Shoes, Ships, and Sealing Wax

Vegetarian awareness

October 1 is World Vegetarian Day, and in fact, October is Vegetarian Awareness Month.

I'm not trying to convince anybody to become a vegetarian...that would take a heckuva lot of chutzpah, considering that I am not a vegetarian. I am, in the words of one friend, a "vegetarian sympathizer."

At one time, my dietary staple was cheeseburgers. I knew every fast food menu by heart, and could have distinguished between a Whopper and a Big Classic blindfolded. When McDonalds ran 2-fer specials on Quarter Pounders, I bought them in multiples and ate them for breakfast.

About ten years ago I was fitted for a bridesmaid dress and was pushing the outer limits of a size 16. I didn't really care about that, it just sticks in my head as a benchmark...1994, size 16. A few years after that, I started biking. I changed my diet a bit...more chicken and a bit less grease...and ended up a size 8. That wasn't a goal, it was just the size I ended up.

When I wasn't biking all the time, I started creeping back up toward a size 10. I didn't care so much about my actual size, but I couldn't afford a replacement wardrobe, so I started watching my diet a little better. A few years ago I made a concerted effort to stop thinking of meat as a main dish necessity. Since making that change, I actually dropped another size, though my exercise habits have been, frankly, minimal. I've been at size 6 now for two years. My cholesterol went from an acceptable 170-something to 140.

I'm not saying any of this to brag, just to show what can happen just by eating less meat. Now we have meat with dinner maybe twice a week, and most of the time when eating out I go with vegetarian options. The veg friend who calls me a sympathizer does so because I'm practically an activist at the office; I got sick of catered lunches where the only vegetarian options were salad and bread. Vegetarians deserve protein, too, and I've started politely suggesting that all office functions have something reasonable not just for vegetarians but vegans.

Sorry, I'm getting way too longwinded. Basic idea...less meat is healthy, and even somebody who ate cheeseburgers for breakfast can come to appreciate meatless meals. So, in honor of Vegetarian Awareness, I'll be posting some of our favorite vegetarian recipes (in that stream-of-conscience, lack-of-measurements way that I do recipes) and veg-related links throughout the month.

Oh, and I'm not eating them for breakfast (although there's no reason not to, so perhaps I'll start)...but my favorite burger now is the Amy's Organic All American.

Posted by Nic at October 1, 2004 06:02 AM