I've always said that I could easily be a vegetarian if someone else would cook for me. I never had the first clue as to how to prepare a filling meal based on veggies and grains. I flirted with the idea many years ago due to an old boyfriend who introduced me to tofu, but all I remember were spongy cubes floating in soy sauce - yuk!

But these past few months, after learning way too much about the food industry, I realized I owed it to myself to try it. I started with meals I make all the time and just eliminated the meat. But pretty quickly I was looking for more options, so I bought a few vegan cookbooks. So far, my favorite is Tal Ronnen's "The Conscious Cook." I made his Quinoa, Avocado and Sweet Potato Timbale with Roasted Tomatillo Dressing for Cinco de Mayo in an effort to impress my husband, a definite steak man. He loved it! The presentation helped, I think. It looked like real food!

And then I made dinner tonight and no one liked it, including me.

I've had a package of firm tofu in the refrigerator for weeks now that I have been afraid to use. I finally decided I was ready to tackle it, so I chose another of Tal's recipes. This one was for Agave-lime Grilled Tofu with Asian Slaw and Mashed Sweet Potatoes. Having never made tofu I should have made sure I had the right kind, but I figured it couldn't be that different. Wrong! Dino was kind - or really hungry. He finished most of his plate. I, on the other hand, was grossed out. The tofu was squishy and the sweet potatoes reminded me of baby food, so I jumped off the proverbial wagon and made a hot dog in the microwave. It was a grass-fed beef and sulfate-free hot dog, but it was still a hot dog.

I enjoyed every bite of it.

And then I came out of my beef-induced coma and realized that I really do want to keep to this new way of eating. I enjoy it! I love the fact that I don't feel heavy after a meal. I have no guilt and, to my delight as a clean-freak, I don't have to think about contaminating one area to another like I always did while preparing meat.

And I learned something else. I was always puzzled by people who seemed to be on an endless search for vegetarian food that tastes like meat. I couldn't understand why someone would want to mimic something they deemed unacceptable to eat. I get it now.

Anyone know which vegan bacon is best?