Veterinarian Struggles

A few weeks ago, I was "womaning" the grill, when my hubby brought me my portabello mushroom cap to throw on there. I was grilling chicken for the rest of the fam, and vegetables take less time to cook than meat, so mine was last on. My wonderful 8-year-old saw me place my mushroom on the grill, and asked what it was for, probably hoping she wouldn't have to eat any. I told her it was for me, since I didn't eat meat any more. She nodded in recognition and said, "ah, I see. You're a veterinarian." I smiled and said, "no, I'm not an animal doctor. I'm a vegetarian." But really, either way, I guess I'm saving animal lives, so maybe I am a veterinarian. :)

Even though I'm greatly enjoying my new found eating habits, I do find it to be a struggle sometimes. Last night was a huge win with cheese enchiladas that I made for everyone. The entire family enjoyed them, so I have a great meatless recipe that I know everyone will eat! Not so tonight. I find myself in the afternoon struggle trying to decide what to make for dinner. It's further complicated by the fact that my daughter will be dining at a friend's house tonight, so we're only three. That means meat for two, which is becoming increasingly difficult, since my son is only 5, and won't eat a whole chicken breast for dinner. This isn't a new situation, as my daughter heads over to her bio-dad's house every weekend, so we have many 3-person meals. It's just not something I normally deal with on weekdays.

The other struggle I'm having is eating out. This weekend, we went out to the local buffet joint for my grandfather's birthday dinner . I had a salad, corn bread, and spaghetti with marinara. That's right; I had 3 things from the all you can eat buffet. Kind of sad how few veggie choices were available. I'm also a bit intimidated by a graduation party we are going to for one of our babysitters. This is probably the bigger challenge; not knowing what will be served! I'm sure there will be the usual fruit salad and veggie tray, but I'm not sure beyond that. It'll be an adventure for sure. Hopefully, I don't go home hungry!