One Month Ago, I Ate Meat
Continuing our adventures together in cuisine and in our relationship, Yennie and I decided a month ago to be vegetarians for a month together. Since some friendly boys made Yennie meaty dinners, Yennie's vegetarianism took a more carnivorous turn upon occasion, whereas, since my month proved to be a lonelier one, my vegetarian diet was easier to stick to as I faced my nights alone and hungry in front of my near-bare pantry and fridge.
While I didn't particularly mind I wasn't eating meat at all, I did mind being a HEALTHY vegetarian at times. Since I was determined to be a healthy vegetarian (none of this eating a half jar of peanut butter to get protein for me, thankyouverymuch), I had to enter the wonderful and weird world of eating grains, wheats, potatoes, legumes, and all manner of different vegetables so I wouldn't get bored with the classics. Several times I faced the dry foods section thinking"OH! This is what I'm eating tonight? Barley? The thing that that horse in the Thoroughbred book series ate everyday? PERFECT!", and since my strategy was to make food en-masse and eat it for a week, if I really screwed something up I was sort of stuck, but overall I sincerely enjoyed the experience. I feel I grew as a person as I can now say things like "Are those lentils you're eating? That plant belonging to the legume family? That provides 37% of your daily iron intake with one serving? Why, how delectable!"
And so, tonight, I am celebrating with making chicken curry and consuming it with friends, with my nose turned up at the salads and the veggies. Tonight, chicken, it's just you and me.
posted by adrianne @ 3:08 PM
1 comments
1 Comments:
Adrianne, I think you have some misconceptions regarding what is healthy and what is not. Peanut butter is quite healthy, though it's chock full of calories (peanuts are legumes, by the way). Wheat is not very healthy. It's a starchy, high-glycemic grain that is relatively poor in micronutrients. Most non-middle-easterners handle wheat badly. In fact, no grain is that healthy, although oats aren't bad. By the way, the potato is without a doubt the worst vegetable in existence (although sweet potatoes are pretty great). Like wheat, it's high-glycemic and wreaks havoc on your blood sugar (meaning it wil make you fat) and has a horrible micronutrient profile.
Vegetarians only appear healthy because they're compared to the average, obese McDonald's-munching Joe. Obviously, anything will be better than that. I wouldn't recommend anyone being a vegetarian for health reasons, but if you insist, I'd suggest you consume a lot of nuts and oils for calories, and a LOT of dairy and eggs for protein and essential vitamins (if you're vegan, well then you really suck, because soy protein is a horrible substitute).
The number one all-around healthiest food item you could ever consume is probably grass-fed beef. by the way. It's full of vitamins, omega 3s (and other healthy fats), and protein.
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