables and grains. A diet which incorporates plenty of vegetables, beans and lentils will fulfill a person’s daily requirement of protein without any difficulty. If you are giving up animal products completely, make sure you take a B12 supplement. Vitamin B12 is an essential nutrient that is not available in a plant based diet. When preparing a vegetarian meal, instead of trying to recreate a meatless version of a meat centric diet, try to be innovative and use plenty of herbs and spices to flavor your meal. Look to ethnic recipes for inspiration. Most traditional cultures have numerous vegetarian recipes that has been part of their diet for hundreds of years.

Becoming a vegetarian is a life-changing decision. Simply making that choice puts you one step ahead, but the difficult part is following through with it. Here are a few tips to help you make that transition a smooth one. Taking on a change as big as this requires baby steps. Start by having vegetarian meals three days a week for the first half of the month. You can substitute ingredients in your favorite dishes to make sure that they are meatless.

As a cooking tip, you can add in mushrooms to some marinara sauce to replace meatballs. You can also try replacing the meat in lasagna with beans. Making simple tweaks in your favorite recipes can encourage you to stay on track once you realize that meatless meals can be just as good. Once you pass the two-week hump, you can commit to having vegetarian meals five days a week for the rest of the month. In this case, studying the natural foods aisle at your local grocery store will certainly work to your benefit. You can also explore the internet for great vegetarian recipes. For added motivation, treat yourself to new vegetarian products, and incorporate them into your meals from time to time.

Once you accomplish this, commit to having vegetarian meals for two more days in a week. This shouldn’t be that big of a stretch since you’ve been having veggie meals five days a week for over a month now. This took an incredible amount of discipline on your part, so take pride in your accomplishments. By being a vegetarian, not only are you doing your body a favor, you’re helping the environment as well. Remember, it’s not about getting things right, all in one go. Transitioning to being a vegetarian is hard work and it may take some getting used to, but soon you’ll realize that the end results are priceless. Just keep rewarding yourself for making good dietary choices and you’ll certainly be more motivated to continue heading in the right direction.