And yet I don't think I could give up meat entirely. First of all, it tastes too good. Secondly, I already don't drink alcohol or caffeine, and to not eat meat (or dairy or eggs) would pretty much take away all cultural and traditional celebratory meals that I know of. I don't have aims to commit to a vegan lifestyle; I just love butter and cheese and cream too much. I do believe it would be healthier if I did that, but for now I'm just thinking about baby steps.
So my first step is to eat meat sparingly. Which idea, actually, is a component of the Word of Wisdom (our religious health code), but it isn't followed in our church like not drinking or taking harmful substances. But I feel that I've got the religious backing to eat meat sparingly. To quote a book I'm reading now "Meat was once considered precious, a regular, delicious, but occasional visitor to the plate" (Sarah Raven, In Season) That's how I'd like meat to be. When I cook a couple meatless meals in a row, the next time we have meat it is extra special and extra delicious (especially to Jason).
Another reason I like the idea of eating meat sparingly is for the environmental impact. Basically meat, especially beef, takes so much more resources to produce than vegetables. There's tons of information you could find on this. I won't say much about it here. But all those farms growing corn in the US that could feed the entire hungry world are instead feeding cows so we can eat our burgers. And cow's don't naturally eat corn so they get sick and get antibiotics and it's just not good. Oh that is just the tip of the ice burg. There's soooo much more!!
I've said this before, but if I do something environmental, it also has to be practical and save money. I can't buy $200 recycled glass vases and I can't buy organic, free range, grass fed, etc. meat and dairy products all the time on my budget. It's cheaper to just cut them out. So instead I plan to have a lot more vegetarian meals (maybe 4-5 a week) and a few special meals with good quality meat, poultry or fish.
The challenge then lies in creating healthy, tasty, and balanced meals without meat. Sure, mac and cheese is vegetarian, pasta with red sauce is Vegan, but those aren't necessarily healthier options. Beans, nuts, tofu, and mostly vegetables, fruits, and whole grains should be the shining stars in a vegetarian diet.
I've been making some vegetarian dishes for a couple months now, and I am especially proud of myself when I can make something that just kind of happened from clearing the fridge and having a few staples in my pantry.
Here's what I made:
Vegetable korma with brown rice:
Ingredients:Sauteed onion, garlic, and ginger
baby chick peas (called Chana dal in the Indian food department)
cauliflower
orange pepper
carrots
can low fat coconut milk
curry powder, turmeric, salt, pepper
And an awesome arugula salad:
Ingredients:Arugula
blood oranges
sliced almonds
shaved Parmesan
avocado
fresh homemade dressing of choice (I used poppyseed because that's what I had)
Audrey approved! The boys were so so on it but they ate some. I loved it and I think Jason liked it (though he wasn't too hungry because I brought him Wendy's for lunch. Yes, we are bad and sometimes visit the dollar menu in a pinch for lunch. This is why I want to make a conscious effort to make healthy meals.)
I'd love to hear your thoughts and views on this. I'm not going to judge you for eating meat, and don't judge me if you see me eating a burger and think "Hey, I thought she was going all hoity-toity vegeterian". I'm just trying to make some changes--I'm too afraid of total commitment.
Bon Apetit!
9 comments:
Pregnant I can only eat meat sparingly or I don't hold anything down. I just keep getting lectured about making sure I get enough protein. (I haven't had ANY today...oops...i'll take car of that in a minute.) I prefer to not eat meat, but my family loves it. Cooking without it just takes extra effort to make sure you are getting the nutrients that our bodies need, but it gets easier the longer you try. So, until this baby comes out it is a meat sparingly life for me!
Well, you already know how I feel about this. Thanks for posting these great recipes. Maybe we should do a recipe exchange as we collect more good recipes that are vegetarian / vegan. Right now, I am pretty much making two meals though. One I'll eat, and one Brett and Adie will eat. That's a lot of work, but I'll do what I have to do. It is such a hard commitment though.
