30 Days of Vegetarian: Day 1 - Goodbye Dumpling House

So here we go...woke up this morning and breakfast was a banana and breakfast bar. Breakfast was never going to be an issue for me though as rarely have any form of meat or fish at this time...it's all the other meals.

My $20 Garden Salad and Smoothie in Port Melbourne

Having just decided last night to do this, I realised that I was not adequately prepared food wise for such a life change. Getting to work at 12:00pm, I visited a nearby cafe in Port Melbourne and paid $20 for a garden salad and banana smoothie. $20!!! Nothing fancy about this salad, lettuce, tomato, carrot, cucumber and onion. Even the dressing was dry. Felt so ripped off. Need to hit the supermarket - or markets - tomorrow or Friday and stock up.
I'm not very knowledgable on nutritious foods and stuff so have been advised egg, beans and tofu is the way to go. If anyone has any exciting recipes that are quick and easy, let me know! I don't fancy 30 days of salad.
Dinner with my mate and this was my first big challenge. We went to Shanghai Dumpling House in Chinatown where I generally hoover their pork and beef dumplings. This was in fact the first time ever that I did not have dumplings at SDH. Instead I settled for the mushroom and vegetable dumplings in noodle soup - because there's soup they don't count. They weren't that great but I know it's because of how they were made there; I mean SDH is known for being cheap and quick (and also for their 'great' customer service) so it's by no means disheartened me. I will however have to stay clear of SDH for the next 29 days...
A friend in France has also asked me if as part of my challenge am I also doing research into vegetarianism and meat eating (health, environment, animal and human welfare). And although not initially part of the plan, I think I will look into this as well. I would be interested to hear why people are/have been vegetarians and think I want to immerse myself into this lifestyle for the next 29 days at least.