I am not a vagetarian myself, but I have a lot of vegetarian recipes in my “portfolio”. You don’t have to be a vegetarian either to enjoy all the benefits of those delicious dishes! If your diet is not balanced (lack of fruits, veggies, cereals) a good way to start is to have one meat-free day a week. And after some time you will start eating healthy, vegetarian dishes everyday!

I don’t have a meat-free day, but 3-4 out of 6 of my daily meals are vegetarian. But it’s not a bad idea to have one. A good friend of mine who is a bodybuilder, fitness trainer and diet advisor used to say that a “vegetarian day” once a week cleans your guts due to its very high amounts of fiber and is therefore very good for your digestive system.
Other benefits that are associated with vegetarian diet are:

• lenghtens life
• lowers bad cholesterol and is consequently good for your heart
• helps you to lose weight (low calorie)
• strenghtens the immune system (high in vitamins and minerals)
• lowers the risk for diseases like constipation, hemorroids, diverticular disease, gallstones, hiatal hernias, appendicitis, irritable colon, bowel polyps, and appendicitis.
• Colon cancer is very rare in people with a low-meat diet.
• Prevents and controls diabetes (due its high amount of fiber)

There are lots of more facts and benefits of vegetarian diet vs. meat-centered diet. I will post an extra info on this later.

In these series, low calorie and vegetarian recipes, I will post some of my favorite dishes that are healthy and tasty even for a meat-eater like me!

Part 2 with first recipes is coming very soon (this week). Just search for “vegetarian recipes” on BodyTweaking in few days.

Cost: I buy everything on a weekend-market here. The cost is always $0.50 for a kilo (ca. 3 lbs) of stuff: be it bananas, apples, cereals, tomatoes, etc. Some cost more, others less. But in average it’s always 50 cent.