Start from a point of comfort, was vegetarian Cherise Carey's advice to other people thinking about becoming vegetarian.

Ms Carey is a member of the Vegetarian Society of Bermuda which today is promoting "Meat Out Day".

For twenty-four hours the society wants people to "kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains".

Ms Carey said that boring college cafeteria food was what drove her to vegetarianism, and she has not looked back in 12 years. In fact, she went on to become a vegan, a person who does not eat meat or any animal biproducts, such as eggs.

She is married to Colwyn Burchall Junior and raising a vegan family with sons Amari, four and Ajani, nine months.

"I started out as a vegetarian and worked my way to veganism," she said.

"I became vegetarian by accident. I started eating less and less meat in college.

"I got tired of the food choices available. I came off a lot of fried stuff and meat, and felt a bit better, health-wise. I started experimenting with vegetarianism to see how it went." She said her husband also became vegetarian for health reasons.

In terms of eating, Amari and Ajani are like most kids. For lunch, Amari gets fruit, sandwiches, or pasta salad. He likes rice cakes, nuts and raisins, but when asked what his favourite thing to eat was Amari said "sugar".

"He would love to have a big bowl of it, but in general we would probably bake it in a cake," said Ms Carey with a laugh. "We don't cook with eggs, but applesauce and even sometimes bananas can act as a substitute for some baking. It depends on what it is."

In terms of eating out, she said there aren't many options for vegans in Bermuda. "We don't eat out much," she said. "There aren't many vegan options. House of India does an okay job.

"There is at least one person here who does vegan catering. We have a better time using caterers, and we get exactly what we want and find that to be more successful."

And she said it could sometimes be a challenge if Amari was going to someone else's house for dinner, or to a birthday party.

"We try to work around it," she said, "we try to bring something that we can share with the other children".

Ms Carey said repetition is the answer when trying to get kids to eat vegetables. "We try many, many times," she said. "I do dishes lots of different ways, and my husband and I also try to set an example."

She said pregnancy for a vegan is no different than it is for any other woman.

"I don't know I had extra challenges," she said. "In general, if you are pregnant you have to make sure you are getting a certain amount of iron and protein.

"I was vigilant about that in the way that any pregnant woman would be. I would use the vegan sources of those items to make sure I got it."

Nicole Stovell of the Vegetarian Society of Bermuda said she hoped many people would take part in "Meat-Out Day".

"People who wish to take part in Meat Out Day are encouraged to fill out a pledge sheet with the Vegetarian Society of Bermuda," she said.

"The pledge sheet involves no money and is just so that the society can provide more information about vegetarianism .

"It is just a way of us having a sense of who participated," said Ms Stovell. "After sending out a brochure about vegetarianism we won't send you anything else, or call you, unless you want us to."

The forms are at Hott 107.5, Rock Island, Rock On The Health Store, The Adventist Health Store, Contours Health & Fitness, and the Health Co-op on the South Shore in Warwick.

Of course, people are free to try "Meat-Out Day" without signing the pledge sheet.

"The purpose is to show that eating without meat is not necessarily as difficult as many people think," said Ms Stovell. "The point isn't focused on getting you to be a vegetarian, but there are benefits in terms of the environment."

She said there are health benefits to being vegetarian, but you'd have to do it longer than 24-hours to feel them.

"There may be people who will be inspired to eat meat only for a few days a week," she said. "The best thing people can do considering cutting back or becoming a full time vegetarian, is search the internet for information.

"Google meatless dishes, or vegetarian. That will give them some basic dishes they can try for that day," said Ms Stovell. And she said the vegetarian society of Bermuda caters to all different types of vegetarians.

For more information email the Vegetarian Society at Vsbda1@yahoo.com