Going back to being a vegetarian - ups and downs [View all]

Hello, I am new to this group but not new to being a vegetarian. My mom raised me as a vegetarian ( I still remember being 5 yrs old and her telling me that eating a hamburger is the same as eating our pet dog - I don't recommend that tactic). Since my mom didn't cook much we ate a lot of mac and cheese, fried egg sandwiches and the occasional fake hot dog. This was in the late 70's and 80's when fake meats were still in the cardboard tasting phase. Fake bacon - oh that was horrible. Fake hot dogs - awesome.

When I got older, I started eating meat - mainly because it was "new" and in defiance of my mom (dumb, I know). In college and law school I was too poor to eat much meat - maybe some ground hamburger once a month or so, plus I have never really liked the taste or texture of meat.

Then I married a carnivore - my husband was raised eating 3 meat courses a day, plus meat as a snack. Over the years, I began cooking and eating more meat. Trying to impress my husband with my culinary skills and providing him with delicious dinners, I began cooking pork chops, chicken and of course beef roasts. Our health has not improved as a result of all this meatiness. I did casually start to substitute meatless alternatives in his meals - Boca crumbles instead of ground beef in hot dishes or chili, Quorn chick'n patties etc. I have succeeded in having not only meatless meals, but whole meatless days for him without him really noticing.

So, because we are trying to eat healthier and be more humane we are re-assessing our food habits. It started with reading some blogs, Micheal Pollan's book Food rules, etc. When I mentioned becoming vegetarian to my husband last week, he had a full blown panic attack. It was that all or nothing that made him crave a steak, right then and there.

I realize now that by giving us permission to eat meat - as long as it is locally and humanely raised, no hormones, no animal diet, grass-fed etc, he is ok with that - takes that panic away from him. Since finding this type of meat in the local grocery store is impossible (thanks Big Food) and its very expensive at the Co-op (and my husband is kind of cheap), going meatless is going to be a lot easier.

The good news? There are so many meatless alternatives on the market now and they actually taste good. Plus there are more vegetarian cookbooks so finding recipes is easier. More and more restaurants have vegetarian dishes - you know real meals, not just the damn side salad. Also I know from experience that meat cravings do go away, after going meatless the texture of meat is foreign and it feels so greasy and heavy, so I know that in time my husband will feel the same way.

The bad news? I feel for years that I have been progammed to cook (and my husband to eat) a meal that centers around a main meat course and 2 sides - its what so many cooking magazines, menu plans etc focus on its hard to get out of that mental rut. Meat is cheap and easy - easy to throw some chicken on the grill or a roast in the slow cooker (this is why the humanely raised rule comes in - that meat is so expensive, we have to find a meatless alternative). I am not a huge fan of many vegetables - so I need to try more recipes and be braver in my eating. And finally meat cravings - bacon and steak are my husband's favorite foods - bacon wrapped steak is heaven for him. That is going to be hard to overcome.



The weirdest thing I crave - those Loma Linda meatless hot dogs in a can. Ate those growing up and now I can't find them anywhere. I can get a case on Amazon, but that's too much of a commitment.