Question of the month: what's your biggest obstacle to being a vegetarian?

The ignorance of some people. I don't usually have a problem in restaurants unless I'm with someone who really doesn't understand vegetarianism. Then I get a million questions and comments about being "difficult." Well, I'd rather be difficult than unhealthy!

Rita Severino

Philadelphia, PA

Overcoming my laziness. It was so easy to keep eating chicken because I didn't have to learn new recipes or try new foods. Fortunately, one of my friends became a vegetarian and inspired me. Now I get excited whenever I find a food or product in the store that I have read about in Vegetarian Times.

Jessica Mahon

Via email

Trying to find a drive-thru lunch!

Kellie Muse

Via email

The reaction and comments of family. I have pretty forward-thinking relatives, but for some reason, my vegetarianism (going on eight years now) isn't fully embraced. It's as if I've declared my family's way of life a failure by changing the way I eat.

Cassandra Miller

Via email

Other people's lack of knowledge about what a vegetarian eats. Some people think chicken is vegetarian. Others just take the meat out of whatever they are making, such as soup. People get really nervous when they have to cook for a vegetarian and often don't ask exactly what is acceptable and what isn't.

Brad Nahill

Via email

Going out to dinner with friends and family who are not vegetarians. Often there's a very limited selection (veggie burger or kids' mac and cheese) to choose from, especially in this Atkins-crazy society right now. Plus, I've observed that most restaurants assume you must like eggplant parmesan if you are a vegetarian because it's the dish that is consistently on menus or suggested as the veg option. I don't know who started this rumor, but I know quite a few vegetarians who don't like eggplant, my husband and myself included.

Michelle B.

Denver, CO

Finding time to eat right.

Kevin Gale

Via email

My husband is not a vegetarian and doesn't really like vegetables all that much. I have to constantly vary the suppers I make for him, find new recipes and try new foods. Luckily, he was pretty supportive a few years ago when I decided to become a vegetarian, even when I told him it meant I would no longer cook meat.

Kara Roberts

Manchester, CT

Not having time to cook fresh organic foods and balanced meals every day often makes me go hungry. I can't eat fast food or most restaurant dishes, and I refuse to buy excessively packaged products such as noodle bowls or individually wrapped single-serving lunch items. My family worries that I don't get the nutrition I need. Most days, I just don't eat until I get home, and after a hard day's work, cooking seems like work too. So, of course, there's no lunch prepared for the next day. It's a cycle I hope to break. Relying on establishments to provide veggie-friendly meals that are anything more than bagels and coffee makes a girl unhealthy, not wealthy, and a bit dizzy at times.

Jeannette Faith Steed

Sacramento, CA

Eating out! When I order soup and ask if it's made with vegetable stock, I get the "Are you a crazy vegetarian?" look from the waiter. Fixed menus are a problem too. Rarely is there a vegetarian option. More than once, I have asked the chef to make me a vegetable dish, and every time it has been disappointing. I find the best dinners are made in my own kitchen.

Tootie Nelson

Via email

For me (a new vegetarian), it's been finding a variety of foods and not getting bored. I also gained a lot of weight during the first month from eating a lot of carbs, especially pasta and potatoes.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Via email

For me, one of the biggest problems with being a vegetarian is that animal products are in SO MANY things, and you have to be on guard all the time. This is especially hard in college because snacking is so common, and food labeling in the dining halls is hard to come by.

Julia Hendrickson

Via email

The biggest obstacles I face both as a lifelong vegetarian (I started at age 12 and am now 44) and a parent in a vegetarian family: the dearth of healthy vegetarian fast food when traveling; the shortage of vegetarian options when I want to run out at work and pick up a quick lunch; and the high cost of vegetarian convenience foods, such as veggie burgers.

Lauren Siegel

Baltimore, MD

As a new vegetarian, I have two obstacles: the concern that I'm getting all the nutrients and vitamins I need, and how people react. Since I have eaten meat up until now (I am 52), they ask why I've become a vegetarian. When I respond, their eyes glaze over, and it's obvious they don't want details. They have the ostrich syndrome: They like meat, so they don't want to hear how it isn't good for them or how badly animals are treated.

Chris MacDonald

Via email

Support from family members.

Francesca Funk

Via email

Them: Do you eat fish?

Me: Umm ... no, fish is an animal.

Them: Do you eat chicken?

Me: Umm ... no, chicken is an animal also. (Where were these people raised?)