vegetarianism

I ate a turkey sandwich!

| cheriarmour

Hi!

What are you doing?

We’re doing a whole lot of nothing because I sort of forgot that it was a holiday weekend, so I’m taking advantage of the day by catching up on work, and blogging and all that fun stuff.

So where you last left me, I was really seriously considering eating a turkey sandwich.  Which to most, isn’t really a huge deal, but since I’ve been a pescatarian, sometimes vegetarian, and a full-on supporter of vegans, it’s sort of a weird thing to wake up craving.  But alas, I woke up on Monday of last week really craving a turkey sandwich.

I describe to you guys how it felt.  Really weird.  I posted on social media about it. Most people assumed that I was pregnant, which I’m pretty sure I’m not.  My husband, who has never seen me consume meat in my life, thought I was joking at first.  And a few of my friends theorized that my body may be craving protein, and since I’m normally super healthy, that turkey protein, being one of the leaner options, was what I was going for.

I went a few days craving this sandwich.  Talked it over with friends.  Called my sister and her husband.  And finally decided that I would set about getting this sandwich.

My first order of bidness, since I probably haven’t ordered a turkey sandwich in like 15 years, was to find a place where I could get a good sandwich.  I figured that a place like Subway or Jersey Mikes would be fine, but that the meat might be pumped full of sodium, and I wasn’t superbly interested in being bloated.  So I set my sights on a Boar’s Head meat that I spied when I was shopping for some snacks at Harris Teeter, and ordered a turkey sandwich with mayo, lettuce, and tomato.

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I ate it.  It was fine.  It wasn’t life-changing.  It tasted fine.  I felt fine when it went down, and didn’t experience any adverse side-effects as a result of eating meat for the first time in however long.  But it DID quell my desire for the sandwich, calmed the curiosity down, and I think I got whatever I needed from that sandwich that I’d been thinking about for a week when I ate it.

I’m curious though.   I pay pretty close attention to my diet, and get a ton of protein though beans, nuts, and nut butters.  So I’m trying to figure out what my body was telling me, and if the loudness of that little voice is indicative of any sort of deficiency.

“Food” for thought.  Haha.

What are you eating for dinner tonight?                     

I was weight-gain pescatarian girl :(

| cheriarmour

Shape magazine posted this article from POPSUGAR Fitness.  How I Gained Weight as a Vegan: Don’t Let It Happen to You!  Check it out.  And it’s so true.  Everything she says is hella true.  I was that girl.

And by the end of school, beginning of graduate school I’d gotten to here.

ME…and had to fix it to go to here

Me 2

A good, 40ish or so pound difference.

Now look.  I know, I’m not delusional.  I recognize that I’m no ‘Biggest Loser’ Contestant, but I had to take off some lbs.  It wasn’t going a good way. 

And it wasn’t completely about the way I looked, either.  I felt tired and sluggish all the time.  But I won’t front.  I totally wasn’t confident in the way I looked, in particular, I hated my stomach, but I think that more had to do with the fact that I never worked out, and I generally felt crappy.  That crappy feeling, from eating crappy food, will spill over and cloud your view of yourself, so it was just a nasty cycle.

Pescatarianism/Vegetarianism

I transitioned to a veg/pescatarian lifestyle my sophomore year when I was living with this girl.  The food at Elon at the time wasn’t my fave, and truthfully, I’d never really been a beef person.  Chicken was my friend (let’s perpetuate the stereotype, Cheri), and that was the one thing I’d have trouble giving up.  I’d switch back and forth between Pescatarianism (eating no animal products but fish) and Vegetarianism, and despite the fact that I wasn’t chowing down on Big Macs, I packed on a little bit of pudge without even really noticing until swimsuit season snuck up on me.  And that was always traumatic.

But the main reasons why my veg-ish lifestyle packed on a little pudge?  

