Vegetarianism???

I've never had any desire to give up meat.  I enjoy it too much--chicken, fish, beef, bacon--I love me some protein.  But lately, I've been thinking a lot about health.  I've been on a journey to lose weight but have been failing miserably, thus far.  I've been working out at Curves, which I love, although not 100% religiously.  I worked out once in March due to sickness.  Anyways...my big problem has been food.  I eat too much and don't make healthy choices.  My portions have been getting better, but I'm beginning to really think about ingredients and health for the body--not necessarily low fat, low sodium, low fill-in-the-blank.  I'm talking things like organic, natural, etc.  I'd never really thought about it before I married the hubby.  But, he's always been more health conscious thanks to his mom.  She is well aware of diet and its opened my eyes.  Combine that with research I have been doing has brought me to the conclusion that while yes, I want to loose weight, that should not be my ultimate goal.  Instead, I should focus on healthy eating--more fruits and vegetables (local if possible), cutting out things like high fructose corn syrup, and using fresh, natural ingredients.  A good example is yogurt.  I eat a lot of it, but it wasn't until I started making my own that I started considering what was in the store bought stuff.  Thankfully, one brand now makes a natural yogurt that I feel comfortable buying, even though it has fat in it.  Another item is half & half for my coffee.  I won't by the fake, flavored stuff, but I've been living off of the Fat Free Half & Half.  But, I've starting thinking about the ingredients.  What are the first two ingredients:  Water, Corn Syrup.  That just does not seem healthy.  So, despite the fact that it will be adding more fat to my diet, I am going to switch to organic half & half.  Now if I could only figure out how to drink my coffee black.  :-) 

So, back to vegetarian eating...I've become aware of what goes into our meat.  I prefer to buy organic, grass-fed, cage-free, free-range, whatever it may be meat, but this isn't always possible or wallet friendly.  I've become disgusted with the amount of hormones and genetic modification as well as the treatment of these animals.  Now, don't get me wrong.  I LOVE meat.  I WANT to eat meat.  In fact, my body craves it sometimes.  But, does my body need it?  Was it created to need meat?  Looking back at Genesis, I would have to say no.  Also, look at Daniel--while in captivity, he and his friends requested a diet of vegetables and water (Daniel 1:8-16).  It worked.  I've really been wanting to increase my veggie intake, so this is a perfect way.

I want to try this as an experiment.  I think I'm going to do it for one month and am thinking July, which will give me plenty of time to plan and I won't have to deal with classes.  We will probably go back to eating lean meat and fish when we are done, but hopefully a lot less often.  Hubby is supportive and much more used to this than I am, so this will help.  I'll need plenty of time to figure out what to do.  I like to plan my menu a month in advance, so that will help.  I'm trying to gather recommended recipes that we will enjoy.  So, we will see.  Thoughts?

The biggest question left is will we eat eggs?

On a side note, I've just begun reading Desiring God by John Piper.  I'm just in the intro, so no thoughts yet, but I'm really hoping to get a lot out of it.

Sorry for the length...