Food for Thought
Hmm. This has been spooking around in my head for a little while.
I've been a vegetarian for a little less than two years. I've been trying to fight inflation (read loose weight) for a little over three weeks. And last week, I ate a lot of (non-meat) crap and stumbled over these videos/ (via this blog on my blogroll.) and got chatted up by a hare krishna monk in the UK. And then I read about flexible vegetarians - vegetarians who eat meat. And that was by far the DUMBEST THING I have ever heard of. Call yourself a pescetarian if you eat fish. Call yourself a pollo-pescetarian if you eat fish and poultry. Call yourself a vegan. There's enough out there for you. But if you eat meat, your are simply NOT a vegetarian.
Food (and by extension meat) has been on my mind. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with eating meat. I don't hate the taste of meat. I wear leather shoes. I eat fish, albeit very very very rarely. I don't think that when you eat meat that you eat the emotions of the dying animal. I'm not trying to convince anyone to stop eating meat. I've made a choice and that's what it was.
And if food-wise, you'd like to give any of the following things a try (for a day/ week/ month/ 6 months/ ayear or once a day/week/month), that would be okay with me.
1. Take stock of what and how you eat and drink.
How much of it is take-out? How much of it was consumed while standing or walking? How much of it was consumed while watching TV? How much of it have you prepared yourself? How much of it was meat? How much of it was fruit? How much of it was vegetables? How much pulses? What did you drink? How much pure water? How much soda? How much coffee? How much tea? How much sugar in your coffee/tea?
2. Five a day
Eat more fruit and veggies. Start by buying a pound of apples. Take an apple with you when you leave the house for when you get hungry or feel like a snack. What's your favorite vegetable? Buy that, cook it, enjoy it. Buy a fruit or vegetable that you've never had before or never cooked before. Artichokes? I'd never prepared artichokes myself until I tried it once a year or so ago. Since then, I've been eating artichokes like once a month.
3. Cook more
Cook more yourself. That's all, really. Doesn't have to be big. Make a sandwich yourself and take it with you. Make a salad! Make yummy pasta! Try an exotic recipe. Buy oranges and make orange juice!
4. Eat less meat
Did you know that vegetarians are healthier than their carnivorous counterparts? It has very little to do with NOT eating meat, but rather with WHAT you eat INSTEAD of meat. There are junk food vegetarians that eat nothing but veggie burgers and fries. But most vegetarians eat more fruit, more veggies, more pulses. MORE GOOD STUFF.
Eat less meat. Cut out red meat. Or cut your meat consumption down by 50%. Or try only eating meat once a week. Or only eat organic meat. Or only eat meat that you've prepared yourself. Or only eat meat when you eat out. So many ways to do that!
5. Buy organic animal products.
I don't care how much pesticide/herbicide-laden fruits and veggies you consume. If you're going to buy anything organic, make it animal products. Meat, dairy, eggs. Even better, buy them local AND organic. Cause as I said, I don't think it's inherently wrong to eat meat, but there is something inherently WRONG with the meat industry.
(6. Leave your car at home.
Walk more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get your bicycle out. Take the bus. Oh, and this is totally not food-related.)
I've been a vegetarian for a little less than two years. I've been trying to fight inflation (read loose weight) for a little over three weeks. And last week, I ate a lot of (non-meat) crap and stumbled over these videos/ (via this blog on my blogroll.) and got chatted up by a hare krishna monk in the UK. And then I read about flexible vegetarians - vegetarians who eat meat. And that was by far the DUMBEST THING I have ever heard of. Call yourself a pescetarian if you eat fish. Call yourself a pollo-pescetarian if you eat fish and poultry. Call yourself a vegan. There's enough out there for you. But if you eat meat, your are simply NOT a vegetarian.
Food (and by extension meat) has been on my mind. I don't think there is anything inherently wrong with eating meat. I don't hate the taste of meat. I wear leather shoes. I eat fish, albeit very very very rarely. I don't think that when you eat meat that you eat the emotions of the dying animal. I'm not trying to convince anyone to stop eating meat. I've made a choice and that's what it was.
And if food-wise, you'd like to give any of the following things a try (for a day/ week/ month/ 6 months/ ayear or once a day/week/month), that would be okay with me.
1. Take stock of what and how you eat and drink.
How much of it is take-out? How much of it was consumed while standing or walking? How much of it was consumed while watching TV? How much of it have you prepared yourself? How much of it was meat? How much of it was fruit? How much of it was vegetables? How much pulses? What did you drink? How much pure water? How much soda? How much coffee? How much tea? How much sugar in your coffee/tea?
2. Five a day
Eat more fruit and veggies. Start by buying a pound of apples. Take an apple with you when you leave the house for when you get hungry or feel like a snack. What's your favorite vegetable? Buy that, cook it, enjoy it. Buy a fruit or vegetable that you've never had before or never cooked before. Artichokes? I'd never prepared artichokes myself until I tried it once a year or so ago. Since then, I've been eating artichokes like once a month.
3. Cook more
Cook more yourself. That's all, really. Doesn't have to be big. Make a sandwich yourself and take it with you. Make a salad! Make yummy pasta! Try an exotic recipe. Buy oranges and make orange juice!
4. Eat less meat
Did you know that vegetarians are healthier than their carnivorous counterparts? It has very little to do with NOT eating meat, but rather with WHAT you eat INSTEAD of meat. There are junk food vegetarians that eat nothing but veggie burgers and fries. But most vegetarians eat more fruit, more veggies, more pulses. MORE GOOD STUFF.
Eat less meat. Cut out red meat. Or cut your meat consumption down by 50%. Or try only eating meat once a week. Or only eat organic meat. Or only eat meat that you've prepared yourself. Or only eat meat when you eat out. So many ways to do that!
5. Buy organic animal products.
I don't care how much pesticide/herbicide-laden fruits and veggies you consume. If you're going to buy anything organic, make it animal products. Meat, dairy, eggs. Even better, buy them local AND organic. Cause as I said, I don't think it's inherently wrong to eat meat, but there is something inherently WRONG with the meat industry.
(6. Leave your car at home.
Walk more. Take the stairs instead of the elevator. Get your bicycle out. Take the bus. Oh, and this is totally not food-related.)