    • I worked out sporadically, at best.  Once a week here.  A few weeks off.  Once there.  Off.  And I never gained a sense of why and how exercising was important to maintaining a healthy weight.  Plus, when you exercise more, you don’t necessarily want to eat all the crappy stuff that’s gonna make a workout miserable.  Now, I’ve changed it by doing something every day, with about one day off a week.  I run, run, run, cycle, yoga, and then I teach class on the side.
    • I didn’t realize how important diet was in how your body looked.  I literally remember one of the Real Housewives of Orange County, Alexis Bellino, saying how diet was like 80% of how your body looked, and feeling horrified in the knowledge that if I were ever to lose the bottom part of my belly that I didn’t like, that I’d have to stop drinking Cokes to stay awake in class.  Which brings me to this…
    • I drank my calories.  I had no sense of what percentage of my calories were liquid.  I drank Cokes to stay awake in class.  I drank fruity alcoholic beverages with whipped cream on top.  I just was doing too much.  I’ve since switched to waters, sparkling waters, Kombucha, and nonfat lattés with skim.  Obviously, I’ll treat myself, to a Gatorade or a fancy drink from Starbucks, but definitely, it’s more far and few between than it was.
    • I didn’t know how to read a label/what a calories was.  I had this abstract sense of labels and calories, but not really how it applied to me and what I was eating.  It really wasn’t until I consulted with a nutritionist at Camp Pocono Trails, where I was working, that it made sense.  And I kept track of everything that I put into my mouth until I had a firm grasp of what I was eating.
    • I was still eating fast food. I can’t even…okay.  I ate at the most disgusting places.  All vegetarian mind you, but all disgusting.  One of which included the Filet-o-Fish from McDonalds with the nasty piece of cheese and a glob of tartar sauce on top (who puts cheese on a piece of cod?!) and the Sampler Platter from Applebees, which included mozzarella sticks, spinach and artichoke dip, and cheese quesadillas.  All of these items were fried in some way, shape, or form.  I am so kind of ashamed when I tell people that.
    • I didn’t eat any “whole” foods.  I didn’t eat salads.  I didn’t read labels to see what ingredients (ingrediences, right Teresa Guidice?) foods included.  And I never packed my own lunch.  How can you maintain a healthy weight when you don’t even know who’s making your food, right?

So if you’re contemplating vegetarianism or veganism, bravo! However, if you’re doing it for weight loss, you’re barking up the wrong tree. You can just as well fall into a nasty trap and gain a ton.  Balance is absolutely key and without all the pieces of a healthy lifestyle, it’s just not gonna work.

Seriously, this horse meat thing is starting to freak me out. Do I take the plunge and go vegan? (Make me a compelling argument either way)

| cheriarmour

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/31/burger-king-horsemeat-admits-tainted_n_2593538.html

If you’ve been watching the news, I’m sure you’ve heard by now about the gross admission Burger Kings in France made after traces of horse DNA were found in meat across Europe.  Um. What?! How does that happen?  What I’m most bothered about at this point is the fact that experts are stressing that there are “no health risks associated with the consumption of horse meat”.  I don’t give a flying stink if there are no health risks associated with eating horse meat.  That is not what everyone is freaked out about, and I don’t appreciate the experts trying to deflect attention from the real issue.  But this horse meat debacle has certainly raised some questions for me in my own life.

I am a pescatarian, and I’ve been one for about 5 or 6 years.  I lean more toward the vegetarian side of things because fish is just so…fishy.  And it looks like a fish.  Which is beginning to freak me out too.  And I don’t ever see myself going back to chicken, beef, or pork.  I don’t judge other folks for eating it, but beef especially gives me the willies and the way it’s prepared just seems brutal.  My first job out of graduate school, I witnessed firsthand kitchen staff breaking down a cow.  Like it looked alive.  Except it wasn’t.  And that’s how this all sort of started.

So here’s my question as I start to get more and more freaked out by the concept of eating animal flesh.  Do I take the leap and go vegan?  What are the pros/cons of going vegan?  What do vegans eat? 

Cons. The first thing people seem to be concerned about when you tell them you’re veg is protein + nutrients.  As in, “that’s not natural, how do you get enough protein/nutrients?” And that could be a valid concern, if you don’t know how to feed yourself.  It’s very tempting, the first month of any new veg diet to default to eating chips and salsa and french fries with an occasional salad with balsamic.  But that won’t work for me.  If I’m hungry, I’m hangry, and I’m not prepared for the undergraduate belly I had to make a return.  Sorry belly.  We had some good times, but you made bikini shopping hell.  I’m all about the balance now.  I suppose the key is making a better plan so I actually have choices other than fries to eat.  Also, my parents might roll their eyes at me when I go home on breaks.  But they kind of started doing that when I sprouted locs at the end of high school.

