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Here are 11 stories from people in their late 20's and older who did the Veggie Challenge in May/June 2008.

Vive le veg!

My husband and I visited the 2008 Green Toronto Festival, and found ourselves very open to suggestion. The Toronto Vegetarian Association promoted the idea of trying vegetarianism for one week, which we smiled politely at before grabbing some coupons for "chicken" breasts. However, much like Homer's leap into Clown College, the idea of temporary vegetarianism stewed in our minds until we were convinced that no one was going to stop us.

My reasons for trying vegetarianism are health and environment related. Vegetarianism has been recommended as a way to lower risks of cancer and heart disease, and vegetarians have a lower mortality rate than meat eaters. Eating less meat would also mean less livestock to pump methane into our atmosphere.

To celebrate my first day of vegetarianism, I ate dinner at swanky vegetarian cafeteria, Commensal. There were many tasty choices like salads, quiche, lasagna, and various bean and tofu dishes. It was hard to stop loading the plate. At the cash register, my eyes grew as large as saucers when my total came to $17!

The next day, I decided to try a more affordable option for dinner. I used those coupons I received at the Green Toronto Festival to buy some "It's All Good" products. For dinner, I had the Veggie Chick'n Breast, which was tasty, then promptly put it to the test by running six miles with my friend, Flocons. Based on this experience, I can conclude that eating a vegetarian meal will give you more energy to run than running without food or water. Poor Flocons.

On my eighth day of temporary vegetarianism, I could eat meat again. In fact, I had the opportunity to stuff myself with a variety of meats during a lunch at work. Honestly, the cold cuts were not appealing to me, not even when I was running my fingers through them (while making sandwiches). It proves that my meat lust is surprisingly non-existent.

I'm going to keep this vegetarian streak going because it has been so easy and satisfying. Vive le veg!

– CelestialSpeedster, age 30-44, Toronto

Back to my old lifestyle

It was great to get back to my old lifestyle. Before I got married, I was vegetarian for years but then started eating chicken/turkey and some pork again. I mainly did this because my lifestyle annoyed my husband, plus I always felt that people would go out of their way to make "special meals" for me. While this was a thoughtful gesture, it made me feel uncomfortable – they did not realize is that I can simply eat everything else they offered just not the meat. After 3 years of not feeling as healthy as I used to feel, I am back on track and already feel better!!

Thanks for your help, tips and motivation along the way.

– Lisa, age 30-44, Rockwood, ON

Hard to change habits during a stressful time in my life

I was quite excited when I saw your booth at the Green Living Show. I had been VERY gradually trying to convert to vegetarianism for the past two years or so. I felt that the Veggie Challenge, particularly the daily emails, would be a good push to get me started.

Although I have not managed to switch to a completely vegetarian diet yet, I am confident that I have the tools to do it. I had a few days that were meat-free and I felt wonderful about it. I also had more energy on those days. The meals I prepare at home are almost exclusively meat-free, I just need to work on changing my on-the-go meals and eating out.

Unfortunately this was a very stressful time in my life and I had a difficult time changing my habits during a high stress period. However I feel much more determined now that I can do it. My wedding is in a little over two weeks and we're having a BBQ, the menu choices are steak, salmon, chicken and grilled veggies. I had planned on having chicken, now I'm switching to veggies. Thanks so much for all the tips, recipes and encouragement. This is something that I've wanted to do for a long time, but it never got the attention it needed because of my busy lifestyle.

– Jess Mac, late 20's, Toronto

Sometimes I would miss roast duck

When I began to learn and love the vegetarian lifestyle, sometimes I would miss roast duck.

Sometimes my boyfriend would cook vegetarian dinners for me in support of my vegetarian diet. But he would also cook his meat dinners as well and as much as I love the way he cooked his duck, I would take a long, strong smell of the duck on his plate and then enjoy my roasted veggie medley on risotto.

It wasn't hard for me to embrace a vegetarian diet because as I tell everyone, I enjoy vegetarian dishes anyway. I would eat meat maybe once a week but I don't think it'd be too hard to cut it out of my diet completely. Especially with the abundance of vegetarian recipes, I'm looking forward to cooking all the new and different kinds of veggie dishes that have never looked so good to eat!

– Julie, late 20's, Mississauga, ON

I did it!

I did it! A week without meat! Hooray! It wasn't really that hard either... I've been slowly making an effort to reduce the amount of meat I eat, but wasn't sure that I could go a whole week without meat. But I did – and I feel really good! Veggie Thai curry, veggie peanut noodles, granolas, soups, sandwiches – it was all quite tasty. My next step will be to venture into new veggie recipes – lentils, couscous etc. It's great that you have a website to offer support and ideas – much appreciated! I will definitely be referring to it more often! Thanks!

