How to eat less meat

Matthew and I started eating less meat for a few reasons.  First, the life animals live on factory farms is torturous, so we are trying to avoid supporting this practice.  (Please read books like Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser or Food, Inc. edited by Karl Weber for more information about this and other food issues worth knowing about.)  Second, even animals that are raised in a more healthful, kind way are still expensive both to the consumer monetarily and to the environment.  Our response to all of these issues is to each eat less than a half of a pound of meat per month.

Whatever your reason is for wanting to cut some or all meat out of your diet, here's what has worked for us!

Attitudes
1) Know why you are doing what you are doing.  Whether it is for health, for the animals, or for the environment, know your rationale so that you can stay motivated.  Additionally, decide exactly how much and what type of meat you are willing to purchase and/or eat.
2) Learn about how you will make up for the nutrients that you once got from meat.  The American Heart Association has a nice page about nutrients that a vegetarian (or near vegetarian) should watch out for.
3) Recognize that "meat substitutes" (tofu, tempeh, etc.) will not taste or feel like meat.  Your experiences eating food will change!

Steps to Take
1) Decide what you will actually eat that will keep the right nutrients in your diet.  It is certainly possible to do, but you should be careful to make sure that you are eating foods that give you the nutrients that you need.  As mentioned above, the American Heart Association has a page about these nutrients.  After seeing the key nutrients listed, do a search for foods that contain them and make sure that you will eat some of them!
2)  Figure out a list of go-to breakfast, lunch and dinner ideas.  Many of your old meals can be made vegetarian.  For example, make tacos out of pinto beans instead of ground turkey or beef.  Make a veggie lasagna.  Make burgers out of black beans.  I think I will be posting in the near future about the food that we currently eat...
3) Make your food, and enjoy it!  It's really not so difficult, and you can still eat a lot of delicious food.

I do want to add a note about eating socially because the issue pops up with us since we eat with others regularly.  When eating with others, I avoid eating meat when there is an option.  However, I don't ever make a fuss because, in my opinion, my eating meat one day will not be as harmful as my being insensitive to the hospitality of whoever is offering me the kindness of a meal.  How you handle the situation is your decision, but I think it is worth mentioning that if you act judgmentally, you have a good chance of scaring people away from seeing your point-of-view in a positive light.

Eat well!