Confession time: I’m a semi-vegetarian. ‘No such thing!’, you say? Oh, but there is. I don’t much like labels, anyway, but in order to find a recipe I have to type in ‘vegetarian’, so I’ll go with it. I became a vegetarian, initially, for one main reason: after the birth of Ninja, I couldn’t stomach meat. Literally. While I don’t actually get sick, it often feels like someone is stabbing me in the stomach with a dull knife for hours up to a full 24 hours after I eat. For a girl who loves a steak, this was a bit devastating. I like the idea of vegetarianism, and I love vegetarian food, but I was raised on meat and potatoes and sometimes I just really want a steak (medium rare, please?). My body disagrees, so I’ve bit the bullet and learned to listen. So when people say ‘Ohhhh, you’re vegetarian’ in that very ‘one of those people’ tones, I have to smirk. I didn’t cry at a PETA video and declare protest against factory farms. I didn’t read about all of the corn in ground beef and declare protest against corporate and government involvement in the crap-pi-fication (yes, I invented that word, just now), of our food. I simply got sick.
Now, since then, I’ve run across dozens upon dozens of reasons to be vegetarian. And, I’m going to share a few of them with you:
1. I’ve discovered some amazing foods since I’ve eliminated meat from my diet. I need sustenance, and salads just don’t cut it. I’m already a tiny little woman, and losing weight would just resound in a big ‘I told you vegetarianism isn’t healthy’ from my family. So, I dove into the world of online recipes and discovered more filling vegetarian foods. There are so many vegetables that I had never even tried. Asparagus and brussel sprouts are now foods I love instead of cringe at, and I even made roasted chickpeas for a snack a few weeks ago. Old Shai would have reached for Doritos. This leads me to the next point.
2. I’ve started making healthier choices about other foods I eat. Instead of chips and junk, I reach for hummus and organic baked crackers. Instead of cookies and honey buns, I bake homemade banana bread. I’m slowly cutting out not only everything non-vegetarian, but processed foods as well.
3. I am in complete control of what goes into my body, and it feels great. I no longer grab cupcakes because they taste good, but reach for something else because it’s good for me. I’ve never been much of a foodie, but even more so now I feel it is my job to nourish my body more than it is to give in to tasty, sugary, processed sweets.
4. ‘Boring’ foods taste great! I’ve always wondered how babies can stomach baby food – even the homemade food that I made for Ninja tasted so gross to me. Now that I’ve removed most artificial sweeteners and processed foods from my diet, I actually enjoy how real food tastes. I eat green peppers, even! I’ve hated green peppers since I was a kid. Ninja and I sat down with a spoon and ate baked pumpkin puree straight from the pumpkin a few weeks ago, and it was heaven. Before my diet change, I wouldn’t have liked anything but pumpkin pie mix from a can.
5. My life goals have changed. You heard me – life goals. Now that I know how awesome real foods are, I want to grow them myself. I was already very into self-sustainability, but the thought to grow my own food had never crossed my mind. Now that I can eat something out of the garden other than cucumbers and corn, I’m all about having a self-sustaining garden when I grow up.
Growing up, though..that one I’m not quite ready for. Baby steps.
Why do you like vegetarian meals? If you’re not a vegetarian, do you ever serve meatless meals to your own family?
My 17 year old son has been a vegetarian since he was 5…even as a baby he never liked the taste of meat. We cook a lot of dinners like pizza and spaghetti that meat can be easily added to seperately for the carnivores in the house. We keep rice and pasta dishes on hand for him for other nights. Like you it is entirely a matter of taste, so he doesnt care about anyone else’s meat consumption.
I was a vegetarian for about a year, and my reasons were quite similar to yours, though meat didn’t make me ill. I was mainly doing it for health reasons though. Then, while I was pregnant with my first son, I was craving meat SO bad and decided to give my body what it wanted.
I do think that we tend to overdo it with meat in general in our culture though. That’s why we do have meatless days quite often.
I have been a vegetarian for 10 years now. What sealed the deal for me was when I heard how much eating meat contributes to world hunger. I read that if ever American went vegetarian for one month, the leftover grain not used to raise the animals would be enough to feed the entire rest of the world for a YEAR.
When I saw your title, I knew I needed to read this! I am also a semi-vegetarian. Meat doesn’t make me sick but just a couple weeks ago I heard a discussion about meat and cancer and it really grossed me out. I no longer want to eat meat. I had already cut out a lot of meat in my diet because organic meat costs a lot. At home I cook NO meat, but my family would eat it at restaurants or friend’s houses. But now, I am still a little grossed out and am trying to stay away from meat. I agree that it takes time, but there are many great veggie dishes out their that are not boring. I am also not a big “fake” meat eater either…I just like things like veggies, beans, rice, grains, etc! Just a little creativity and these ingredients can go a long way!
I already eat less meat then a lot of people, and try to do meat-less days periodically, but I can’t seem to take the plunge and go meatless. Its a great thing though and the benefits are clearly working out for you!