Beans to the rescue.
I didn't think I would be tempted so quickly, but today was the first time I had a hard time being a vegetarian.
I let my daughter cook dinner. (One of the few perks about your children getting older.) She made ham steaks, mashed potatoes, broccoli, and pineapple chunks. As I was helping her get out the serving dishes, I realized how little food there was for me to eat. I looked around fro some more vegetarian friendly fare. What I found was a lot of canned beans. Navy beans, baked beans, red beans. Why did I have so many beans in my cabinet?
I grabbed a can of butter beans and requested that she add some beans to the menu. She did.
While the meat was cooking, I didn't mind, but when I saw everyone else carving their steaks I had to remind myself that I was being a vegetarian for a month. Wow, I didn't think I would crave meat so soon.
Showing posts with label be a vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label be a vegetarian. Show all posts
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Day 2
It's hard to stay focused when everyone is partying.
To celebrate my son's birthday, we went to a chain restaurant. (His choice. He turned 13, so I was thankful he didn't choose McDonalds.) Looking over the menu I realized there wasn't a vegetarian option. I was determined not to spoil my challenge on day 2, but I also didn't want to take away from his special day.
With no fan fare or complaining, I pieced together a "meal" of a garden salad and a side of mashed potatoes which was as filling and tasty as it sounds. I scoped the table for any vegetarian leftovers. On the one side of the table sat chicken wings, steak, hamburgers- nothing there. On the other side of the table was chicken alfredo, pot stickers, and - viola! Spinach dip.
I casually asked for a "taste" which was met with an enthusiastic "absolutely". As my tasting continued the owner of the spinach dip annoyingly pushed the plate in front of me saying, "I'm done." To which I answered, "Are you sure? Well, I don’t want it to go to waste." (I wonder how many meals I have overeaten on this one small excuse which is probably a leftover Freudian conditioning corralary to : clean your plate. There are people in (fill in the country) who are starving.)
Nevertheless, my second day as a vegetarian was a success especially since I was able to eat a large piece of birthday cake- guilt free! That was the best part of the day.
To celebrate my son's birthday, we went to a chain restaurant. (His choice. He turned 13, so I was thankful he didn't choose McDonalds.) Looking over the menu I realized there wasn't a vegetarian option. I was determined not to spoil my challenge on day 2, but I also didn't want to take away from his special day.
With no fan fare or complaining, I pieced together a "meal" of a garden salad and a side of mashed potatoes which was as filling and tasty as it sounds. I scoped the table for any vegetarian leftovers. On the one side of the table sat chicken wings, steak, hamburgers- nothing there. On the other side of the table was chicken alfredo, pot stickers, and - viola! Spinach dip.
I casually asked for a "taste" which was met with an enthusiastic "absolutely". As my tasting continued the owner of the spinach dip annoyingly pushed the plate in front of me saying, "I'm done." To which I answered, "Are you sure? Well, I don’t want it to go to waste." (I wonder how many meals I have overeaten on this one small excuse which is probably a leftover Freudian conditioning corralary to : clean your plate. There are people in (fill in the country) who are starving.)
Nevertheless, my second day as a vegetarian was a success especially since I was able to eat a large piece of birthday cake- guilt free! That was the best part of the day.
Day 1
I like vegetables and they like me- so being a vegetarian for a month should be easy.
Today it was.
Today it was.
Monday, May 3, 2010
May Challenge: Lose 10 pounds
This month's challenge: To Be A Vegetarian
For three years I lived in a small mining village in northeast England. The town center had a pub, and "the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker" only the candlestick maker was the booking agent (betting shop). The florist not only offered flowers but also fresh fruit and was known as the green grocer. The butcher shop was between the green grocer and the betting shop.
