Hi everyone!
Today’s post is going to be a bit more personal than past posts, I will be talking about my experience being a vegetarian, and my hopeful future to becoming vegan. For those of you who are thinking of becoming vegetarian, I hope you find this useful!
I became a vegetarian two years ago. I didn’t do it for the environmental reasons, or the animal cruelty reasons, but an obscure health reason. My philosophy was that becoming vegetarian would force me to watch what I was eating, which in turn would help me realize the other junk food I was eating and stop eating that too. So, I used my meat-free diet to lose weight, and it worked! I lost ten pounds in my first year being a vegetarian!
For me, going vegetarian was actually surprisingly easy. The first month or so, probably less, I struggled. I was tempted to eat meat again but I never gave in. I started cooking a lot of my own meals which helped a lot. Going out to restaurants today can sometimes be a challenge, but most restaurants do have a lot of great vegetarian options. I used to hate Indian food, but since I became a vegetarian it is my favorite (next to sushi), because it has the most food I can eat! I also buy a lot of frozen fake meats. Morning Star and Gardein are my favorite brands, they have a lot of products that taste exactly like the meat they are mimicking. They are also packed with protein, but the bad part is they are highly processed. I hope this summer to wane off of these and maybe eat them once or twice a week, as I transition to a more plant-based diet.
For me, becoming vegetarian was the best dietary choice I’ve ever made. It has made me a lot healthier of a person throughout, not just because of not eating meat but also because it has made me more aware of the other junk food I was eating as well. I always knew in the back of my mind it was probably better for the environment, and good for the animals (you know, supply and demand), but actually reading up on it, and how disgustingly addicted our world is to meat, has made me not have any desire at all to eat meat anytime soon. At this point, two years later, it is such a habit and a big part of my identity as a whole that I just don’t really have any desire to eat meat, because, well, I know I’m fine without it.
Wait, wait, so, do I still know what meat tastes like? Like, do I know what I’m missing out on. Sadly, yes. I have actually had a few slip ups in the past two years (none recently, thank god) where I have accidentally eaten meat. The most recent was when I ate a frittata that I didn’t know had ham in it until I was halfway done. When people ask questions like this, “do you even know what meat tastes like? Like, do you know what you’re missing out on?” I respond with this: of course I know what meat tastes like. I wasn’t born a vegetarian and I’m not allergic to meat. I know exactly what it feels like eating a nice oily, salty piece of bacon that my mom would make on Sunday mornings. My dad is an amazing chef, and I still vividly remember the mouth-watering skirt steak he used to make on the grill. My favorite meat to eat was proscuitto. I always tell people if I were to eat meat again, it would be only to have proscuitto. But I won’t. Although I know that these meats taste amazing, there are plenty of non-meat foods that taste amazing too. In my opinion, the ten seconds of deliciousness in my mouth while I chew isn’t worth the environmental and health consequences, along with the fact that the animal I am eating probably lived a miserable and abusive life.
So, what’s next for me? Going vegan has actually been a lot harder than I had anticipated. I am a lot more attached to having cream in my coffee than I thought. I also am a sucker for a good omelette (my favorite is with red pepper flakes, broccoli, onions, and cheddar cheese). My summer goal is to wane off of dairy, and hopefully a year from now, eggs. My diet is constantly changing, and that is the fun part of being a vegetarian! Finding new ideas and ways to meet my self-imposed restrictions makes every meal worthwhile.
Feel free to leave any comments asking me any questions you have about vegetarianism, I will be happy to answer!
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“It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” -Eleanor Roosevelt.
Recyclopath 