For the month of February I have decided to try and go vegetarian. Or rather, to eat no meat. I am unable to quite pinpoint what led me to make this monumental decision, although I can remember the circumstances of the day that I made it. I was flipping through the channels trying to avoid watching the commercial breaks (note to advertisers: advertising doesn't work) when I happened upon Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall making a delicious quiche with onions, cheese, greens and samphire.
I wanted to get on the outside of that. Quite why my brain took the immediate leap to trying to eat vegetarian for a month, I am not sure. However, I am a firm believer in listening to what your body tells you to do, figuring that it knows best. Perhaps there's 10lb of undigested red meat packed into my colon, desperately trying to get out. Perhaps all of that bullshit wasn't bullshit all along (it is).
Nevertheless, I am excited about it. For now, at least. I haven't eaten anything yet and I've barely even thought about steaks at all. I really enjoy cooking (plus I am awesome at it) and I think that it will make me a more creative cook. Having to think a little bit harder about meals will throw up new challenges and, hopefully, new solutions. I have only one rule: no "fake" meat. No veggie burgers, no veggie sausages, no vegetarian mince in a vegetarian lasagne. I want to see what I can do with vegetables and pulses and cheese and flour and eggs and you really don't need me to list all constituent vegetarian food types.
I have never been vegetarian before, unlike a lot of the people I know. I am very interested to see what effects it has on all manner of things, not least upon the volume and regularity of my farts. Will I crack? I hope not. Will my body thank me? I hope so. I will be trying to document some of the exciting things that happen throughout the month, even if it's just a slow descent into insanity or a series of numbers corresponding to increments on the Bristol Stool Scale.
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5 comments:
James and I (and our siblings and their children) have been vegetarians for many years - you will truly feel the difference in your body and it is outstanding. If you're not going to eat "fake meat" then do make sure to supplement with beans, tofu, and/or other high protein foods so that you a) don't feel hungry and b) get what your body needs. Sidenote : a half a cup of beans has the same protein as a steak. Good luck, Ed! I'm really excited for you and I hope this becomes a long-term thing... for your health as well as for the "safety" of my furry and feathered friends. Ha!
My plan is to get my beans, pulses and grains on regularly. Hence the trepidation re. flatulence.
There are a lot of really nice vegetarian (or vegetarian-adaptable) recipes on this site: http://smittenkitchen.com/
Oh look, the first one is BEANS.
One thing I like is that it's just kind of easier. You buy a ton of vegetables and make awesome things with them. there's a lot less fuss about planning what to eat, buying it, making sure you eat it before it goes off, etc
that was me, by the way, leaving that comment
fearnley-whittingshall's veg recipes are excellent
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