New Horizons: Two weeks without meat

So I’ve been a vegetarian for two weeks. I know I know, this is slightly shocking and maybe a little hypocritical months after assembling and promptly devouring a Turducken, but it’s been something I’ve been thinking about for a while. As a small disclaimer, I will say that this is a temporary lifestyle adjustment, which I know makes me even more hypocritical, but I feel like I have some valid reasons.

I have been rather restless lately, and have been feeling like my life was in desperate need of change, more accurately a change of my choosing. I can’t control if and where I get into graduate school, and I certainly had no control over my unexpected move, and I really felt like I needed to change something in my life, and change it for the better. It seemed like a great time too, as CBS had been running a news piece about the use of antibiotics in meat (which totally grossed me out!) Frankly, as a person who recently recovered from a gnarly staph infection, I was less than thrilled by the fact that animals are being pumped full of antibiotics, and developing resistant strains of MRSA. And so I gave up meat… at least until May 1st. Though I know I don’t need to justify my temporary journey into a meat free existence, I feel as though I need to at least explain. May 11th and 12th I am going to Fenway Park for the very first time, and I refuse to go on this monumental trip without eating a hot dog. It would be basically sacrilegious to go all that way, to live that experience, and to deny myself that indulgence. Who knows, maybe it will just be a week long hiatus from my vegetarian life style, or maybe those fenway dogs will be the gateway drug into summer meat consumption, who knows, but I suppose I will cross that bridge when I come to it. 

Let me just say, that I realize this isn’t a huge stretch for me. Minus the Turducken, I don’t actually cook a lot of meat for myself. I spent the first nine years of my life as a vegetarian, and as a result developed a liking towards all sorts of leafy greens, and fake meat products. I have quite a few friends who are either vegetarian or vegan, and we often cook meals or go out together, so really this has been an almost effortless transition. And I’ve already been on a lentil kick for the past two months, so making the final step into vegetarianism hasn’t been too hard Really the only time that I eat meat it when dining out, or snacking on an occasional slice of turkey, or when my mom makes something tantalizing like meatloaf. Even when I go to Burgerville nine times out of ten I end up ordering a spicy black bean burger, so saying goodbye to meat hasn’t been very difficult. (Though 2 days after I gave up meat my mom made meatloaf…. And last night a pot roast. Good lord they smelled delicious!) 

So I’ve been meat free for two weeks, and feeling great. Though I have had more energy, I’m not sure how much of that I can attribute to the veggie diet and how much I can attribute to the week of sunny weather we had here. What I have noticed is that after each meal, I feel really satiated without feeling grossly full. 

 

A scrumptious salad

I’ve actually really enjoyed trying new recipes, and figuring out what vitamins I need. Nutritional Yeast is my new favorite addition to just about anything! Hello B Vitamins! Plus it adds a certain je ne sais quoi, to things like salads and mashed potatoes. 

Of course now that I have an extensive deck, I’m already planning out my summer container gardens, and am dreaming about the salads and dishes that are going to be a delicious result. There is something undeniably satisfying about eating vegetables from your own garden! And yes, I’ve even been eating more tofu! It’s all about the marinating, and the seasoning. I found a recipe in Real Simple for Vegetarian Tacos, with corn, spinach crumbled tofu, salsa and goat cheese (I added black beans also) and they were fantastic! (but really for those of you tofu doubters, please do yourself a favor and order something at Thai Country with tofu, it will change your life and your outlook on this soy protein). Tonight I made pasta with leeks, peas, and lima beans. So Tasty.

So I'm armed with vegetarian cookbooks, creativity, and I’m optimistic that my stint as a vegetarian is going to be nothing but delicious.  Really, with cookbooks like "The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest" how can I go wrong?

Tonight's delicious dinner