Ellington

At this point, I've been a vegetarian for about two months. It's been a long, crazy journey full of missteps and misgivings, trying and failing. But, with a few exceptions, I've stuck with my new way of life. Sometimes I thought about giving it all up for one second of pure carnivorous bliss, but then I'd browse the Internet and see so many more options and ways to be imaginative with my new lifestyle change that I remembered why I started this journey in the first place.

Being a vegetarian is actually a creative way to live. If you don't want to eat salad all the time, you have to come up with fun, new-to-you things to cook. You may have to learn to like mushrooms or tofu.

Let's say that you haven't gotten that adventurous, yet. Maybe mushrooms still gross you out, and perhaps the idea of tofu just doesn't sit right with you. Maybe you don't want to eat imitation-meat products. But with all that said, you still want to be a healthy vegetarian. Here are some easy recipes to get started.

New Year Wellness continues this month, with more vegetarian recipes each issue.

Breakfast on the go: Strawberry Smoothie

Making smoothies can be a daunting task. To make it work, you have to understand how to order things. Layer from fruit to thickener to ingredients such as flaxseed, top it off with the sweetener and add the liquid last. If you want to see a handy illustration on making smoothies, go to jfp.ms/smoothie_graphic. That graphic helped me with my smoothie woes, and now, I'm half decent at it.

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries

1 snack-size cup of unsweetened applesauce

1 teaspoon flaxseed

2 tablespoons honey

1/2 cup soy milk

In your blender, add the ingredients in the order they're listed. Let the pitcher chill in the refrigerator—it can be overnight or for just 15 minutes.

Just before you leave for the day, blend until smooth (it also may help to pulse so you don't overblend).

Pulse it if it looks like it needs more action. Pour it into your to-go cup and enjoy while you drive to work or the gym or school or wherever you go in the mornings.