Well since Oprah said so and I always listen to Oprah...

I am trying something new this month. If you remember my 101 in 1001, one of my items to do was to go vegetarian for one month. On January 30th, I stopped eating meat.


I was home working on a snow day and watching Oprah, per my usual routine, and the focus of the show was how the Harpo crew was challenged to go vegan for one week. The other main focus of the show was about knowing where your food comes from. The episode was really interesting because you have a Cargill employee, a vegan, and a journalist featured in the movie Food, Inc. There was a very wide array of opinions but everyone was respectful of each other’s beliefs and opinions and they all shared the same message: know where your food is coming from.

Some disgusting interesting facts about the food Americans are consuming:

(facts came from Michael Pollan’s interview on Oprah.com)

  - Americans take 3 million pounds of antibiotics every year

  - Goat is the most consumed meat around the world

  - Children now drink twice as much soda as milk (disgusting!)

- Apples have the most pesticides of any fruit when purchases non-organic. Onions have the least.

  - The general rule of thumb is the further fresh produce has to travel, the more nutritional value it loses (this is why it’s important to buy local)

  - Compared to 50 years ago, chickens are now raised and slaughtered in half the time and grow twice as big.

  - There are now 99 percent fat-free yogurts that have more calories than full-fat yogurt because of sugar



About half way through the show, Lisa Ling took a tour through Cargill, the biggest producer of ground beef in the world. Lisa saw where the cows are fed to fatten them up [ nearly three pounds a day!] and then through the process of slaughtering the cows. I lost it! I couldn’t help but cry for these animals. I felt sick to my stomach and knew that it is really possible to make vegetarianism a reality in my life. The Kathy Freston, the veganist, said something that really resonated with me. She said, how could she put her hunger above another living being’s life and the pain they endure to feed her momentary hunger or craving for meat?

I have always been very sensitive when it comes to animals…ie crying when I go by a mall pet store, always stopping for dogs running loose, financial contributions to local pet shelters, etc. so this lifestyle change was a long time coming. Besides my emotional feelings towards animals, the vast majority of my diet is carbs and vegetables anyway. I will still be cooking meat products for my husband because the man is a carnivore and I can’t deny him of that. I will just cook boca burgers for myself and regular burgers for him. The type of meat and produce I will be buying will be organic, free range or grass fed though.

Also, in the future, I am not 100% opposed to eating free-range, organic chicken and grass fed beef. I just feel like right now, for my body and my mind, my decision is to stick with being vegetarian. To me, it is about knowing where my food comes from and being okay with the decisions I’m making when putting food on the table for my family.

So, I am one week into my vegetarian diet, and I am proud to say that I’ve stuck to it 100%. I feel different too…I think meat has a way of making me feel bloated to uncomfortably full after meals. I have felt great and had lots of energy, despite the lack of iron I’m consuming. I am going to the store today to add iron to my arsenal of daily vitamins. I just feel different. I wouldn’t say I am eating healthier because I’ve always been a healthy eater, but I am definitely eating smarter.

So what am I eating? There are so many types of vegetarians and I am a Lacto-ovo vegetarian. This means that my diet excludes meat, and poultry, but allows eggs and dairy products. Lots of beans and legumes which I goes without mentioning has improved my already spectacular digestive system. I feel like my body is running more efficiently and I can tell a difference in the way I look and feel.
Also, I got some great questions in my 'ask me anything' post. I have quite a few posts in the works related to a lot of the questions I received in the comments and via email. It’s not too late if anyone would like to ask anything else! (comment on the post or email me at lmholo[at]gmail[dot]com.

In the near future I will be posting tips on the way I cook (hiding vegetables into my meals using purees), recipes, my diet growing up...basically what my Mama taught me, exercise, and of course, addressing more questions on my new diet lifestyle.


Cheers,
LT