Our culture is sadly raised to loathe the refrain “now eat your veggies!” Kids and adults a like tend to find candy a treat, fruit alright, meat a necessity and veggies something we eat because we “ought to.” At the same time the variety of veggies found in our supermarkets is a simple sliver of the variety that once was. Have you ever eaten a parsnip, rutabaga or kale? What about fava beans, fennel or a fiddlehead fern? If you think that a meal without meat is boring, lacking in flavor or just plain unsatisfying, then perhaps you should try mixing it up a bit. Many good vegetarian dishes are so filled with color, texture and flavor that you don’t even miss the meat.

Here are a few links to recipes that I’ve come across recently and that should help you eat delicious vegetarian meals this week!

Quinoa and broccoli with “cheesy” sauce is an ultimate veggie meal. Quinoa is the only plant food that can claim to be a complete protein, while the nutritional yeast is packed with Vitamin B12! Even if this recipe doesn’t wet your whistle, you should surf the foodscout for great nutritional and health info, as well as, many other tasty vegetarian recipes.

One slice of pizza is considered a serving, so although meat free versions may count as eating vegetarian, eating half a pizza pie is not healthy! If you want an entire pizza or two to eat, try out this healthy, fresh and delicious subsititute — spinach and sun-dried tomatoes with goat cheese on pita bread!

Spinach pie is a wonderful vegetarian meal. Most recipes are made with spinach (surprised?), onions, a few eggs and some riccotta or feta cheese to make a balanced and protein packed meal. If you are worried abot the fat, look for (or make) a spinach pie in a bread-like crust. However, a little fat is good for you, so unless you eat the entire pie, don’t worry too much about the fat found in a delicious spinach pie!

If you are highly motivated, please join the challenge for a full week — eating vegetarian starting on Sunday or Monday for the next 7 days. If 7 days is a few days too many than start small with maybe 3 full days or replace 3 meals with vegetarian ones. To make your veggie experiment simpler to follow, share your pledge below and or sign up here to receive a daily veggie newsletter for the length of your challenge. Pledges who follow the aforementioned link and pledge to eat veggie for one full week will be eligible to win prizes through the ongoing Veggie Challenge hosted by the Toronto Vegetarian Association.