I loved to walk and shop (mostly window shopping as we were on a student budget), but I was not prepared for the day I walked into the butcher shop. First the smell was choking. It didn't stink, but was an unidentifiable stench. I gagged as I walked in. I looked in the refrigerated case. I had never seen meat so red. I looked to my left and emerging from a small doorway was the butcher clad in stereotypical white from neck to ankle with red everywhere in between. I couldn't buy anything. I walked out.
After that I couldn't eat meat for a while. Every time I would pick up a piece of chicken all I could notice was that I was eating something on a bone. I was eating an animal. I had never had that realization before. It made me nauseous.
For a few months I was a vegetarian by choice. Then the day came when I had to have fish. (After all who can resist fish and chips in England!) My aversion to red meat lingered a little longer.
I stopped buying groceries from the town center and started taking the bus to Sainsbury's for all of my shopping. It was a much more civilized experience, and one that I was more accustomed to. It was a grocery store with a bakery and a meat department. The meat department wasn't scary. All the steaks looked neatly packaged and pinkish. The ground beef was plastic wrapped perfection. The only strange smells came from overzealous perfume spraying shoppers.
Over time I began to crave meat again. The small neatly packaged offerings in the meat department grew harder to resist and one day I bought a package of ground beef to add to spaghetti sauce. It was hidden, mixed in, undetectable really. Besides, the meat was already there. Somebody had to buy it.
And so ended my vegetarian lifestyle then only to be resurrected years later. I lived inI realized that part of the reason I was drawn to the hot yoga challenge was the fact that I wanted to lose weight. According to the scale, I lost (drum roll, please) a total of 4 pounds last month. That's okay, but I want to lose a lot more. So, this month's challenge: lose 10 pounds in 30 days.
If you are following along with my little experiment, here is the official "warning": Before you begin any exercise or diet program, consult your doctor. This website is not intended to give medical or psychological advice. Okay, so there you go.
For three years I lived in a small mining village in northeast England. The town center had a pub, and "the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker" only the candlestick maker was the booking agent (betting shop). The florist not only offered flowers but also fresh fruit and was known as the green grocer. The butcher shop was between the green grocer and the betting shop.
I loved to walk and shop (mostly window shopping as we were on a student budget), but I was not prepared for the day I walked into the butcher shop. First the smell was choking. It didn't stink, but was an unidentifiable stench. I gagged as I walked in. I looked in the refrigerated case. I had never seen meat so red. I looked to my left and emerging from a small doorway was the butcher clad in stereotypical white from neck to ankle with red everywhere in between. I couldn't buy anything. I walked out.
After that I couldn't eat meat for a while. Every time I would pick up a piece of chicken all I could notice was that I was eating something on a bone. I was eating an animal. I had never had that realization before. It made me nauseous.
For a few months I was a vegetarian by choice. Then the day came when I had to have fish. (After all who can resist fish and chips in England!) My aversion to red meat lingered a little longer.
I stopped buying groceries from the town center and started taking the bus to Sainsbury's for all of my shopping. It was a much more civilized experience, and one that I was more accustomed to. It was a grocery store with a bakery and a meat department. The meat department wasn't scary. All the steaks looked neatly packaged and pinkish. The ground beef was plastic wrapped perfection. The only strange smells came from overzealous perfume spraying shoppers.
Over time I began to crave meat again. The small neatly packaged offerings in the meat department grew harder to resist and one day I bought a package of ground beef to add to spaghetti sauce. It was hidden, mixed in, undetectable really. Besides, the meat was already there. Somebody had to buy it.
And so ended my vegetarian lifestyle then only to be resurrected years later. I lived inI realized that part of the reason I was drawn to the hot yoga challenge was the fact that I wanted to lose weight. According to the scale, I lost (drum roll, please) a total of 4 pounds last month. That's okay, but I want to lose a lot more. So, this month's challenge: lose 10 pounds in 30 days.
If you are following along with my little experiment, here is the official "warning": Before you begin any exercise or diet program, consult your doctor. This website is not intended to give medical or psychological advice. Okay, so there you go.
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