To Meat or Not to Meat

How's that for a cheesy title, huh? So a couple of weeks ago during one of the many snowstorms we've had I did the unusual and left work on time and got home in the daylight hours. The ride home was a little nerve-wracking, but not as bad as it would have been if I'd been the one driving because the roads were not pretty--that's an understatement. I don't blame the plows, they were doing the best they could, but it was during working hours so with the cars and how fast the snow came, there was only so much they could do by the time I left work.

Anyway, when I got home I plopped on the couch to relax for a few and put on the tv. Oprah happened to be on. I rarely watch her as I'm not usually home at 4:00. I'm often at job #1, job #2, or the gym. Unlike several of my friends I have no real strong feelings toward Oprah one way or the other. (In other words I have friends that LOVE her and friends that absolutely cannot stand her.) But anyway, that day's episode was about going vegan. She and her staff ate vegan for one week. Apparently, quite a few of them felt physically well from doing that. I guess it's good to clean out the system shall we say. Anyway, I am easily intrigued (well, sometimes anyway) and kind of wanted to try it. However, I have my limits.

I don't eat red meat. I don't like steak and I am allergic to hamburger. Yes, I know that sounds ridiculous and you think I'm making it up, but I'm not. Actually, technically, I'm not allergic to it, I'm "intolerant" to it. Regardless of what you call it, if you and I go out for a burger you're not going to want to be around me later that night/the next day. I discovered this when I was 11. I had eaten cheeseburgers many times prior and had no problems, and the first time it happened I thought it was just bad fast food, but it kept happening every time I had hamburger so my mom checked with the doctor and no more burgers for me. So really, giving up red meat wouldn't be a big deal for me.

I like seafood and chicken, but I could probably go without them for a week. I usually have chicken once a week or once every other week. Same with seafood. I do shrimp at home every so often and when I go out to eat, I like to order fish. And about once a month I eat sushi--the beginnger stuff, not the fancy true raw fish.

As you know I have a sweet tooth, so you think that would be the hardest thing, right? After all, most of the baked goodies I enjoy have eggs in them and if you're a true vegan=no eggs. And though that would cause insane amounts of fighting between Sweet Tooth and me, that's not my biggest worry. You know what is? Go ahead and laugh, but it's the milk. I like milk. I drink it every day. I used to get made fun of when I was in high school because I even drank it if I went out to dinner. I don't like drink gallons a day or anything, but I have a glass with my after-work snack and I usually have two glasses of milk at dinner. On weekends, I'll have it with lunch too. (When I'm at work, it's water all day long.) Ironically, I don't put milk on my Cheerios. What can I say, I'm weird! I pour the Cheerios into a bowl and eat them with a spoon, but mine are milkless.

Anyway, getting back to Oprah...so I decided I want to try this vegan business. I think I can do it for a week, it might even be good for me, less junk food and all and if I don't buy milk that week I can probably deal, but I couldn't do the vegan thing forever. So here's where the "troubles" come in and why I'm not doing it 'til March. I hate wasting food so I didn't want to do it right away when I had non-vegan food around that would go bad. So I thought about delaying it a week, by then I'd have drank the milk and eaten the other foods, but I was having a party that following week and I knew if I made baked goodies and offered them to everyone else, I'd want some too. (And it was for the best as at the last minute I ended up going out for sushi with a co-worker that same week.) Next week I'm supposed to go out for seafood, which I am excited about so vegan week has been delayed 'til March, but now that I've told you about it, I have to at least give it a try, right? I hope I can do it. I'm sure you'll hear about it in future blogs. Bring on those fruits and veggies!