– Andrea, late 20's, Toronto

Feeling better and less fatigued

As always when making a change that others can't understand they don't always support. I found I got a lot of blank stares when I told family and friends. I also found that a lot of them are very misinformed and tried to change my mind with comments like: "You can eat chicken!" or "What about protein."

I think I improved my health in the short period of time that I did not eat meats, not necessarily because I avoided them but rather due to the time and effort I spend making sure I was eating right. I noticed that by day two I felt much better less fatigued. I believe it is because of the choices I made... Like cutting out sugars and focusing on NUTRIENTS and feeding my body to fuel it.

– Shannon, late 20's, Hamilton, ON

My family became curious

The biggest challenge I faced was presenting the decision to become vegan to my meat-eating family. The overwhelming reaction was "how will this affect me?" Your suggestions around being a diplomatic vegan, coupled with a compassionate, respectful attitude toward their choices have gone a long way to fostering a natural curiosity in them. I have had great success in making and sharing some of the dishes you sent me via e-mail. They declined my offer to include meat in the dishes I was preparing and enjoyed them as is. These recipes have now become part of our weekly dinner repertoire. As for the rest of our weekly "meat" meals, your suggestion to simply amend these existing meals with a non-meat protein option was brilliant! It made the transition a lot easier than anticipated. Thank you for the support!

– Allison, age 30-44, London, ON

For the health of my family

I wanted to make the lifestyle change for the health of my family! This Challenge gave me the resources needed to implement a vegetarian lifestyle for my 14 month old daughter too (without the fear of her missing some important vitamins!). This Challenge also gave me the confidence and information needed to defend my choice to not eat meat! It still surprises me how many people think that you're going to "die" if you don't eat animal flesh! Thank you for providing some great recipes and amazing links to fabulous resources!! It was a pleasure to do this challenge and I will be sure to pass on the info to my family and friends!

– Sondra, age 30-44, Newmarket, ON

I'm a healthier happy person

My Challenge went well. I had already changed over to being a vegetarian for one week but just wanted the extra push to keep it going. I made all my meals at home as I live in the middle of a meat belt in Germany. Not too many restaurants serving full dinner options. So I used the web and your cookbook for ideas and went for it. Loved every minute of it. I will be moving back to my home town of Vancouver BC in the next year so I am happy to return a much healthier happy person.

Thank you so much again for this Challenge. It was a great help!

– Debbie, age 30-44, Hellertshausen, Germany

Fifteen years later

I experimented with vegetarianism many years ago when my children were small. I couldn't stick with it because I didn't research enough. I didn't fully understand why I was doing it. I had a hard time finding recipes that my children and I enjoyed. I worried my diet may be lacking. This time around (15 yrs later) I fully understand and feel confident in my choices – for ethical and as well as for health reasons I KNOW becoming vegetarian is the right choice for me. I did lots and lots of reading!! I got educated. My children are older now (boys ages 14 & 16), most times they have no idea they are eating a vegan diner! I make wonderful dishes such as the Veggie Challenge's Caribbean Rice and banana or carrot muffins. Even my husband, (a carnivore) enjoys my new way of cooking!

I don't feel the need to tell friends and family or to justify my choices. If it comes up or they ask I'll talk with them. I do find it a challenge to go out to dinner in my community as there's not many vegan options on the menu. I don't find it a challenge to give up meat but I do find it difficult at times to find recipes and things to eat that are vegan. I'm always learning and working towards the goal of total veganism. I now feel healthier, happier and more confident that I will continue with the vegetarian lifestyle. Thank you.

– Beverley, age 30-44, Minden, ON

I had not considered animals and the planet before

I really enjoyed the Challenge. The only time I really felt like straying was on the weekend when we went out for breakfast. I missed having a BLT sandwich or bacon and eggs,* but I found that having beans as a replacement was just as enjoyable and much better for me, animals and the earth.

I do not consume a lot of meat products anyway, but found the information on animals and the planet very informative. It was something that I had not considered before. Besides not being a big fan of eating meat just because I don't enjoy it, I now feel I need to learn more about the effects on the environment, farms and animals due to meat consumption.

Thanks for the Challenge and making me more aware.

– Nancy, age 45-64, Georgetown, ON

*Note: Faux bacon strips are quite tasty and tofu scramble is similar to scrambled eggs. See breakfast page for more ideas and recipes.