Good for you. Adrienne!
I became a vegetarian in 1976, and have never looked back. Now, I'm a vegan. Going vegetarian wasn't hard at all for me mentally or ethically, but at the time, it was much harder to find veggie options than is it today, and vegetarianism was looked upon as really out there. I also was 'almost-vegan' very soon on, giving up dairy and eggs, but still eating some foods that contained small amounts of them.
Just like with other ways of eating, it's possible to have a 'bad' veg*n diet or a health-promotiing veg*n diet. Some resources can help. To start, it's a good idea to pick up a nutrition reference and "how to' like "Becoming Vegetarian" (available at
www.veganessentials.com where you can also see some other books).
www.vegsource.com is a good web resource. I haven't read "Skinny Bitch" (but I'm glad it's turning people onto veg*ism!), but I've read a food column by the author, and have also heard that they rely quite a bit on processed foods. Not the healthiest way to be veggie in the long run. I also highly recommend Dr. Fuhrman's two newest books (available from his web site --
www.drfuhrman.com -- or at Amazon). They will give you a basis for a healthy veg*n diet.
Practically, there are three ways to incorporate veggie meals into your current diet:
You probably have some foods and meals that you like already that are vegetarian without even trying. Think of ideas for breakfast, lunch and dinner and see how many "already vegetarian" dishes you can come up with. Many ethnic cuisines offer veg*n dishes. Think mid-eastern falafel and tablouli, Chinese veggie stir-fry with tofu, Mexican rice and beans in a corn tortilla...
Other foods and meals can be easily converted with a few simple substitutions or omissions. For example, chili with beans and seitan instead of meat, soy milk in place of dairy milk in a recipe (if you choose to give up dairy--and if you are going veg*n for ethical reasons, you probably are).
A good cookbook, like "Vegan Planet", will give you some new recipes to try (there is also a recipe section at vegsource.com ).
Some newer vegetarians rely heavily on meat analogs, like soy hot dogs, burgers, etc., but I recommend that you use these mainly as transition foods, or ocassionally. They are highly processed and not as healthy as other veggie foods in the long run.
There are several veg*ns on the forum, and we would be very happy to help you with any questions you may have, or to give you some motivation as needed.