Pros. It’s friggin tasty! I started going on dates with my Whole Foods girlfriend, Tessa to this place in Raleigh called the Remedy Diner?  And I’ll be darned it that stuff doesn’t taste better than meaty options.  When done right, veg options are tasty.  Also, it forces you to plan meals a little better.  And provided you’re eating a balanced meal, it’s super healthy and plant-based.  Now there are a ton of animal welfare, compassion, and eco-footprint reasons that are beyond obvious, right, so I don’t want to list them here.  One, because they’re obvious, and two, because that’s the point at which people feel like you’re lecturing them.  Again, I’m not lecturing, you carry on, I’m just trying to make a decision for me, not for you.  So chill.

So there’s a myriad of things to consider if I’m going to do this.  This is certainly not a decision I’m going to be making tomorrow, because I’m focused on the marathon right now, but it’s definitely something that’s in mind, and as I consider making this change, I will be a little more conscious of what I’m eating, and what I can swap out to make my transition a little easier.  Put your compelling arguments either way in the comments, and provided they’re not idiotic (kidding!) I will definitely log that away for consideration.

Went to Food Lion today…

| cheriarmour

And you know, no story that begins this way ends well.  (And let’s keep in mind that Food Lion has launched a new brand strategy.  Lower prices, better shopping experience,  and revamped produce are supposed to be a part of this. Well…)

Let me back up.  I skipped my grocery shopping on my usual Sunday because Deb was over, and I waited til today, when I really had no food left, to do it.  I’m not a poor person, it would be a lie to say I was.  But I’m a recent graduate who’s on a fairly tight budget.  I usually do my grocery shopping at Super Target, and I save the special stuff for Harris Teeter and Whole Foods.   I say “special stuff” to mean my vegetarian supplies.  I’ve been a vegetarian for like 5 or 6 years, after I went to Elon and was not at all impressed by the quality of the meat they served in the dining halls.  No shade, Elon was totally great otherwise, but I saw some questionable meat items come through those dining halls.  Anyhoo, I drink a lot of smoothies and eat some tofu-type things that require those special trips.  At any rate, I thought I’d head down to Food Lion to save a few bucks on groceries.  Part of my thing with being a grown-up is actually packing my lunch to save some money.  (Plus it makes lunchtime at work so exciting when you know you cooked something delish that all your coworkers can be jealous of.) I went, armed with a list, and a resolve to get all the stuff I needed for another of my famous crock pot creation of the week.

First mistake?  I didn’t know where the closest Food Lion was, so I GPSed it.  The GPS took me to an unsavory part of town.  No problem, I can blend!

Food Lion

I went straight for the dairy to find my favorite brand of Greek yogurt, Fage (with the total split cup girl!). No Fage. Okay.  My eager attitude is beginning to dwindle.  But my resolve would not be tarnished!

I headed over to the soup aisle to grab some things for my crockpot.  Some coconut gel stuff in particular.  Couldn’t find it, and asked a gentleman in a uniform where to find it.

Me: Excuse me, where could I find the coconut cream canned stuff?

Food Lion Guy: ::finishes his text conversation:: Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

Finally, I headed over to produce.  Saw some tumbleweeds blowing through, some floppy looking potatoes, and some sad-looking apples.  I poked down the snack aisle to see what the Oreo aisle is looking like, however?  And there were so many varieties of Oreo, one called a “mega-stuf”, that I was stunned that I’d never heard of!  But to find 5 non-rotting Russet Potatoes was a task?! Wth?!

Okay. ::deep breath:: Just because someone is poor, doesn’t mean they need to be relegated to stores that aren’t clean, with poor lighting, poor customer service, and with a wider variety of Pop-Tart and Oreo, than of apple.  The disparity between the poor and the wealthy as far as obesity, high blood pressure, hypertension, Type II Diabetes, and heart disease is concerned is staggering.  And part of the issue is that it seems like folks with a lower socio-economic status aren’t afforded choices.  Check out the produce section of a Harris Teeter, a Whole Foods, or a Trader Joes. There are choices!  And the choices are between fresh, fresher, and maybe, once in a blue moon, a little too ripe.  My point is, folks like me, folks who want to save a few bucks, still deserve a choice when it comes to what we put in our mouths.  I don’t think I will be returning to that Food Lion, however, in the next few days, I will be drafting some constructive comments to the manager, and I hope that my obnoxious letter will even raise some awareness about the fact that people in my tax bracket deserve better as it pertains to our sustenance.