Beat The Meat

Meat is mean to me. It needs to be beaten out of me every time I eat it...and I'm not even talking about red meat. I'm still abstaining from that garbage and have been since February. I'm talking about turkey and chicken.

I made a batch of my a-a-a-a-a-a-amazeballs turkey burgers on Sunday, and, since my boyfriend has been away for dinner the past few nights, I've actually eaten most of them myself as leftovers. Besides that, there's absolutely no explaining why I felt headachy, tired, miserable, emotional and lethargic, bloated and constipated this morning.

I've been working out like a champ - a mix of pilates and cardio. I've been eating lots of fruits and veggies and no dairy, HFCS, etc - as I have been for months now. I even slept in an hour today. I've been doing everything same as usual - except for the three straight days of meat as opposed to 6 days veg, 1 day sushi or lean turkey/chicken schedule. And, boy, how that effed up my insides!!

Fortunately, a second cup of coffee *ahem* moved things along and I feel much better now, but I'm certainly not at 100%.

It's kind of remarkable to think that this is how I used to live each and every day - and how it was so routine that I accepted it as a WAY TO LIVE.

I'll never go back. I may have the occasional meaty meal, but every time I do, I'll be doing it knowing full well that there will be consequences.

I've definitely beaten my meat addiction -- and the idea that there should be a lean animal protein in at least one meal a day! Take that National Cattleman's Beef Association. SUE ME! (Seriously, go ahead...it's not like I have any assets to speak of anyway!)

Farewell, Moo Cow F*ck Milk and Hello, Soy Juice!

Never in a million years did I ever envision myself wearing this label!

But, here it is: after years of hearing from friends, the media and yes, even Oprah, that Veganism might be worth pursuing (at least as a means of cleansing/recalibrating my system) -  I've fast gone from curious skeptic to full-blown believer. W-O-W!

First, there are the vanity aspects. Just 5 days in and my skin looks ridiculous. It's the dead of winter and I'm glowing and barely need any moisturizer at all! On top of that, I've already lost 2 pounds. My digestion has regulated and, not to be gross, I'm pooping like clock-work up to 3x a day. (Of course, I'm also tooting like never before - but Bean-o helps to take care of that problem.)

As for the food, fortunately, I'm a veggie lover. I also really love fruit. Soy, if seasoned correctly, also works well with my body/tastebuds and satisfies the craving for protein. A lot of the foods I already eat regularly are vegan or easy to make vegan. Homemade granola + vanilla soy milk for breakfast = heaven. I heart veggie burgers with a little yellow mustard. Carrots and homemade hummus are snack crack to me. I love veggie soups. Oh, and I discovered veg-based Wacky Mac this weekend and it's pretty damn delish. I'm even actually looking forward to testing some new recipes. The only thing I'm a little wary of are the pretend meat products. Soy chicken cutlets aren't made of chicken - wtf? I don't know if I need to seek out pretend meat in order to feel truly satisfied. Still, I'm willing to try all of it. Besides, I'm already drinking "soy juice" masking itself as soy milk. Gotta love this Lewis Black bit from which the title of this post was born: 

In terms of the ethics, I come from a family with dairy farming past and, in one case, present. I have no illusions about my place on the food chain and that some animals are put on this earth to quite literally sustain the lives of other animals. I also have no ethical qualms about humanely slaughtering animals for such puposes (ie: Temple Grandin style slaughterhouses are fine with me). I also  have no intention of shunning meat or dairy from my life completely.  I will not give up fish or sushi. I can't imagine my life without my dad's Oyster Stew come Christmas Eve. 

Still, just a few days without what in retrospect was at least 3-5 servings of meat/cheese on average (milk at breakfast, yogurt at lunch, grated cheese on pasta/lean meats at dinner, butter on bread or eggs in baked goods) - I am really intrigued by how great I feel and am interested to see where this leads. 

I'll keep y'all posted. Let me know if you have had experience with vegan/vegetarianism yourself - or if you think this is just another primrose path to wellness ;-)