Last year, sometime in mid-February, I became a vegetarian.
I don’t remember the exact date that I last ate meat. I had been eating less and less with the idea of going meatless. At some point, after eating no meat for a few days, I decided to keep on going.
I don’t eat animal flesh of any kind, including seafood.
I stopped eating meat chiefly because I just couldn’t eat animals anymore. I’ve done a lot of reading about the meat industry and factory farming, and I don’t like it. It’s not necessary for me to eat meat to live. And the bond with animals that I have makes it unethical for me to eat them.
Vegetable fajita quesadilla at El Cazador
Let me say now that I am a vegetarian for my own reasons, but I don’t think everyone should follow my example. I don’t judge others if they eat meat.
My husband is a true carnivore. He loves steak, pork chops, country ham, etc. I think he eats too much meat, but that’s because I am concerned about the health effects.
Choripollo at El Cazador
I do wish that all those who eat meat would be more mindful about where it comes from. And I think all of us should be mindful of where all of our food comes from and eat it with gratitude.
I thought I would lose more weight than I have being vegetarian, but I’ve learned that calories are calories. I eat too many simple carbohydrates and too much processed food and just . . . too much food.
I’m trying to change that. I’m trying to learn more about what foods to eat to get all the nutrients I need.
I do think my digestive system works better overall without meat.
Anything I do for overall good health is going to help me in dealing with my OCD and depression.
It hasn’t been difficult for me to give up meat. And I’m happy to say that I really haven’t obsessed about it. I’ve ended up ingesting some meat accidentally when it was part of a dish I was eating, and I didn’t panic or think I had to start all over again.
Being vegetarian has been a learning experience. My husband adjusted well. He understands how I feel. When we’re choosing a restaurant to eat at, he kindly considers places where there are choices for me.
Today we had lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant, El Cazador. I had a vegetable fajita quesadilla. He had choripolla, a dish with chicken and sausage.
We’re eating late tonight. I’m having a frozen dinner that I love: Amy’s Indian Mattar Paneer, which is curried peas and cheese with rice and chana masala, with rice, tomatoes and peas. Larry is having hot wings.
Oh, I LOVE Amy's frozen meals. Yummy! You're making me hungry right now. : )
ReplyDeleteI could eat the Indian dinner every day. So delicious!! And healthy, too.
DeleteI love that you and your husband can coexist without changing each other. That's awesome.
ReplyDeleteI, for one, have found my liking for meat is getting less and less. In fact, for the most part I don't enjoy it...at all. On the other hand, my husband is a lot like yours....meat meat and more meat. yeah....
So...we usually do half and half. I try to cook as many meatless meals as i can. When i do cook with meat, I try to replace some of the meat, if possible, with beans or other protein.
It works for us. Too much meat is just not good for you.
Melanie, That sounds like a good compromise. I've talked with Larry about him doing a meatless day every week, maybe on Monday--meatless Monday.
ReplyDeleteI've been vegetarian since about 1993, and I'm close to vegan these days. My latest change is the simple carbs. I have such a sweet tooth and I love bread! Trying to eliminate white flour and sugar out has been tougher for me than meat by far! But I've seen the positive impacts on my dad since a health scare led him to cut the simple carbs out, and I'm trying harder!
ReplyDeleteAnn, I love bread, too, and sweets. It's so hard for me not to eat them! But I think it would really help my health if I cut way down on them.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be vegan. But I would have a hard time giving up cheese and eggs. I could do without the milk. I hope gradually I can change over.
Amy's has some great frozen foods, don't they? I like their cheese enchiladas. Yummo!! I'm not a die-hard vegetarian but I don't eat a lot of meat. I have a 21 year old daughter who's been a vegetarian since she was 16 for many of the same reasons you shared. She loves animals and can't stand the thought of eating their flesh. It is awfully gross when you think about it. Kudos to you. I hope this lifestyle continues to bring you satisfaction.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your comments, Grace. That's what I did for a long time--ate just a little meat until I was ready to go meatless.
DeleteI don't eat a lot of meat...very little really. I do eat chicken for protein but it was the 80's the last time I ate beef and I don't miss it a bit...those dishes look delicious!
ReplyDeleteEl Cazador is our favorite. The food is delicious and the atmosphere is friendly. It's our second home! :-)
DeleteHm......I think I smell a food blog on the horizon! Love the new look of this blog!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Janet! Food blog? That would be cool, except . . . I don't cook very much. But maybe with the CBT, that will change. One can hope! :-)
ReplyDelete