What do you do when you have a baby in one arm, two bags over your other shoulder and, after rummaging in your purse for your car keys, you find that 90 percent of your hand is covered in blue ink? I stood paralysed on Parliament Street yesterday afternoon trying to figure this out. I had shimmied the bags off my shoulder but now was left holding Chloe with no means of getting her into the car without covering her in blue pen. Of course no self-respecting new mother goes anywhere without tissues do they? Except apparently on the day you are the unfortunate victim of an ink pen explosion.

By the time we got home, both Chloe and I were covered in inky blue splotches. We also managed to distribute ink over the front door, stair gate, bathroom sink and changing table before finally regaining some control over the situation. It's amazing in fact how much ink one pen actually holds…I'd always wondered and now I know.

This whole scenario was closely followed by Jasper the dog rolling in poop, me dropping two eggs on the kitchen floor and then opening another laughable bill from Belco. In fact, by the time my lovely husband came home I was ready to bury myself under my duvet and write the day off for good.

However, just as I was convinced that the gods were conspiring against me, the lovely husband announced that he was really getting into all the vegetarian meals I had been making and that he thought we should go vegetarian for a month. Now, I'm used to the issue of vegetarian meals being a bit of a battleground, so getting the go-ahead for a full month cheered me up considerably.

It's not that I class meat as 'unhealthy', I don't. But I do think it's important to go easy. Many of us eat meat or poultry at least twice a day, which carries with it a number of risks. For example, unless you buy organic produce, you may be consuming antibiotic, nitrate and hormone residues from substances used within common-place farming and production methods. Also, animal products have a far higher saturated fat content than plant-foods – the number one risk for those with high cholesterol as saturated fat increases bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol. Finally, many animal products also contain high levels of sodium – especially deli meats and take-out meals.

This doesn't mean though that vegetarian meals are automatically healthy. Take a quick look at the salt content of many of the Amy's products for example, and you'll see that the sodium levels are alarmingly high. Also, vegetarian alternatives are often covered in cheese – which may make things tasty, but again, racks up the amount of saturated fat you consume really quickly.

So if you are considering having more vegetarian meals, try making your own instead of relying solely on store-bought options. Also, avoid the temptation to cover everything in cheese – sure you need protein, but nuts and a combination of brown rice with either lentils, chick peas or beans also does the job. For example, try out the recipe above – it's quick, simple and ridiculously healthy!

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Clinical Nutritionist. She can be contacted at clinicalnutrition@gmail.com