7.06.2011

Have you hugged your asparagus today?

pic courtesy of the Michigan Farmer's Market.  They really know how to grow 'em!

The votes have been cast and the decision is made.  Vive la vegetarian!  Today begins my month eating vegetarian.  I have toyed with the idea of vegetarianism for a while now.  A couple of years, in fact.  The reason why is sort of simple:  I do not like handling raw meat.  Ground beef and raw chicken gross me out.  I sort of gag just thinking about raw chicken.  Pink, slimy chicken with those little bits of fat...and sometimes a red veiny thing...  Eww sick I am grossing myself out just writing those words.

So handling raw meat is pretty ick to me.  And a couple of years ago I started thinking "what else in my life grosses me out so much, but is still ignored?".  I mean, I get sort of ill handling raw chicken but I ignore that every time and just prepare it and eat it anyway.  This isn't exactly consistent with most other areas of my life.  I don't think that everything we do must be pleasant.  I mean:

I change diapers every day.
I clean my bathroom every Monday.
I exercise and good grief that is not all that enjoyable.

But with all of those things at least there is a payoff that makes the discomfort or effort worthwhile. 

Clean diaper=happy, stink-free child. 
Clean bathroom=enjoyable bathroom experience and lack of shame when visitors come over.  Exercise=lower stress level and less overall jiggling of the body parts that are not meant to jiggle. 

The payoff for eating chicken and beef doesn't feel that great to me.  I enjoy it, but only if I sort of turn a blind eye to the preparation of it.

So yeah.  In the spirit of being fairly consistent with why I do what I do, I am motivated to cut the meat out.  That, and an overwhelming 66% of blog readers voted in my handy poll to change one thing in my diet this month. 

i prefer to eat fruits and vegetables that have been grouped by color.  thanks.

One reservation I have had in this has been the inconvenience or discomfort to other people.  I always wonder how frequently vegetarians have to sort of apologize for not eating meat, if they show up to an occasion and the main course is steak or something.  The host(ess) has prepared the meal, did not necessarily think to ask about diet considerations (which is becoming a more assumed question lately, I think), and the vegetarian has to try to be polite and considerate, but decline the main portion of the meal that was prepared for him or her.  I sort of cringe at that, but also don't really know how often that happens.  Or how big of a deal it really is. 

How exciting- this month I might experience that very thing and see how awkward I actually feel!  Quick!  Someone in Charlottesville- invite me over and prepare a big fat steak!  Let's put it to the test!

Maybe one week I will also cut out sugar.  Although, in the spirit of full disclosure, I don't really know what people mean when they say that.  Does that just mean no more sugar in my coffee and no candy?  That's a cinch.  Seems too easy.  Or does that mean reading labels and not eating anything with -ose as an ingredient (fructose, sucrose, dextrose)?  That would definitely up the ante. 

6 comments:

  1. I hear you on the raw chicken, though my bigger problem is when dealing with a whole chicken. When I can tell where something's head was once attached, it makes me all too aware of the fact that it was once a living, breathing creature. Still eat em up, though, and ain't gonna stop.
    I am going "no sugar" this week, which for me has meant no sweet tea (which was way too common in my life, it seems), no afternoon snack of almonds and dark chocolate chips, no cereal, no sopapilla at the mexican restaurant earlier this week, etc. I'm still using my coffee creamer, whose second ingredient is sugar, but- whatever. It's my thing.

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  2. How is day three of no sugar week going? Do you notice any difference in your energy level or mood? Tell tell.

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  3. I've toyed with this idea too! Good luck--I'm interested to see how it goes :).

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  4. Katherine, I'm glad you found my post. It's been about 4 months, and it's actually stopped shedding completely. It's still as beautiful as the day we got it, and it's amazingly comfy. I love sitting on it. I will definitely vouch for the quality. Mine was a little over $200 for the 5x8, and I wouldn't think twice about doing it again. Good luck!

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  5. This sounds like a fun one. I was a vegetarian for 2.5 years in college and now I don't know if I could do it again. I'd be fine myself, but it's hard when you have a family to cook for. Good luck!

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  6. The crappy thing is, I went no-sugar in the same week I caught a cold. So, I couldn't tell a difference AT ALL in my energy level. More than anything, I realized how often I mindlessly grab something sugary and I stopped before doing it. I only flubbed up once, when I ate a fortune cookie without thinking- and I don't even like them! I did discover during the weekend, when I nibbled on sweets here and there at a baby shower and party at church, that they didn't taste as good to me as they had in the weeks and months before when I just couldn't get enough of them. So...those were good things.

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