On Vegetarianism

A couple Sundays ago (March 30th) I started a little vegetarianism experiment. This was mostly inspired by a post by Mark on his blog, and also a follow-up conversation with Mark at lunch. This is the portion that triggered my experiment:

By fasting from particular foods, I become more conscious of the food I do eat. How much am I eating? Why am I eating? In the same way, I can limit my indulgence in TV and I start asking “Why am I watching this? How much have I watched?’

So, I’m a fan of meat. I have no moral objections to the wholesale slaughter of cows, chickens, etc. I think meat is a necessary part of a great meal. But I also think my diet could use a little more rounding (what? a bag of beef jerky isn’t a meal?) So, here is my experiment:

• Go vegetarian for 2 weeks (minimum)
• Dairy and fish are okay (I’m not that crazy)

That’s it. Pretty simple. So, I’m a week and a half into it and I thought I’d share some observations:

• I haven’t had a huge craving for meat, unless it’s thrown in my face (ads for a delicious looking cheeseburger, people eating tasty chicken wings at a restaurant)
• Meat-substitute products (Morningstar crumbles, burgers, etc) are surprisingly tasty, but more expensive than their meat-original counterparts
• One can be a vegetarian and have a lousy diet. Pizza, chips, cookies—lots of junk food falls under that vegetarian umbrella.
• I’ve been eating better not because I’ve gone vegetarian, but because I’ve been overall more conscious of the food I’m eating/preparing. This goes along with what Mark said in his post. The corollary: A diet that includes meat is quite healthy, given the correct balance and well-reasoned choices are maintained.
• All the good sandwiches need meat. Walk into a deli for a sandwich and your vegetarian choices are tuna salad or what amounts to a tossed salad between bread slices. I did the tuna a couple days, the other option doesn’t appeal to me.
• Eggs without bacon or sausage? Not the same.
• I’ve been forced to expand my culinary repertoire. When cooking, it’s so easy to fall into a rut of the same tried and true dishes. Most of my go-to meals, I’ve found, feature some type of meat. Some of those I’ve converted using the faux-meat choice (tacos with the Morningstar crumbles for instance) but generally I’ve been hitting the cookbooks and trying some new stuff. I hope to document some of those on the Great Taste Coaster blog.

That’s it for now. I’ll have more updates as the experiment continues.