I’ve been a vegetarian for more than 30 years, before that I rarely ate meat at all. Giving it up was easy because I don’t like it; I think meat has a nasty taste.

I’m raising my children as vegetarians, but not forbidding them to eat meat, they can eat it at school if they want, or at someone’s house, but not here. I’m committed to raising them to know that nutritionally sound veggie meals are easy and healthy.

They’re so glad to have a mother that cooks for them, that makes them sit down at dinner each night, that what I serve is nearly incidental. If you’ve ever had lightly fried on a black skillet corn tortillas stuffed with black beans, brown rice, onions, cheese and jalapenos, you certainly won’t yell, “Where’s the beef?” Or my three cheese lasagna with whole wheat pasta, or the 12 pounds of pinto beans I prepare each week, all favorites of my children making either enchiladas, burritos, tacos or nachos.

Dried beans take longer to prepare so the kids usually know each morning what’s for dinner that night, with their control issues, this is vitally important to them. Knowing I’m soaking the red beans with garlic, inhaling the pungency, and knowing that it’s red beans, corn and rice night puts a smile on their faces all day in school.

I could link a thousand articles lauding the health benefits of vegetarianism, but I’m not interested in convincing readers to follow suit, do what you want, I’m simply relaying how I cook suppers for more than a couple of dozen people each evening.

Today though, while soaking beans, I saw this alarming article, “Mothers eating beef could threaten sons' fertility,” and I thought aloud, that’ll certainly provoke some discussion at supper tonight.

We’re in the midst of soccer and church league softball right now, putting 17 of my kids on six different teams, further complicating our already tough schedules and the last thing I’d need would be to have to stop at a fast food joint and fill up the kids as I fly between playing fields. We just don’t do that, it’d be prohibitively expensive and I’d personally gag at the smells.

Instead I have supper on the table at 5 so we can stuff ourselves with whole grains and legumes, knowing we’ll be full all evening as we run from place to place, tutoring for 6 kids and church activities to add to our busyness.

We’re not overbooked, there’s just so many of us, and everyone wants to watch everyone else’s games as well, it’s truly a fun time of year for us what with warm weather and the fragrance of Southern spring nights, thanks to the wisteria and (soon) honeysuckle.

It’s hard to wipe the goofy grin off my full-of-beans face when life seems so good.