SmarterFitter

Since Vegetarian Awareness Month is all about sharing the joy of veggies with others, here's a few links to whet your appetite for plant matter.

Going Vegetarian: Progression and the Temptation to Rebel

In a guest post on MizFit, Erin of Zeneriffic uses vegetarianism to illustrate the ups and downs of learning new habits, what she calls "progression and the temptation to rebel". She suggests an incremental approach, great advice for adapting to any new life change:

With each new habit added you experience that, “Woo hoo a new thing to try!” feeling since you’re not attempting a complete overhaul all at once. I predict building habits securely without feeling repressed and allowing for periodic changes that don’t destroy the previous additions will revolutionize my life.

Dispelling Myths

Evita at Evolving Wellness dispells a few common myths about vegetarianism, including the age old myth that veggies don't get enough protein.

Brain Blogger gets into this further in Are You Vegetarian? How Do You Get Enough Protein?.

Susan added to this on Grounded Fitness, with her post
Think a vegetarian diet and being an athlete don’t mix? Think again. In addition to protein, she also talks about iron and B-12.

Lower Your Grocery Bill

Maggie at That's Fit demonstrates how eating more veggies can help save you money and offers a few tips on how to make it happen. I like her suggestion to "make meat stretch" - you don't have to give it all up, but cut it down and replace it with some filling veggies, beans and grains. The key is to make vegetarian meals more substantial.

Whole-grain spaghetti and salad is a quick and relatively healthy meal. But you can increase the nutrition value and satiety when you add extra veggies to the mix. Saute some chopped bell peppers, onions, mushroom, zucchini, and garlic in a little olive oil and add it to your marinara sauce. And don't let your salad be boring -- add cucumbers, carrots, mushrooms, celery, and tomatoes to your greens.

Stop Reading, Start Eating

This post wouldn't be complete without a few recipes.

Wise Bread offers 8 Meatless Dishes for Meat-n-Taters Lovers, including Black Bean Soup (YUM), Quesadillas (YUMMIER), and Eggplant Parmesan (YUMMIEST!).

Speaking of filling vegetarian meals, check out this recipe for Vegetarian Shephard's Pie at Cheap Healthy Good. I must make a heaping mound of mashed potatoes so I can make this SOON.

If you find the phrase "eat your greens" to be daunting, then give Heidi's Broccoli Crunch a try. Crunchy shallots, candied nuts, slivered red onion - how can you go wrong?

In other green food news, LeisureGuy posted a tasty recipe for Kale made with tahini and lemon juice.

In my never-ending quest to find the perfect veggie burger, I stumbled across a recipe for Millet-Chickpea Burgers at Tasty Pallets. I haven't tried it yet, but they look incredible.

Kim at Culinate offers a stupid-simple recipe for lentils and veggies that you could easily throw together in less than 30 minutes.

Win a T-Shirt

One last thing... Don't forget, today is the last day to enter your chance to win an Herbivore t-shirt! To enter, leave a comment on this post: World Vegetarian Day T-Shirt Giveaway!!.