Sunday, May 22, 2011

Vegetarian Me?



So, off and on I throw around an idea of becoming a vegetarian.  It basically goes like this:  I think about it, then snack on a steak, then think about it some more, then boil up some pelmenie, and so on.  I wouldn't say that we consume a ton of meat, but then maybe we do and I just don't think about it as I savor my favorite meat dishes.  Becoming a vegetarian would be life changing for our family.  My husband is a big time carnivore who thinks that it is not dinner if it doesn't contain meat and who laughs when I mention to him that he might consider ordering a veggie burger next time he stops by at a burger place.  My youngest son takes my daughter's meat portion while she takes his pasta portion.  And Nicolas is cool with either and I usually eat every one's leftover veggies.  So it is no wonder why I would be the one to pioneer this venture.

I love vegetables, but when I look at the vegetarian recipes, I cannot help but think that the rest of the family will simply not eat most of it.  My kids don't eat all veggies so if I take meat out, they would have to complement by eating lots of carbs which alone are not super healthy especially if their color is white.  So, I will probably going to begin this journey on my own. I will most likely not able to quit cold turkey so it would have be a gradual process. 

Maybe some of you who had us for dinner or whom we treated with a fine a shish kabob are picking up your jaws from the floor.  I know that vegetarian lifestyle is not very well understood nor supported by the Russian community here.  In fact, I only know one person, a girl I went to high school with, who is a vegetarian and I know many Russians.    But there are several reasons why I want to try it out:

1)   It is now common knowledge that a diet high in fruits and vegetables helps prevent many diseases.

2) We can't afford organic meat therefore we usually consume meat from cows/poultry that have been fed hormones and/or antibiotics and other things to make them grow faster.  And this, cannot be a good thing.

3) This idea of switching has been circulating around me for a while and is being recycled through interactions with different people, statistics, testimonies, thoughts about cancer...

I know that completely giving up meat will result only if a complete mind change occurs.  I don't want to make vegetarianism a religion though.   So I will try it out, but in all honesty, I don't know how long I will last.  I am leaning towards being a selective vegetarian, but selective could be so broad!   I will sure to keep you posted.  In the mean time, I welcome your comments.  Have you tried it? How did you do?  How did your family do?   

2 comments:

  1. Let me start off by saying that men need meat and they love to eat meat. Personaly I am like you, I can eat meat or not and it dosent bother me. But when you have a family then it's a different story. My husband and I started to buy only organic beef (which is very $, so we recently bought one calfe) and we try to eat organic chicken. The organic meat costs more but it is better for you and its 100 times yumier (if thats a word lol). I know for sure that my husband will not last 2 days without meat ( we have tried). so I started with myself, I have become some what vegetarian and I am happy with my results! I feel lighter,healthier, I have more energie and I am happier :)So good luck to you too :)

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  2. Dear Zhenya,

    I should mention, that when I make anything with ground meat I add a ton of shredded vegetables like: spinach, celery, carrots, zucchini and so on. We make our muffins with vegetables also. So when we are having pelmenie, meatloaf, or anything meaty. I don't feel bad at all serving my family healthy dishes... because I know what's in it. Also, as a result I end up using way less meat than normal. Hope you try that:D

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