Go Veggies!

I'm pondering becoming a vegetarian. I have always been attracted to the idea and admire people who have "crossed over" to become plant-eaters (aren't they always the nicer of the animal species? I think of the Brontosaurus - so big and gentle, like a big dog and well, kind of dumb but that's another topic altogether). I got an anti-cancer diet email from my sister and it highly recommends switching to a plant-based diet. Now I'm not talking about giving up dairy or fish (being an islander that's crazy talk), but I've realized there are huge benefits to eating a plant-based diet, and they all jive well with my belief system:

- Vegetarians have much lower cancer rates - red meat and the like expells a lot of toxins and linger in your body a lot longer - not to mention the hormones, antibodies and other gross things in cows these days. With a history of cancer deaths in my family, the plethora of info out there supporting this is compelling enough to make the switch.

- Saturated fat is bad. Period. There is nothing good about this type of fat.

- Vegetarians are good for the environment. It takes a lot less space and resources to plant a field of grains than to raise a field of cattle. And the grains grown can feeed about 100 times more people than the beef.

- Animal Protection - I'm not a huge animal-rights activist but all you have to do is drive out to western Kansas and see the sea of cows being penned up in their own filth with no room to even turn around and the only other thing there is a steel metal trough that pumps out food (there's no such thing a farms or even farmers out here man) and you realize that no living creatture needs to endure a life of misery and pain just to end up on our plate. Wrong is wrong.

- Leaner, meaner bodies - Vegetarians usually have less body fat and live longer than their meat-eating counterparts (no, this is not always true and I do know chunky vegetarians that snack on chips all day but we all have our exceptions).

- Cheaper groceries - a steak costs a heck of a lot more than a box of tofu.


Now the challenges:

- Family: Ha! Like my Philippino husband is going to jump on board this whim-of-the-month bandwagon. He was called "mr. hotdog" as a kid for a reason. My mother-in-law would also never let me convert her grandkids to vegetarians. I've seen the treatment she's lashed upon my sister-in-law who is a vegatarian and raises her kids as such. My kids won't even eat veggies except the odd raw carrot and a corn on the cob. I'm hoping we can compromise to eating veggie meals twice a week and I'll just sneak the fake meat in the other days (if you're reading this honey - just kidding - honestly!)

- Kansas - enough said - In this state vegetarian means "not the Porterhouse steak, just the small fillet". You're a complete freak if you don't eat meat and have to put up with restaurant fare that serves "veggie burgers" as a bun with lettuce, tomato and condiments. Really, I'm joking, but any barbeques I attend will not have an abundance of Boca Burgers on the grill.

- Cravings -Can I really do it? I really do like meat and let's face it - it tastes good. The only problem I've noticed lately is that meat doesn't like me. I had a burger on Saturday and I think it's still sitting in my stomach, waiting, making me feel bloated, full, and generally uncomfortable.


- Overall diet change - In my research, I've resentfully realized (is that correct verbage?) that not eating meat is only one component to an ultra-healthy diet - other criminal foods out there include sugar, salt, white bread, coffee (God no!), milk chocolate (God no X2!) and hydrogenated oils. These also must be banished to achieve the ultimum cancer-fighting effects on your body. sigh - thank god I've still got red wine and dark chocolate to comfort me (moderation my ass).

I'm going to try it out for a week (you can commit to anything for a week - except not peeing). I'll keep you posted on how it's going and use the blog to keep myself accountable. Wish me luck!!