So that was the last time I enjoyed my mother's turkey, a recipe passed on by three generations.
This November will mark four years of this journey, which has had it's ups and downs to say the least. This post if for people who are transitioning into vegetarianism and want some understanding.
Now, I cannot say I never ate meat after my decision. About 8 months after I started my meat-free diet (to be clear, I am a pesco-lacto-ovo vegetarian) I decided to try eating meat again. Honestly I don't remember why I wanted to go back but I did. I started out with a Publix ham and turkey sub. Gross. One of my once favorite things tasted so different to me. I figured OK, maybe I just need to get used to it. I made picadillo, a latin dish made of ground beef. The meal came out great but when I tasted it, it just didn't feel right. The last thing I ate before I ran back to my vegetarian lifestyle was a chicken salad- I couldn't even finish it. I took the chicken out and just ate the salad.
Throughout that time period I had a couple more slip ups, like taking a bite out of my brothers "sausage" dog at a Santana concert, or accidentally eating a meat taco that my friend ordered instead of my bean one. I ate the entire taco, was definitely too drunk to notice the difference. EVERYONE slips up once or twice. But the consistency in my life got better. I started eating fast food MUCH less, stopped replacing meat with MORE carbs, and recognized that I needed to learn more about food.
I became vegetarian because I love fruits and vegetables! So I needed to get myself acquainted with the food group. I began juicing at the beginning of this year and HOLY SHIT what an amazing addition to my diet. I have a profound belief in finding a diet for life. Something you can stick to day in and day out. And I have found mine.
I want to share with you my love of cooking, stories from my life, and some advice (which will hopefully help!).
People ask me all the the time, WHY? Why don't you eat meat? I can never answer because there truly are too many answers! It started out as a challenge to myself. I really just wanted to see if I had the will power to do it. And it morphed from there. I do eat fish sometimes, I eat cheese, some dairy products and eggs. ALL other animal foods I do not eat. I do it for my health, to help the Earth by not adding to pollution caused by animal farming, because of the cruelty to animals in the farming industry in America. When I buy fish I buy responsibly farmed or wild caught. I try to buy organic produce and food as much as possible. I am not perfect and I am not rich so this can become difficult but I try my best to buy the cleanest, most responsibly farmed food I can find.
After all, you are what you eat.
Are you vegetarian? Have you thought about becoming one? Give me your thoughts. Let's discuss.
-Kat
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