How You Can Transition to Vegetarian

Eating right is not only good for your waistline, but also beneficial for your mind, body and soul. As it turns out, when you eat certain food, such as natural grains instead of processed food; vegetables instead of meat; soymilk instead of cow's milk, it can especially boost Mother Nature.

After more than a year of eating less meat, I feel the next step naturally would go vegetarian (or vegan, sounding sort of like cult), though at a gradual slow pace, and for myself only, considering I have two young growing kids to feed.

Here are some tips for making the transition, shared by Actress Alicia Silverstone in her book, The Kind Diet.

Start slow. Try going four weeks without beef, chicken or pork and replacing them with "new meats" like tofu or fish. Fish leaves the body feeling lighter than beef, pork or poultry, and you will get a sense of what going veggie is like.

Make a substitute. If you find you're not satisfied, create something close to what you're craving using all-natural ingredients. Try toast with soy margarine or brown rice syrup and cinnamon for a delicious cinnamon toast. You'll get your fix while still sticking to the plan.

Give yourself a reminder. Whatever your reason for trying the plant-based diet, make sure to constantly remind yourself of your commitment; it will help kill the cravings.

My own experience: We eat more fish (swai fillets in particular, produced in Vietnam) than beef or pork. I substitute ground pork with lean ground turkey for our favorite dumplings and wontons. I bake oatmeal chocolate nuts cookies to satisfy my cravings.