New #43: Vegetariansim

I love meat. I always have, and I'm pretty sure I always will. It's been a steadfast courtship that started at a young age with a love for hamburgers and my mom's spaghetti and meat sauce. Even in high school, when my best friends became vegans, I stood by with a steak burrito in hand and stayed true to my meat.

But just because I love meat is not to say I'm blind or insensitive to where it comes from. I admit, I've tried to ignore the horrible conditions some animals are raised in. I've also avoided any of the videos that show how badly the critters are treated. But in my adult life I've realized how not-OK I am with it all. So for this new, I decided to try giving up meat all together -- even if it was just for the week.

I'm happy to say my seven days of vegetarianism weren't all that bad. But they weren't that healthy, either. I didn't bother learning alternative forms of protein or trying new, lean recipes. Instead I just replaced meat with a lot of carbs and cheese. Like I said, not so healthy.

Breakfasts stayed the same for me, with a chocolate chip granola bar. Lunch was pretty standard too. I stuck with my Lean Cuisines and just made sure they were all meat-free. The vegetable egg roll was one of the highlights. Yumm.

Dinnertime was when my will was tested. To start, I had to turn down my free chicken stir fry dinners at the restaurant where I work. Instead I settled on rice and salad. Not quite as satisfying. At home, Ben and I made pasta. There was one night we got creative and made portobello mushroom "steaks," marinated, cooked on the grill and covered with cheese. It was delicious!

Things were going pretty well until the weekend. That's when I got a headache that would not quite. Could it be meat withdrawls? Maybe. Or could it have come from the other many stressors in my life? Very possible. Either way, things got really tough when my friends invited me out to eat. Yes, I could get a salad or something, but it's just not as good as a juicy hamburger with all the toppings. That night, I literally had a dream about a Chipotle steak burrito.

After my seventh day as a vegetarian, I was happy to zip over to Renzios and order a giant beef gyro. It was amazing.

Through my week, I did gain some satisfaction from not eating meat. However, it was hard to see the chicken stir fry cooked up and not being finished. Would it have been better to eat the chicken rather than let it go to waste? Also, I still ate a lot of dairy products and eggs. Really, the milk- and egg-producing animals can be just as abused as other farm creatures that are eaten for meat. If I ever do commit to doing away with meat, I would have to go all the way and became a vegan. Otherwise it seems like I'd be doing a half-ass job of saving animals.

Honestly though, I don't think I'm ready to break up with meat just yet. But I am going to make an effort to buy more organic and free-range meats to make sure the animals I'm eating had a better go of it. I bet they taste better too.