Today marks Day 5 of eating no meat whatsoever! Just a quick update on how the “meatless” thing is working out.
My first New Year’s resolution of 2013 was to “Eat vegetarian… most of the time,” directly referring to my weekday vegetarian diet I’d be adopting to (1) eat healthier, (2) help the animals, and to (3) help the environment—the first one is truly the most important one to me, I just get to add in #2 and #3 for fun.
I started my weekday vegetarian diet on January 1, 2013 with the support of my mom, who also took up the vegetarian diet with me. I only went in knowing one thing for sure: I wouldn’t be eating meat from Monday–Friday.
The weird part is what I discovered from my five-day (and counting) journey!
#1 – Adapt and Expand
Not eating meat made me look towards other foods to fill the void, many of which I would’ve never tried! The funny thing is that I never considered myself a veggie lover—in fact, I was the opposite! I preferred chicken over chickpeas any day. But now, I’ve tried so many new foods! From eggplant to mushrooms to soy meats and cheeses! (No one in their right mind would eat chicken-less chicken unless they were vegetarian.)
#2 – Culinary Creativity
Becoming vegetarian served as a great excuse to try familiar foods in new ways. Maybe you could substitute your regular mozzarella cheese for soy cheese on your homemade flatbread. (That’s something I tried, and we couldn’t even taste the difference.) I’ve had my Starbucks hot chocolate and my morning cereal with organic soy milk instead of cow’s milk, as well. And then there was the mini-tostada on smaller, healthier vegan chips!
#3 – I feel better
Surprisingly, I feel a lot better today than in 2012, when I’d have meat. The only thing you have to get used to is eating a little more, since vegetarian meals tend to have fewer calories than meals with meat. Now that my body is getting used to not having meat, I feel like I’m starting to have more energy! Not only that, but I haven’t had digestive problems.
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Maybe you should try a vegetarian meal out sometime! Every Monday is Meatless Monday, if you’re interested!
Kuya's Notebook 
You will weak at first, then you’re system will adjust to it. And soon.
My body has definitely been adjusting to it now. It helps that we do still have fish and the occasional meat on the weekends. (We ended up not adding back chicken, as I said in my comments with Elenia.) I feel very happy since it feels like I’m eating healthier, helping the environment, and working against the constant abuse of for-food animals common here in America.
I used to give up something else in addition to meat when I was growing up during Lent, usually eating candy or watching cartoons. Now, I love meat so much that I no longer give up anything except mean, but only on Ash Wednesday and Fridays. It has slowly nudged me towards eating/drinking more healthy (i.e. a salad once a week, cutting out any soda-like items, and only drinking coffee during my midterm and finals season). I don’t know how you feel about the religious aspect of Catholicism, but I feel less alone, especially living 2,000 miles away from any family; it’s nice to know my family is doing the same, even though I’m not as good a Catholic as them.
P.S. And those mini-tostadas look so good. There are really no Mexican restaurants out here in Indiana. No Filipino restaurants either =/
While I may not agree with everything the Catholic Church says or does in the political sector, I find many of its practices—like giving up meat on certain days of the year—to be very empowering, almost. I’ve always loved the spiritual aspects of the religion, and I’ve always found comfort in them. 🙂
The mini-tostadas are surprisingly good! We made them on the Food Should Taste Good multigrain tortilla chips, and they’re a lighter alternative to the super-heavy Mexican restaurants around here in Dallas. We don’t have Filipino restaurants either (the closest is a Hawaiian place that has lumpiang shanghai and tosilog), which is really too bad! 😦