I was vegetarian for a very long time. The only reason I stopped being vegetarian was related to financial reasons (it was just easier to buy my family meat and not buy the vegetarian options for myself). You can definitely be healthy and be vegetarian!

There are MANY restaurants with vegetarian options. Spanish restaurants often have vegetarian options. Of course, at buffets like Golden Corral you choose what goes on your plate. So, there's always the option of a buffet, too. It was far from hard to find somewhere for me to eat. As most places these days either have vegetarian options or salads.

I ate many of the substitutes. Most of them are an acquired taste. But believe it or not, there are plenty of them that even my family loved. Morning Stars was my go to brand. They have the best tasting ones overall. If you can find them, the 'bacon' they make was always a hit with my family. The Asian veggie patties were always a hit among them, too. As well as the riblets, the hot and spicy sausage patties, and the spicy black bean burgers. Their lasagna was pretty good to me, too. Lightlife makes a few decent products. Their pepperonis are okay. Not anything to die for, but edible. Their lunch "meat" is about the most decent lunch "meat" you'll find vegan/vegetarian wise.

Tofu is hit or miss. Most people don't know how to prepare it right, so it turns out tasting rubbery or flavorless. The trick is to let the tofu absorb the flavor of the food. Tofu, when cooked properly, is a wonder food for vegetarians and vegans. If you've no experience cooking it, I wouldn't recommend eating it off the bat. You can make burgers using portobello mushroom. These are pretty decent. Um. That's about all I've got at the moment. A good starting place is simply finding vegetarian recipes online. There are plenty of them out there.

Oh, and if your parents ever do fast food... say Burger King. Most Burger King's now have a vegetarian burger on the menu. So you can still get a burger and fries.