“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” –Hippocrates
I figure I’m on a roll with health related things, so I have decided that Experi-month #2 will be devoted to attempting vegetarianism. If you know me, then you probably know that I have flirted with being a vegetarian for about 5 years now. And by flirted, I mean that I have tried and failed multiple times. I have a commitment issue in my relationship with a meatless life. I usually do not have much of a problem with will-power. That is one thing that my stomach issues taught me. But this is the one thing that I can’t seem to give up completely.
Why I want to be a vegetarian:
1. I love animals.
2. If I was forced to go out and kill my own dinner, I would never do it.
3. Meat is difficult to digest… and per last month’s topic, I don’t need more difficulty in that area.
4. I’ve seen multiple documentaries on the meat industry and the conditions outrage me. I don’t want to support those terrible companies.
5. Why are certain animals acceptable to eat and others are not? For example, I would NEVER consider eating my dog (I love you, Krissy).
Why I fail at committing to vegetarianism:
1. Chicken is delicious.
2. I don’t really like beans. Thus, protein becomes a problem.
3. It’s hard to be the only one… especially when you go to someone’s house for dinner.
4. I forget that what I’m eating used to be breathing.
5. People think you are high-maintenance. Don’t pretend you haven’t thought that.
So this topic is a perfect Experi-month for me. I need a deadline. I need to know that it will be over in one month if I want it to be.
I have been dabbling with vegetarianism for a long time. I stopped eating red meat about 3 years ago. This decision was made to help my digestion and because pigs and cows are cuter than chickens. Legit. That was my thought process. I have also never really eaten seafood. I have a texture issue with most of it. So that leaves poultry, which is the only meat that I consume. My original plan was to give up red meat first and then give up chicken… so that I wouldn’t be going cold turkey (no pun intended). But I never did.
My current diet does not have tons of meat in it. I would say that I eat meat 6 times a week. And this is usually at dinner time. I never eat it for breakfast and very rarely for lunch. If you have suggestions of delicious recipes for me to try, PLEASE send them to me!! I need help on this one. Salads get old pretty quickly.
I’m not really sure that this will contribute to my happiness, which was the overall goal of Experi-months. In fact, it might contribute to unhappiness. If that turns out to be the case, so be it. I’m going to try it for all the chickens (people and birds) out there.
Here goes nothing.
P.S. I’m serious about the recipe thing. Send them. Now.
Since I have been living with vegetarians/ vegans the last four months...
ReplyDelete1. Chickpeas - yummy and healthy, and really versatile
a. Try them as: hummus (mashed up), in stew- like meals, or what I made last night!! Chana Masala! Basically, its some diced onion, chopped tomatoes, and chickpeas in a sauté pan with various spices, depending on your preferences. Mine was with cumin, garlic, curry, coriander, and cayenne pepper cause I like spicy, but you can take some out or add others in, whatever tastes good to you! You just cook it until the onions are cooked through and everything sort of melds together. I added spinach leaves to mine last night, but its stuff like that is optional. :)
2. Lentils - sound gross, but healthy and don't have that much taste which makes them great with other stuff. I'd try them in soups which are delicious especially in the wintertime. Plus there are about 94285701 varieties of lentils, so that's fun too. Just follow the instructions on the bags you buy them in, cause I don't really remember how to cook them. It involves boiling water, but that's all I got.
3. Speaking of winter... POMEGRANATE! Can you say delicious??
4. Spaghetti Squash- healthy alternative to... you guessed it!... spaghetti. You can use it with tomato sauce as pasta or basically any way you want. I even know some people who use it as a dessert. You can cook them a lot of ways, but the best way I've found is to cut them in half length-wise and take out the seeds from the center (which you can toast and they're delicious too!). Place them face-down in a sheet pan with about a quarter inch of water and bake them for around 30-45 minutes. When they're done, take them out and let them cool some before you scoop out the innards (I know, gross word) otherwise you'll burn yourself. Use a fork and pull the noodle- like squash out and then put it with whatever you want! My personal preference is tomato sauce and sprinkle cheese.
5. Couscous - pure deliciousness. Also versatile, like my friend the lentil.
6. Morning Star black bean burgers- in your grocer's freezer.
7. Amy's products, also in your grocer's freezer. Or sometimes in aisles. Just depends. But I would definitely recommend her minestrone soup (in the soup aisle) and her pre-prepared frozen meals, because I don't normally have tons of time to cook.
8. Vegetarian Moussaka- yummy Greek dish that layers eggplant and meat, but I use fake meat in mine. Some good fake meat is Morning Star, but there are other options, check your grocer's freezer.
Good luck!
Check out this website! A friend recommended it a month ago and I have found several great recipes on it. They are all vegetarian (and mostly vegan too). http://ohsheglows.com/recipes/
ReplyDeleteGood luck! I've been fully vegetarian for almost 2 years now and I don't miss meat. The only thing that gets to me sometimes is the awkwardness of eating a someone else's house, as you mentioned, but even then I just assure people they don't have to cook anything special because I will eat whatever is not meat-based, or I offer to bring a side dish.
Katrina