To be or not to be.... a vegetarian

I tried being a full on vegetarian. Then, I smelled fresh cooked bacon and it was game over. My sister and I discussed the real possibility of bacon scented candles. Subsequently, the likeliness that someone (perhaps one of us) would eat the wax. Given those possibilities, I gave in and ate the bacon.

Choosing what you eat makes a huge impact on your overall health. I had attempted to be a vegetarian...I went all out too. I went to Whole Foods and purchased the Eziekel Breads- Eziekel Foods for Life (if you've never tried them, they are delicious- just make sure to keep them in the freezer until use because they are made from sprouted wheat, the bread will mold over on the counter within a day or so). I bought the Tofutti Cream Cheese. I bought only soy milk,  rice dream ice cream, the organic frozen dinners made with soy cheeze (yeah, I laughed at that one too).  I really, really tried. My naturopath m.d. had recommended a vegetarian diet for me due to the obscene amount of sinus/upper respiratory infections I was getting. I tried, really hard... I spent alot of money on those things too. I felt a thousand percent better... but then, after doing bloodwork and other tests again, she said I wasnt getting enough protein and to introduce some of it back into my lifestyle. My choices included chicken, pork and fish/shellfish. I omitted beef completely from my diet.



Beef and I have a longstanding love/hate relationship with each other.  I used to LOVE getting a delicious burger with all the fun stuff on it... mushrooms, avocado, cheese, mmm. But, what I didnt love was those  (what my friend and I refer to as) the gnardy pieces. Yeah, you know which ones I'm talking about. You bite into your burger and you hit a piece of either grizzle or bone shard or something that is not supposed to be in your glorious burger. I used to get so grossed out by that, I wouldnt eat the rest of whatever I had in fear of another gnardy piece. But, on rare occasions I would have the most perfect burger ever. And, it would remind me on how wonderful it was, as it was compacting its way into the shape of a brick only to take residence in my intestines for 3-5 days. Yes, the inevitable gut brick. I would walk around unhappy for days until it vacated premises, usually needing an eviction notice. Damn squatters!

My choice to eat chicken/pork/fish/shellfish is mine alone. I call myself a semi vegetarian. I prefer to eat vegetarian foods, but I know when I need the protein to go to the source. If you look in my freezer right now, you will see equal quantities of Boca and Morningstar Farms to real meat. Although, I live with a meat eater. He and I have both made compromises. I dont buy beef anymore. If I do, its specifically for him, usually with the intent for tacos. I make myself a bean burrito. However, in our compromises, he eats the Morningstar Farms Veggie Corndogs and has also had some of the Boca Chick'n Patties (in sandwiches). When we go out, I will usually order my staple food if I dont know what I want; a grilled cheese sandwich. Or, if I know they are good, a veggie burger. If you live in the Phoenix area, I know a few places that make some bomb veggie burgers- Azools in very north Phoenix and Brokers in Scottsdale.

I have gone days on end without eating any meat- focusing only on the vegetarian aspect of cooking. Then, at least in my circumstance, I start getting run down, exhausted, tired.. not enough protein. For me, my compromise as the cook in the house is to eat vegetarian all day, until dinner. Dinner will consist of a meat, a veggie and sometimes a grain- rice, baked potato, etc. There are benefits to being a vegetarian, besides supporting the animals. You usually are healthier, weigh about 10% less than your counterpart and most veggies are affordable. The downfall? If you are vegetarian, cookies and cake have no meat in them.

Ultimately, its your choice on what you eat, I've mentioned that repeatedly on here... But, you have to be willing to try something new. Today, for instance, I tried the Silk Pure Coconut Milk. Its really good.  People turn their noses up at me when I mention Veggie Corndogs. I got my meat eating man to eat them. There are a lot of options to explore when preparing a healthy menu for your family. A great option to do this is to find a Co-Op near you, (I have used Bountiful Baskets) to get a basket of produce for the week. Its less than 20 bucks and its half fruit, half veggies. You have no idea what you're going to get, but its definitely more than 20 bucks of stuff.  When you get a produce basket like that, you're forced to find recipes for things you would never have thought of, never have made. Try searching food sites, such as Allrecipes.com or Foodnetwork.com to see if there are any recipes with what you have on hand. I found a great chicken recipe that I tried out a few weeks ago that came out wonderful- I just modified the recipe to what ingredients I had in the house at the time.

But you have to be willing to try something new! Trader Joes has a spicy eggplant wrap with a tahini sauce to dip it in that is wonderful, but one time I went and someone had literally bought the last 4 for people in their office. So, I tried the spicy lentil wrap... I actually prefer it now over the eggplant wrap.
I would have never known that if I didnt get there when all of the eggplant wraps were gone. I was put in a situation to make a decision...and even though it didnt sound good, it didnt look as appealing, it paid off.

I would have never considered being a vegetarian before I started losing weight, never considered eating veggie bacon or drinking soy milk...Just understand that the imprint of what you eat is also going to reflect in your child's eating habits too. My nana mentioned to me a few weeks ago that she didnt really eat alot of vegetables growing up because her mother didnt like them so she didnt serve them- in turn, she still rarely eats vegetables because she doesnt have a taste for them and doesnt know how to prepare alot of them because her mother never showed her. Well, my mom made sure when we were growing up that we had a meat, veggie and grain on the table and every meal was served with milk. End of story. Mama said! And, that tradition is now being carried out in my house.

Are you a vegetarian? Vegan? Do you prefer to eat veggies over meat? What's your favorite vegetarian meal?