so... I'm thinking of going vegetarian.
okay okay... cool down!
but in all seriousness, I do think about becoming a vegetarian. I rarely eat meat. And the way animals are treated in the meat and dairy industry turns my stomach. And Chandelle's blog about vegan cooking makes my mouth water. But then... so does steak, and shrimp jambalaya, and hot italian sausage ("bloody hypocrite!"). could I give it up? Probably. It's funny, I am be more inclined to give up meat than to give up sampling wine and beer and other Word of Wisdom objectionables. But my dear lover thinks differently about meat. I would have to spend a lot of time making very convincing yummy meals to pull it off, and I currently don't spend a lot of time cooking or planing meals.
I do spend extra money trying to buy off my guilt by getting cage free eggs and free range milk... but in the back of my mind I am sure that my extra dollars haven't really made much difference in the lives of the animals who's products I consume.
baby steps...
("damn hypocrite!!!") (hey, shut up! give me a break!)
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3 comments:
whoa. i feel so scandalized right now. that asparagus especially made my eyebrows raise. ;)
thanks for the plug for my blog, though i've had to let it fall by the wayside for a while. i'm getting back into it, though.
you can do it. i truly believe that anybody can do it given the commitment and a well-planned diet that tastes great. but i think the best thing is to ease into it. it works for some people to just dive right in, but i don't think it's sustainable for most people. i was semi-vegetarian (meaning that i really wanted to be vegetarian but i slipped a lot) for almost two years before i went vegan. i went vegan all at once and the detox was hard. i've been completely vegetarian and probably 95% vegan for three years now, but i still slipped sometimes - mainly in pregnancy when i'd eat anything that will stay down. it's a work in progress and i really think that's the best way to approach it. i've had to learn to be gentler with myself and not beat myself up if i have a chocolate chip cookie at a birthday party. it's typical and possibly even a positive step to go overboard and militant in the initial veg period, and then to settle somewhere in the moderate when you grow into it a bit. you do have to basically learn how to cook, and how to eat, all over again - having decent cooking skills and an adventurous palate make it a lot easier. and it's important to avoid the fallacy of assuming that if it's vegan, it must be healthy. it's possible for your entire diet as a vegan to be deep-fried, ya know? :) the search for valid information about health and nutrition is endless any time you have a specific diet, and that can be a real challenge.
anyway, i think it's a wonderful initiative. going vegan completely changed my life, extending into every aspect of my personhood and compelling me to consider every other decision i make as well. and i do believe that my children are so good-natured and amazingly healthy because of their diet. i think that most of the time when a veg diet fails for someone, it's because it wasn't well-planned. everyone has different needs and it's important to address those, i believe, whether you have a specific diet or not. if you are up for the challenge, i recommend checking out "conscious eating" by gabriel cousens. it's a hefty book, basically a textbook, and some of it is kind of kooky, but you'll learn more about yourself and your individual needs than you can possibly imagine. just the self-tests could be useful for you. and if you need more of a catalyst, try john robbins' "the food revolution" and "healthy at 100," and "the china study" by t. colin campbell. i love robbins' work - he's so positive, not condemning or treating food as an enemy like some other writers do.
and don't hesitate to drop me a line if you ever have a question! nutritional consultations will be a huge part of my career, after all - i should get practice in sometimes. :)
long comment! sorry about that.
thanks chandelle!
I may just drop you a line... but i have also enjoyed getting recipies and ideas from your blog.
my main problem is, as you said, not having our meals well planned (or a well planned shoping list either).
it would be a good step for me just to know what is going to be for dinner before it gets to be 6pm.
but I think that is a step I need to take.
sigh. sadly, i think that is also a lifelong lesson to be learned. i am still terrible about planning meals. or rather, i do at least plan them now, but whether i FOLLOW the plan...
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