Hey Sarah, I've had thoughts about becoming vegetarian too. THe problem is that most vegetarian recipe books that I've looked at have quite a bit of fat in them...and I don't think the extra fat is really necessary when you do eat meat occasionally. With Ben's gallbaldder issue right now, we are eating a lot of fish and chicken because it is low in fat and easier on him. Of course we eat lots of vegetables too. The other problem I see with many of the vegetarian dishes is that I know my kids probably won't eat it. I really like to try out new recipes and more times than not Ben and I are the only ones that eat it. Oh well. Do you have any suggestions for lower fat vegetarian meals? I tried the Moosewood books, as I loved eating there when we lived in Ithaca, but they don't show the recipe calories/fat etc, so my guess is that many are high in fat just by looking at ingredients.
ive toyed with the idea of going vegetarian and every time i do jared totally freaks out. it's a battle to get that boy to eat anything green. that and i highly doubt i have to willpower to actually do it.
i think cutting down on the red meat is a good idea though. we're not big meat eaters...mainly because im culinarily challenged and everytime i tried cooking it it would come out chewy and gross. with the exception of hamburgers and when we go to wildfire, the only red meat we used to eat was whenever i would make tacos, and ive recently switched to ground turkey which i like soo much better.
What cracks me up about this post, bud, is that you actually had coconut milk in your fridge.
I'm looking into buying my meat online (though I'm sure Will will say no) through a place in WI. It's all pasture, grass fed meat. The book I'm reading actually makes a good argument for why eating meat, as long as it's not CAFO meat, is good for the environment. I would love to say I could go vegetarian but we both know I couldn't. Nor do I want to because I don't want Will to get any skinnier! But, I did got to Wildfire and ordered the salmon. Will was in shock, I think.
I've toyed a round with the idea of eating meat sparingly too. You're right, it is cheaper and healthier. I unfortunately am very picky and most of this dishes I like that don't include meat are based around pasta. If you have more recipes though, I wouldn't be adverse to seeing them. Maybe I'd like one of them.
Sarah...before you give up meat altogether read "Real Food" by Nina Placnk and read this:
http://core-chiropractic.blogspot.com/search/label/Meet%20The%20Healers
And one more thought...cattle raised the way cattle were meant to be raised on grass(not fed corn and grains) are not using precious resources. I figure that Heavenly Father gave us all these wonderful things so I try and eat them the way he gave them to us...the way people have eaten them since the beginning of time...raw (dairy), grass fed/wild (for meats)and fresh (fruits and veggies).
Alicia--
I'm glad you posted because I think it is an important point you make. I wanted to hear this view too. I had a friend from church who used to be a vegan (even with 6 kids) but she decided that just abstaining from meat wasn't really helping the environmental/animal treatment issue. She decided to support good farmers and humane treatment of animals by buying good meat and dairy--grass fed, from real farms, etc. She drinks raw milk too. In fact, I've been meaning to get the info on where she gets her raw milk. So, I totally understand that view and I think it's valid, that's why i'm not committing to go completely vegeterian. I still think meat should be a special visitor to the plate, maybe a few times a week, and that's really all I can afford on my budget. My point in going "vegeterian" was to look into other healthy, important protein sources like legumes and aiming to feature vegetables more as the main dish instead of the side dish. I think we're way overdosed on bad meat and diary in the US to the point where we can't go a meal without it, and that doesn't fit into eating meat sparingly anyway you put it.
However, you are one of the healthiest people I know and the type of diet and meat you eat is really healthy.
In going "vegeterian" I'm simply aiming to eat healthier all around.
I think more people should support good farming processes--not factory farming.
Michelle--I want to talk more about CSA and other stuff. I want to get more into that.
Liz--vegeterian times, a magazine, has really healthy recipes in it.
Everyone--thanks for the comments. I like hearing people's view/experiences.
I think we are sort of vegetarians by default. We probably only eat meat for dinner 2-3 times a week (red meat less probably 2x a month), mostly because it is expensive to cook with. I buy a lot of fresh produce and cook with that and most recipes I just leave the meat out. Maybe my family isn't getting enough protein. We eat a lot of pasta, and stir fry, and mexican with just beans, and we eat like eggs. Thanks for posting your thoughts on vegetarianism and for the recipe. It got me thinking about what I feed my family and where it comes from.
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