October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. Since some time in September, my boyfriend and I decided to cut meat from our diet. We started out for health and weight loss but have since discovered many reasons to eat less meat. We’ve also found it’s not as hard as we thought it would be. Actually, it was easier for him than for me, but surprisingly, I’m finding I crave meat less and less as each week passes.
Our meals now contain more fiber and whole grains, and we’re eating more fruits and vegetables. In the past, when I’ve been on specific “diets,” I found the thought of eating greens – again and again – would make me sick. However, this time it’s different because it’s a lifestyle change and our menus are more diverse than ever.
But we’ve also discovered that just because our meals are vegetarian doesn’t make them all healthy. It’s tempting to load up on cheese, sour cream, butter and other ingredients to which you’re partial. Everything in moderation, as they say.
Going vegetarian has also brought us back to the Regional Market where we have shopped each weekend since we’ve started. Prices are better, produce is fresher – our only problem is getting so excited that we buy more than we can cook or eat before it goes bad.
And we still haven’t quite figured out what to do about going out. We did try Strong Hearts Cafe on East Genesee Street, which is completely vegan, and experienced nondairy cheese for the first time. I was pleasantly surprised at how good our “chicken wing” pizza was – but then again I’ve never met a pizza I didn’t like – but Tim was less enthusiastic.
While it’s easy to be vegetarian on your own, it becomes more complicated once friends and family are involved. Meat-free dishes are limited at most restaurants and you’re tempted by all your old favorites. When you’re at people’s houses, you also don’t want to impose on them by insisting on special requests. Our solution? We allow ourselves to make exceptions.
As for losing weight, going vegetarian has not led to shedding extra pounds as easily as we hoped it would. Maybe because we were already watching what we ate? I do, however, feel more energetic, so I guess I’ll just have to take all that extra energy and spend even more time at the gym. Ugh.
