How do you say "vegetarian" in French?

HA! TRICK QUESTION! You don't ever need to say vegetarian in French, because if you are a vegetarian in France you will waste away in a matter of days. Even the salads have meat in them. Which is why they're so delicious.

But alas, I am no longer in France. It's time to say au revoir to delicious meaty salads, and bonjour to being a végétarienne. Sort of.

Fin and I have decided to try and eat meat-free from Monday to Friday. We'll still eat fish, and we'll still eat meat at the weekend if we feel like it, or if we're eating out (which doesn't happen as often as we'd like, thanks to a certain small, hairy member of our household who really cramps our style when it comes to dining in restaurants). So, not really vegetarian at all. More part-time-pescatarian. But at least we're trying.

There are lots of reasons for doing this: health for one, budget for another. And I must admit, ever since we've had Smidgen in our lives, we've felt increasingly uneasy about chowing down on her mammalian cousins. Which is weird, because she eats more meat than the two of us put together and never seems to wrestle with the ethical implications of it. She also doesn't have a problem with crapping in the middle of the road though, so we try not to model ourselves too closely on her.

 

HOWEVER. There is a major barrier standing in the way of this hippy-dippy, plant-eating, penny-saving utopia: Fin isn't really that into vegetables.

 

Fresh, crisp vegtables, maybe. Salads, yes, great, lovely. But piles of cooked vegetables? Not so much. Leeks are his personal idea of hell. If we are to avoid living off nothing but salad, prawns and different varieties of cheese, we're going to need some help.

 

Are any of you vegetarians? Or do you happen to have a great non-meaty recipe? Any sites I should check out? I'd love some ideas beyond plain veg - I'm thinking nuts, pulses, beans, salads, soups and, yes, cheeses (halloumi is the food of the gods). Please, give me all your food secrets! And in return, I'll love you forever. And I'll tell you about that hilarious thing that happened while we were on holiday.

 

 

(Not really. Nothing happened. I mainly skied, slept and ate delicious meaty salads. But still, tell me about FOOD.)

 

 

Images styled by Chelsea Zimmer. Don't click that link if you're hungry. Lady could make sawdust look mouthwatering.