A New Year's Update on the Veggies

I felt it only appropriate that on this the first day of 2010 that I provide any of you who still care, an update on the great vegetarian experiment of December 2009. The month has finally turned and technically we are no longer beholden to the promises that we made to ourselves in a previous era, place or lifetime. That said, I have truly enjoyed turning over a new lettuce leaf and food has taken on a whole new meaning for both The Husband and myself. While the final tallies are certainly not complete and the effects of a single month cannot be examined in a vacuum, I can only speak for how I feel and that is pretty damn good.

I am less bloated and less heavy after meals and I haven't gnawed on a Rolaids in a month. (For those of you who know me well, know that this is a stunning development.) I have lost about 7 pounds and this feat is truly remarkable since I have done absolutely nothing else different. I haven't forgone chocolate (perish the thought) and I even indulged in the occasional dessert while floating on the Caribbean. My exercise routine has been dormant for almost the entire month (something that WILL change as the new year dawns!!) so the loss of weight is really a nice surprise.

We have dramatically cut down on our portion size, probably because we are more full and require less. We have noticed this is the case especially when we eat out. We are less concerned with how much we get on our plates, and instead are much more concerned with various flavours and textures. We have enjoyed cooking together and sourcing new recipes and ingredients. We have always tried to do much of the shopping together in the past, but now we are making it an appointment and meal planning has become much more diligent and much more collaborative. I have become educated in great protein sources like Chia Seed, TVP, and quinoa, and I have become much more schooled in how to use all kinds of beans and legumes to better effect. Yes people! There is vegetarian life after tofu.

The Husband? Well, his manhood is still firmly intact and his sack hasn't shrunk an iota as a result of his foray into the feminine world of ethical eating. If I ask him to give me an honest appraisal of the month, he usually just grunts like a bear and says something like "Yeah, fine!" But, the other day I heard him lauding the new diet on the phone to his brother, and when my mother asked him yesterday if he would continue on, he answered "Absolutely!" I fully expect him to take it seriously. He has been doing copious amounts of reading on the subject of factory farming and healthy lifestyle choices, and he is ready to make the switch. That is not to say that he wouldn't eat a rack of ribs on occasion, but I think that he is proof positive that veggies are manly.

There have been some challenges. Our boys had to deal with some of the new nareshkeit while in the Southern home, and we had to discover new restaurants that would be palatable (pun intended!!) to all. It is definitely easier for The Husband and I to maintain vegetarianism without the distraction of having to prepare meals for the boys on a regular basis. We have also discovered that we prefer Thai or Indian vegetarian to Chinese vegetarian, but that is relatively minor in the grand scheme of things.

I have been questioned on many occasions by people who are trying to understand the rationale for our decisions. I have discovered that I don't owe anybody explanations, anymore than I did when I was eating meat, and I have discretely and not rudely dissuaded the conversations. Tomorrow I will address why this way of eating seems to be working for me as opposed to a Kashrut lifestyle and how and why I believe I have discovered a truly Jewish way of food consumption.