I was at one point a vegetarian, but a poor one, in that I didn't balance my diet, and then after about eight years, I needed to introduce protein back into my diet.
Our family only eats meat about 3-4 x per wk. And we usually only eat about 4ounces or so at dinner. I buy from local organic farmers, who don't use all the chemical stuff in the feed and so on. So free range eggs, pasture grazed beef and from local suppliers.
It is relatively painfree to do this, especially if you create a menu plan once wkly for you and your family. I started doing this years and years ago, as a way to save money and I did, save the downpayment on a home in about 4 yrs with much reduced grocery bills. Of course that was when you could place 10$15K down on a $100K home.
Now at that time I was not buying organic, so the price of food today for organic is more costly.
I've enrolled into a couple of food groups that send you daily some recipes and ideas, which can help inspire you when you run out of ideas.
The other benefit of a menu plan, is that you don't have to think about what is for dinner tonight, and the other family members can see the menu plan on the fridge and say for eg: not eat the left over chicken, because it is on the menu for chicken salad tonight
I often have soups, salads, pasta with meatless different kinds of sauces, the very much loved macaroni and cheese; I do have a portobello mushroom stronganoff which is quite tasty.