Vegetarian Chronicles

A few months ago I was at my friend Lisa's place having dinner with her family and I mentioned I was thinking about trying out a vegetarian diet. Her first question was very ordinary and probably falls in the top three questions asked when a discussion like this starts.... "Why?"

Is this what vegetarians eat? Partly.

As simple & expected as the question was, I wasn't prepared to answer it because I hadn't explored the reasons behind a dietary change like this. So we carried on with our dinner, went for an evening swim, and talked about other things until long after the sunset. All the while trying to decipher "Damianisms" - random little thoughts with quite deep meaning which seem to only come from her wonderful husband Damian. We'd been distracted and the topic didn't come up again the rest of the night.

Then, the next day while I was at home alone I started really thinking about it. Why would I want to become a vegetarian?

On the surface, there are all the generic answers, each of which is true:

Fried chicken and mashed potatoes
may not be good for my cholesterol.

• For health reasons - my cholesterol has slowly climbed over the years and my doc put me on a low-fat/low-cholesterol diet recently. Plus, it would kind of naturally put me in a position to eat more fruits & veggies since I'd be taking an entire food group out of my routine. Then there's the whole "mercury in my fish" thing... no Mad-Hatter life for me, thank you!
• For environmental reasons - hundreds of thousands of acres of corn crops used for animal feed... methane gases produced by cattle contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer... dirty runoff from livestock farms finding its way into our waterways. Who wants to swim in a not-quite-pristine lake full of parasitic intestinal organisms and diluted pig dung?
• For ethical reasons - commercial livestock farms often treat their animals poorly. There are usually far too many animals in far too little space. Their diets aren't appropriate for their needs. Workers have been known to abuse them. Genetic modification and/or breeding for particular "desirable" characteristics has resulted in things like chickens with breast muscles too large for their bodies. Hormones cause animals muscles to grow more quickly than their bones, which can result in crippling or death.
• Due to peer pressure - have you seen Food, Inc. or any of the dozens of other movies on the topic? 'Nuf said.

Medium-rare, please.

But none of those reasons has ever been enough to change my mind about my omnivorous desires. Sure, I've changed my habits over the years - free-range, cage-free, wild-caught, grass-fed, pasture-raised, hormone/antibiotic free - but I've always enjoyed a rich pasta sauce full of savory sausage; a tuna fish sandwich; a turkey meatloaf; or a steak from the grill. Mmmmmmm, steak!

No, what I realized was I loved my non-meat meals. A gorgeous, colorful salad with some cheese and hard-boiled egg crumbled on top. A pot of thick, lentil soup on a cold winters day. Cheese quesadillas. Spicy veggie stir fry served over sticky brown rice. Grilled bell peppers and portobello mushrooms. Oatmeal. Pasta. Hummus. Mmmmmm, hummus!

Yes, love to cook. 'Cuz tempeh
out of the package just doesn't work.

Although there are many health, environmental, ethical and societal reasons to become a vegetarian, for me it came down to the fact that I really loved the food. Loved it just as much as I loved meat. And when I added in all those other reasons, it seemed like a good idea. Yeah, those other reasons are probably the foundation of it all but, in the end, I would've never tried it if I didn't find the dishes incredibly palatable and also have a real passion for cooking. Because, one thing I know, if you're going to become a vegetarian you should probably love to cook. There are just far too few ready-to-eat options available to really keep me satisfied for long - or to provide all the nutritional requirements.

For any readers who aren't familiar, I don't want you to think I've sworn off animal products altogether. Due to my metabolism and this bike training, I have some pretty high protein requirements which is why I've decided to keep eggs & dairy in my diet. Plus, you don't just go run a marathon without first running a mile or two in training, right? So I chose a lacto-ovo vegetarian plan - milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs. All I decided to cut out was beef, pork, chicken, lamb and seafood of all types. If it had eyes, lungs or a brain, it was out.

A little lacto, a little ovo.

Honestly, I didn't swear off anything. I simply said I would try it for a week... seven days... baby steps. 'Cuz sometimes slow & steady wins the race. So  how'd I do?

Well, the first week was... simple. I made some lentil dhal and a yummy three-bean salad to stick in the fridge and have around for quick meals. When I craved a burger, I scrambled some eggs, threw in veggies, and topped it all with some cheese. The night I went out , had two drinks and got hungry on the way home, I stopped by the hole-in-the-wall Mexican joint and picked up a bean, cheese & rice burrito (with hot carrots & cucumbers - yum!). Ate granola in the morning and snacked on carrots with hummus in the afternoon. It went so well, I decided to do it for another week.

Steak even makes a salad look better!

Not as easy. Made another dhal - split-pea this time - which was just as good as the lentil one (actually, it was better), but legumes over rice can get boring. One night I was REALLY tired and didn't feel like cooking and the thought of running out for a burger almost caused me to cave. My food supplies were dwindling since I hadn't been shopping which resulted in very little variety in my menu. And my friends kept posting pics on Facebook of bacon wrapped shrimp, wet sloppy joes, and steak off the grill. Mmmmmm, steak!

Dhal can get dull.

But I held strong - and have made it two full weeks. After my experiences this past week, I went out shopping again but only after I had looked up a few new recipes to try out. I bought quinoa & arborio. Dark green Italian squash and golden sweet potatoes. New spices like garam masala & curry. And whole wheat pizza dough and pita bread. I now head into week three with such a variety of food options that I know I won't get bored. My grocery bill was less than it would normally be. And if we encounter an Armageddon or disastrous viral outbreak in the next couple weeks, I have enough food to live on for a couple months. Even more, I specifically looked up a recipe that would satisfy my "meat & potato" upbringing. Tonight, I will make fake "steak" cutlets with mashed sweet potatoes, veggie gravy and sauteed squash. I have a feeling it will look like a meal we're all familiar with but taken out of a sci-fi novel.

Or maybe it's just gaseous weight from all the beans?

Oh, and those who know me know I have huge challenges in gaining weight. That was one of my greatest anxieties about attempting this. But, I made sure to eat extra large portions and nibble on snacks throughout the day and my weight did more than maintain - I actually gained three pounds. To say the least, those anxieties have evaporated and knowing that weight is from organic, whole, unprocessed foods makes me feel even a little bit better.