Non-traditional Vegetarian.

Vegeraptor - Why the name? Well I feel its what best describes my lifestyle. Ten years ago I was forced to eliminate red meat from my diet for the betterment of my own health. I wasn't overweight by any means but my body was refusing to digest any ounce meat that I was putting into it. Let just say that for small town Iowa meat and potatoes were the staples of every dinner table setting.  So how was I suppose to transition my own dietary needs without forcing my family to make drastic changes with me? It wasn't easy but I managed. 

I would openly admit that because of my needs changing I became more self sufficient in a manner I wasn't yet prepared for.   Going out to eat was a larger struggle than I was willing to admit and eating at home at first was made up of salads and relish plates. I don't know about you but my options were suffocating me and boring me off my seat. 

As of today, I have taken my needs as a mission to constantly reinvent my food and what it tastes like. Some days its vegan, others its temple-sweat inducing.  I stopped looking at the basics as a last resort and started looking at them for what they really were--the beginning to a masterpiece. 

Ok ok back to the name. I didn't choose this lifestyle for myself thus I have had to adjust to the idea that I can no longer eat a juicy fresh off the grill hamburger; the meals I grew up on were no longer items I could pull from for last minute ideas. So I've spent the last ten years searching....searching for a new flavorful, mouthwatering, mind-blowing "burger" that could provide more pleasure than what I once ate on a regular basis. At first this was a shallow path that provided nothing but disappointment with every turn, but now its become enjoyment of trying to foods and pushing the limits. 

Thus the name-- As I evolve I am searching for meals and food items that blow my taste buds away to overshadow  what I was considered an everyday meal and is now something I have come to despise. Through this blog I want to share new meal ideas that I've discovered, created, or just been in awe of.  Meals that would put the carnivores to shame and chalk one up for the herbivores.   Welcome to my life as a Vegeraptor and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.