Saturday marks three weeks of vegetarianism. It’s both easier and harder than I thought it would be! For one, other than mild cravings for chicken (caused mostly by feeling extremely hungry more than anything), I’ve had no issues with sticking to my commitment. (Compare this to last year when I tried. I failed within a week due to SEVERE beef cravings). I think this is because I’ve made a big effort to introduce new protein sources to my diet! I’ve been eating a lot of eggs/beans, and now I have a jumbo container of peanuts, and I’ve been having some every day.
On the other hand, do you know how hard it is to find good soup with no animal additives!? Soup has become a new obsession for me, and so SO many of the so-called ‘vegetable soups’ have chicken broth! (Notably, the ‘oriental flavor’ ramen has “beef extract”…. wtf?) I’ve been sticking to the rare vegetable broth vegetable soups, and I’ve found that most types of broccoli cheddar soup are vegetarian (thank god bc it is Heaven). It’s so frustrating though. Who would willingly eat the canned Progresso vegetable soup if they weren’t vegetarian? Just put some vegetable broth in it, for goodness sake.
On a deeper level, it’s really strange for me to be calling myself vegetarian. I used to be one of those (quite common) people who scoffed at the thought of never eating meat again (“Haven’t you ever tried steak!?”) but… my weird, overly compassionate, overly pacifistic streak has been acting up big time for years, and I finally gave into it. Not to mention, I had a huge internal conflict. How could I be so thoroughly disgusted by raw meat and still eat it when it is cooked?! The incongruity ate away at me. I was also really only eating meat 1-2 times a week before this, so it’s not That big of a change.
However, I haven’t decided if I’m going to tell my dad, or just eat meat when I’m at home. My sister has been vegetarian for nearly a year now, and I know that he thinks it is very weird. He considers me a big meat-lover like himself and my stepmom…. I don’t know…. I’m also hugely guilty/afraid to tell him for some reason, like I’d be disappointing him? I’m not sure why.
FInally, I’m also mildly worried that my vegetarianism will be considered/ is ACTUALLY a symptom of my recurring disordered eating… I’ve been having major issues since I’ve gotten back to college… but i’ll address that in another post.
Shine on You Crazy Diamond 