Whenever I fly I like to purchase magazines to read on the plane. For my flight to and from Pittsburgh I purchased a couple of People magazines and an US or something along those lines. In each magazine was something in regards to vegetarians. One magazine had a huge article about a woman who had written a cookbook on vegetarian recipes. Another magazine had a page on the different types of vegetarians, and another one talked about how healthy a lifestyle it was and how more and more people were tuning in and becoming vegetarian. I read about the ways in which to get protein and the accompanying vegetable photos were colorful and made me hungry.
So I decided to become a vegetarian (albeit one who eats dairy and eggs). For one month.
I began the Tuesday I returned from Pittsburgh. I ate an egg and an english muffin for breakfast. I had a salad for lunch. That night we went to the grocery so that I could load up on vegetarian groceries and get sub sandwiches for dinner. I ordered my usual turkey forgetting I was vegetarian.
Madison: "I thought you were going to eat vegetarian."
Me: "Oh my god! Why didn't you say something before he made it? I forgot. Oh, well, I'll be a vegetarian starting tomorrow."
So I became a vegetarian on Wednesday. I have had lots of support.
Darcy's classmate's father: "Tom, do you call it eating at your house or grazing?"
Another father: "Cara, I have a little something for you in case you get hungry on the drive home." He opens his hand and gives me leaves he has pulled off a bush.
Madison has been helpful. Together she and I make different types of salads. She looked up a black bean burger recipe, and we made it. It was actually good, a tad dry, but that's because I got carried away with the bread crumbs. Darcy declared it too spicy. Tom thought it fine and very filling.
Tom: "It is sitting right here in my stomach."
I ordered a vegetable pizza, minus the mushrooms, the other night and even ate the diced tomatoes sitting on top. I find that I am trying more foods that before I would have turned my nose up at. I ate a spinach and egg white burrito yesterday morning. I'm planning on making vegetarian appetizers for our upcoming Halloween party.
So far I haven't noticed any difference other than an increase and regularity in my bowel habits. As everyone who knows me well knows I'm not embarrassed to discuss fecal matters. I haven't lost weight. I don't feel more energetic. I don't feel healthier. I do find that being a vegetarian requires more work. Whipping up a turkey sandwich is certainly easier then a salad for lunch. A salad makes more meals; however, and I've learned to adapt so that the leftovers can be served that night for dinner.
I craved bacon in the beginning. Now I crave a big, juicy hamburger. I had a small slip when I ordered baked potato soup and it came with chopped bacon on top. Perhaps it was unconscious. I ate the damn soup anyway and don't count the small amount. I bet it was tofu anyway.
It has only been a week so I don't think I can draw any conclusions just yet. I'm determined to make it a month, but I find that the longer I go the more I want to eat meat. In the beginning I enjoyed the novelty. Now I just want the hamburger. There are no easy choices in the fast food department and that is when I became a pescatarian, one who eats fish, although I'm not sure most pescatarians would consider McDonald's fillet o' fish as acceptable.
I'm not sure I can make it the entire month, but I'm certainly giving it the old college try. It might make a good science project topic down the road for my kids if it doesn't make me a healthier and happier individual. Either way...it gives me a blog topic.
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