Vega-tables
I threw away my candy bar
And I ate the wrapper
And when they told me what I did
I burst into laughter-Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks
I’m trying out a crazy new experiment - eating vegetarian. (No, not eating vegetarians) No particular thought process or game plan, just seeing how little meat I can eat. So far it’s going pretty well - it’s been a little over a week and I’ve eaten mostly vegetable and dairy matter, except for two very tasty pork dumplings and a delicious chunk of a poor doomed mahi-mahi.
I’ve learned that eating veggie is both easy and difficult. Easy if you’re just cooking for yourself, difficult if you’re going out to eat at a restaurant.
I’ve also noticed that we seem to be terrified of beans here in America. Aside from the refried ones that pad our burritos and the french green ones that are basically all pod and no seed, restaurants are not terribly conversant with the legumes. I guess they get a bad rap for being a simple peasant food, and for supposedly causing flatulence. But hey, I don’t know about your intestines (and please don’t tell me), but peas and beans irritate me far less than do meat and dairy.
Beans are a great thing to eat. They’ve got protein *and* fiber, and they cook up so nice and tasty in just about any sauce you can think of. And they’re like 49 cents a pound. So, guess what I’m bringing to your party?
January 18th, 2007 11:40
Is this what you do after I go to bed? I like this template.
January 18th, 2007 15:10
You can thank Sunaryo Hadi of frisidea.com for the template. I think it’s pretty easy on the eyes myself.
January 25th, 2007 12:41
Rather than going immediately cold, er, veggie, you might try the method J and I used to eating vegetarian. First, you give up red meat. Then you give up white meet (and the “other” white meat). then you try and give up fish (we try now to eat only fish that was caught less than 30 miles from where you are eating it, which works except in the case of sushi).
January 28th, 2007 20:41
Good idea. So far I’m completely avoiding red meat and processed meat, but I’m not beating myself up for eating a bit of chicken or fish. I’m also not too worried about vegetables that are cooked in chicken broth at this point. I don’t really miss eating beef yet. I fear that a craving for a really amazing cheeseburger might do me in eventually, though.
January 28th, 2007 21:29
Eating food from within 30 miles of any type must be an immense challenge. Even when you are in the chickenhouse-in-the-woods crabhouses of the Eastern Shore, most of the crabs come from North Carolina.
February 3rd, 2007 09:42
You want a real challenge, give up meat *and* dairy. I’m not philosophically vegan, but for various health reasons, I eat neither meat nor dairy (except for occasionally, very rarely, seafood), and it’s a real challenge to eat restaurant meals with my family. Most of the so-called vegetarian meals offered in non-specialized restaurants are loaded with cheese or cream sauces. And not to tell you more than you want to know about my intestines, but dairy products are a MUCH bigger problem for me than meat or beans.
February 3rd, 2007 12:44
That’s true, Liz - it’s really difficult to find restaurant food that contains neither meat nor dairy. It’s like cheese is the first fallback once you give up meat. Why do we feel like we have to have animal protein in order to have a “real” meal?
That said, I must admit I’m a total hypocrite. I love cheese and find it hard to give up, even though I do have trouble digesting dairy. It’s easy to pop a lactaid and not think too hard about it. So far I’m focusing on not *increasing* my dairy intake now that the meat is out of the picture.
Ever since I first noticed it, I’ve really been struck by the lack of beans on restaurant menus - it’s really strange. There are notable exceptions. I love the Indian restaurant by my house (and TastyBite boil-in-bag meals) because you can get a very satisfying meal out of rice and legumes - beans, lentils, chick peas, etc. BUT, I had dinner with a friend the other night at an “upscale” Indian restaurant in Dupont Circle, and I swear to god there were no legumes on the menu, except that you could order dal as a small side dish. Everything was salmon this and lamb that. I ended up with saag paneer, one of the only vegetarian dishes, and it was TOO SALTY. Clearly these folks need to learn how to cook vegetables without reaching for the Lawry’s seasoned salt!!!
February 13th, 2007 22:00
For upscale, but good, Indian, that knows how to cook veggies, you should try Indique (in Cleveland Park and also in Chevy Chase now).
I’m a sucker for cheese and cream and milk as well. Lucky for me, I’m not lactose intolerant yet, so we tend to be fairly heavy cheese eaters in the E-C household.