A Path to Vegetarianism

The reason

Not many people know this, but I have stopped consuming eggs, milk, and meat. I still eat cheese and I don't know if I will ever stop because I love it so much. I also love fish but have NOT been eating this, although Bri eats it right in front of me! So mean.

Why the change? Well.. I often am grossed out when faced with a plate of meat. It could be poultry, pork, or beef, it doesn't matter. When my fork or knife pulls the flesh apart, I see the veins, the fat and the bones. I don't want to stick it in my mouth. Even fish, at some point, has made me cringe. I have never eaten much meat and almost completely stopped buying it a year ago without even realizing it.

I don't know what it was but a month ago I just announced that I am never eating meat again. It was hardly a change because I was already eating tofu and drinking soy milk because I enjoy the taste. Even Brian loves tofu and soy milk. The only thing I really gave up on was fish and eggs.

The change

As I have already mentioned, there wasn't much of a change at all. It all happened gradually and I didn't even notice. I just became conscious of what I was already doing. Now when I became conscious of the fact that I was not eating meat, I started to think about what I actually WAS eating. I realized that something big was missing, so I went to the book store and just browsed around until I found the perfect book called "Becoming Vegetarian". It has so much information in such a small book. It touches base on all of the big issues a Vegetarian faces.

The part I was most interested in had to do with diet. What exactly should I be eating to get all the nutrients that I need? Well I was already heading in the right direction, and the only real thing I needed more of was beans. I have also been paying more attention to vegetables, trying to include more in the meals I prepare.

Eating in

This is very simple for me. I cook better now than I ever did when I was a "meat eater" because I used to include very little ingredients, and I definitely didn't include very much meat. I was big on fish, but most of the food I made was not very healthy. Pasta with canned sauce. Kraft Dinner and tuna. The list is as small as the amount of nutrients we were getting.

There is something about tofu that just sparks some kind of cooking creativity for me. I'm adding lots of vegetables, using very little oil, and just having an overall fun time in the kitchen. I bought some vegetarian cookbooks to help me a long the way, but I find that I don't use them much for reference, just for inspiration. "Basic Vegetarian Cooking" is one cookbook that was actually fun to read, and the book I mentioned earlier "Becoming Vegetarian" has a whole chart on how to replace not so friendly ingredients with vegan alternatives.

Eating out

I have actually gotten frustrated with this. I work by the city market and often go there for lunch. There is this place that sells wraps and salads. They only have two vegetarian items. One time I asked if they could replace the chicken in one of the wraps on the menu, and the lady said yes she could replace it with turkey but it would cost extra. I just gave up and ordered the same old veggie wrap. None of their salads are meatless.

Most restaurants have vegetarian options in their menu, although sadly a lot of these options are very limited. Sometimes it comes down to just one or two items that I can order. Another thing that I find is that these meals do not contain everything needed to be nutritious. It seems like all they did was remove the meat, but not add anything else to the dish.

Eating at Mom's

It was my brother's birthday and my parents invited me over for pizza. Without thinking, I said sure and they came to pick me up. They had just picked up the pizza before coming to get me and I asked what kind they got. Of course it was ultra packed with meat. I tried picking it off and I couldn't get it all. This was 1 week after my NO MEAT announcement and I thought it wouldn't be a big deal for me to eat a little meat on my pizza. I downed one piece, feeling a bit gross the whole time, then I started on a second and I just couldn't take it anymore. I fed the slice to the dog and I felt sick for the rest of the day.

There is meat in almost everything my mother cooks and there is almost no way around it. I was invited a week later to go over for a BBQ, and remembering the gross feeling in my stomach I refused to go.

This is more than partly my fault because I haven't been upfront about being a vegetarian, and although I know it will be fully accepted by my family, I somehow have been shunning away from it.



So this is the whole story, and although this entry was totally about me and my experience, I would like to share a few websites for anyone who is interested in a more friendly way of eating.


Post Punk Kitchen - The name is a little lame, but the advice, recipies and blog on this site are very interesting and fun to read. Also very helpful.

The Vegetarian Journal - Magazine archive about being vegetarian.

Vegetarian Organic Blog - Just read the title, that says it all.