Happy Vegetarian Awareness Month!!

Try to say that 5 times fast!! So October is Vegetarian Awareness Month and I thought I'd blog about it because I am a vegetarian. I became a vegetarian about 9 months ago first cutting out red meats and then chicken and lastly, fish. I still sometimes eat fish but I try not to eat it too much. I have found the most difficult food to cut out, weirdly, to be cured meats. Not that I eat so much proscuitto or sopressata but it is just SO YUMMY! I still find that once in a great while, I will induldge with a bite or two.

In honor of vegetarians everywhere, here are some great reasons to eat meat-free:

• Reduction of the risk of major killers like heart disease, stroke and cancers while cutting exposure to food-borne pathogens.
• Offers a viable answer to feeding the world’s hungry, through more efficient use of grains and other crops.
• Saves animals from suffering in factory farm conditions and from painful slaughter.
• Conservation of vital, but limited freshwater, fertile topsoil and other precious resources.
• Preservation of irreplaceable ecosystems, such as rain forests and other wildlife habitats.
• Mitigation of the ever-expanding environmental pollution of animal agriculture.

Here is an INCREDIBLE vegetarian recipe that I learned last week at the Martha Stewart show. Just watching her prepare it made me hungry for lunch at 10:00am. October is the perfect excuse to put my kitchen skills to work and cook this yummy dish!

Ingredients

Serves 4.

• 4 large bell peppers
• 1 can (15 ounces) cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup crumbled feta (4 ounces)
• 1/2 cup couscous
• 4 scallions, white and green parts separated, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• Coarse salt and ground pepper
• Lemon wedges, for serving

Directions

1. Slice a very thin layer from the base of each bell pepper so they sit flat. Slice off tops just below stem. Discard stems; chop tops, and place in a medium bowl. Remove ribs and seeds from peppers.
2. To bowl, add beans, feta, couscous, scallion whites, garlic, and oregano. Season with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Stuff peppers with bean mixture; place upright in slow cooker. Cover; cook on high, 4 hours.
3. Sprinkle peppers with scallion greens; serve with lemon wedges.

How easy/yummy does that sound? You can get loads of other great vegetarian recipes at Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Website and also at Care 2 Make A Difference.