Ash Wednesday

"I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, 

to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; 

by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; 

and by reading and meditating on God's holy Word." 

-Book of Common Prayer, 

I'm not sure why but I've never given anything up for lent.  It was just not something my family ever really did.  This year I decided out of the blue that I would give something up and the first thing I thought of was meat.  I'm not a huge meat eater anyway but I think it will be a challenge mostly because I have to develop a new thinking process about how to sustain my life.  My weekly grocery shopping last Sunday was quite a challenge.  I'm so used to getting the same basic items every week and suddenly I have to think of creative ways to include protein in my diet.  I got several Morningstar Farms items which was fairly easy; the hardest thing to find was vegetarian frozen meals that were cheap.  (Any suggestions are welcome.)  Another challenge I've already run into is eating out.  Gray and I hardly eat out anymore but today I had CPR instructor training at work and everyone wanted to go to lunch afterwards.  As suggestions were made I began to realize just how restrictive some restaurants can be for vegetarians.  What does a vegetarian order at Chick-Fil-A?  Luckily someone suggested Olive Garden so I was able to get the soup, salad, and breadsticks lunch special.  There was only one vegetarian soup option but minestrone is yummy so I really didn't mind. 

So in the upcoming weeks I will be providing recipes and keeping you posted.