It's no secret that vegetables are packed with nutrients, vitamins and minerals that are good for the health. They are also full of fiber and low in saturated fat so they make you feel fuller for a longer period of time. Going meatless even for just two days a week positively impacts health as it promotes weight loss and reduces your risk for cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. Vegetarian recipes are easy on the pocket, too, compared to meat recipes. And if you care enough for Mother Earth, you'd be happy to know that going vegetarian will greatly reduce your carbon footprint. The meat industry is responsible for a portion of the manmade greenhouse gas emissions that is now making the world such a polluted place.

Vegetarian recipes are surprisingly easy to prepare. Flavor them with simple dressings, and you're good to go. To get yourself started, stock your ref with vegetarian ingredients. Shop for mixed greens, romaine or spinach in ready-to-prepare packages. Frozen green peas, beans and edamame or green soy beans are also common ingredients in vegetarian dishes. Fruits, fresh or frozen, are also vegetarian staples.

For breakfast, try this oatmeal recipe: Bring 16 oz water to a boil. Put 3 ½ oz old fashioned rolled oats for five minutes. Cook it uncovered over medium heat, stirring occasionally. In a cereal bowl, combine 4 oz frozen blueberries, 4 oz frozen raspberries and 1 tbsp ground flax seed. Pour the cooked oats on top of the berries and enjoy!

A simple salad you might want to try is cucumber salad with peas. Simply combine 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, a teaspoon of dried oregano and ground pepper in a large bowl. Add about 4 cups of peeled and diced cucumbers, a can of black-eyed peas, 2/3 cup of red bell pepper, half a cup of feta cheese, ¼ cup red onion and about 2 tablespoons of olives. Toss ingredients to coat them well. They can be served at room temperature or chilled.

For a light mid-afternoon snack, you can try blending a banana, an apple and some strawberries together for a filling sugar-free beverage.

The best way to cook vegetables is to steam them. By cooking veggies over boiling water, the nutrients are retained and are not dissolved away in the water- as what happens when you boil them. A steamer is simply a pot with a lid and some sort of "platform" that fits inside it where the vegetables are placed. The holes allow the steam to reach the vegetables. Before steaming the vegetables, make sure that you cut them in bite size pieces and divide them in groups, using cooking time as your grouping criteria. Potatoes, carrots and brussel sprouts take a long time to steam while bell peppers and spinach cook only for a short time. Steam those which take a long time first. Use a fork to test if they're tender enough to eat. You can also steam whole potatoes or beets and bigger slices of vegetables although this can take a much longer (10-15 minutes).