HELP! I think I'm a Vegetarian! (soy, dinner, cuisine, food)

[Jill1972]

Haha! Just a bit of humor to start this thread.

But seriously, I posted in another forum here that I've had a dramatic change in appetite and eating habits over the past year, and one of the posters suggested I might be a vegetarian. At first I thought, "Nah...I've always eaten meat; it's not that." But then I realized that the biggest change in my appetite is that I never want to eat meat anymore. For some reason, meat has started to repulse me (especially meat on the bone, like chicken and ribs). And eggs aren't any better. Just seeing a raw egg in a bowl makes me want to vomit.

So here's my dillemma. I am NOT a cook. And I never WILL BE a cook (ask my husband). I work long hours and don't want to spend what little free time I have grocery shopping and planning/preparing meals and cleaning up the mess after. I've always been an "eat-on-the-go" person (as my husband is as well), and so I've pretty much existed on take-out food or restaurant fare.

Do any of you vegetarians also eat out a lot and not cook? If so, any advice you can give me on places to go or things to look for on menus, etc. would be helpful. I'm not a vegan, but any animal flesh (including fish) and eggs really gross me out these days. So dairy is about it for me with regard to animal-derived foods.

[plaidmom]

Congrats!

You might want to check out a few of these threads on eating out:

Going out to eat

and

Best and Worst Restaurants for a Veg

[Xpat]

Congrats Jill!

Depending on where you live, vegetarian takeout cuisine can be pretty easy/difficult to find.

We normally eat in because the food is much better and healthier. Plus, we enjoy cooking together.

[crazyme4878]

I love to cook now that I have kids and have to provide dinner every night, but when I was younger I ate out a lot. Amy's has a great ready-to-eat line. Burritos are easy to make, as are rice bowls (brown rice cooked in veggie boullion, frozen vegetables, some tofu or soy beans, a little Braggs or soy sauce).

Of course there is always pizza. Mmmm....pizza...

[Cliffie]

Even vegans can usually find something to order off any menu, unless they're in a steakhouse or something. Italian, Chinese and Thai restaurants make life very easy.

Food preparation and cooking are 2 different things! I am a lousy cook but can sling vegetables and water and a few bouillon cubes in the slow cooker and walk away from it for 8 hours, then have lunch fior a week all ready when I come home from work. Those envelopes of instant soup base are fantastic.

I also buy a package of 5 sheets of lawash bread, divide a can of refried beans between them, sprinkle on cheese and enchilada sauce and roll them up into burritos. 1 minute in the microwave and you're done.

[greatblueheron]

The title of the thread caught my eye....

I'm a vegetarian except when I eat chicken.....