As of yesterday, I have been a vegetarian for exactly one year. The back story to that decision is here.
So, yay me! I wasn’t sure I could do it, but am happy to report that the adjustment was much easier than I’d anticipated, and that I do not feel a void – either emotionally, socially or nutritionally – in my life.
Now, I must admit one thing. I am, at this point, technically a pescetarian, meaning I occasionally eat seafood, though I try to do so with health and eco-responsibility at the forefront of my mind. I decided to reincorporate seafood mainly for health purposes – there’s no denying that fish offers numerous health benefits. It also makes eating anywhere other than home much simpler.
Beyond that, if you want to get really technical, I’m an ovo-semilacto-pescetarian. Ovo because I eat eggs (free range organic, please), semi-lacto because I have significantly reduced my dairy intake (that was kind of an accident, but has improved the digestion nonetheless) and pescetarian because I do eat seafood now and then (pesce is Italian for ‘fish’).
That’s about all I have to say about it. If anyone out there is considering going veggie, let me highly recommend it. Let me also say, however, that it is a learning process, and what works for some will not work for everyone. The top tips that come to my mind:
- Research research research. Know what nutrition you get from meat, and know how to replace it. There’s a lot more to it than protein…
- Eat beans! Black, lima, kidney, garbanzo, navy, red, butter, whatever! They are cheap and sooooooo good for you.
- Allow yourself to enjoy quality meat substitutes. This is everything from tofu to veggie burgers to ‘chicken’ nuggets. While it is a good idea to check the ingredients to make sure these items are not full of filler and other junk, most of them can make meal planning and potlucks a lot easier to manage.
All the best!
The pic is a Cyanide and Happiness comic strip:)