Is Vegetarianism For You?

For those of you who know me personally you know I am relatively strict with myself when it comes to eating right, doing cardio 3-5 times a week and generally making simple healthier choices (i.e. drinking lemon water instead of soda). I have been like this since I was a little girl and it was only recently I made the choice to cut meats and fish out of my life, and generally as many animals products as possible.

I have many friends who tell me they wish they could be a vegetarian (and if you choose not to that is your own discretion and you should be happy with your choice) or ask me how I find the will power to not eat meat. I wanted to write this post to clear the air, answer a few common questions and mention a few reasons and perks that led me to choosing this lifestyle I have been practicing for two years now. 

Why are you a vegetarian?

There are many reasons I debated becoming a vegetarian throughout my life however the big decision actually stemmed out of health and wellness reasons. 

Being from Italian roots, my family is very adapted to eating meat, pasta and cheese as the main course with any sign of greens being very sparing. Due to this I have seen more than one of my relatives become sick with cardiovascular disease. I knew a large part of their problem came with their dependence on meat and it was knowledge to me vegetarianism reduces your risk. I have seen my family members struggle and suffer with this. Anything I could do to reduce my risk of an illness common in my family I was willing to try.

When I went off to school my choice just became further supported when I began to learn the impact the livestock industry has on the environment, especially with reference to the water it wastes and it's impact on global warming. Being a student of an environmental major the last thing I wanted to do was be stagnant about this. I could not wait until I graduated or had a job to begin working to save the environment I needed to make a difference as soon as I could. It just further pushed me to stick with it.

 If you are interested in knowing more about this topic I highly recommend you watch Cowspiracy on netflix. If that is too much of a commitment I will attach a link below to a webpage that will not take more than 10 minutes to read :). 

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/vegetarianism-save-planet-environment

Since becoming veggie I have noticed I get sick a lot less. This is potentially and probably because I now have a plant based diet, which means I am getting a greater intake of vitamins and important nutrients. I have also noticed I just simply feel better and have less digestive problems than before. I also feel more energetic. Many people have transition stories similar to this. My mom for example suffered with knee pain for 20 years. She went to physiotherapy for it and took painkillers but nothing seemed to be working. Once she cut out meat she said it was like the pain magically went away. Benefits like this are just one of the many things I read up on that made me decide this is the life I wanted.

Was it hard to transition to vegetarian eating?

Honestly, I was never a big fan of eating meat and I only ate it because it is what I believed was apart of a balanced diet and the basis of the recipes I learned to cook growing up. However, that only made the decision that much easier. 

Like a lot of people I tried being vegetarian on and off throughout my life but was never able to stick with it. Regardless, it was not until my mom decided to cut meat out of her life (her reasons being animal rights and factory farming) that it became possible for me to do so. It is especially difficult to make a decision like this when your family is not supportive and even more so when you are living at home and your parents are cooking all your meals. I had it very easy in the sense yummy, meatless meals were for the most part cooked for me, meaning I did not have to put any effort into researching recipes and how to maintain my essential nutrients. 

Even in my freshman year of uni I ate food prepared for me in the cafeteria everyday. It was not until I moved into my own house did the full force of vegetarianism hit me. I had no idea what to make so most of my meals consisted of stir-fry that was either plain or covered in soy sauce. On some occasions I would just drown something in cheese. This worked for a little while but I began to get bored of my cooking and I even began feeling weak from not eating enough protein. At this point I considered going back but I was too proud of how far I had come to consider it.

So I had to commit. I began copying my vegetarian roommates meals and learning how to make dishes yummier. I also asked my mom for some advice about eating a balanced vegetarian diet and for some recipes she had made me in the past. Pinterest was also a godsend because it literally holds all the recipes in the world. I mean it has EVERYTHING. Breakfast, lunch, dinner snacks vegan desserts, vegan smoothies and for the most part they are recipes you can prepare quickly!

Having all this new information and possibilities for my meals was actually a very exciting time for me. I began to notice differences in how I was feeling, I was losing weight, I was feeling more energetic and I was proud of my choice. Nowadays when I am thinking about preparing a meal meat does not even cross my mind.

Here is a picture of some soup I made for myself yesterday while I had a cold. It was absolutely delicious and only took about 20 minutes to make :)

Do you still crave meat?

YES. YES. YES. YES.

A lot of vegetarians will claim they never crave it to keep up their charade that their life has completely altered and they have seen the light. I don't want to deny it's true for some people because it very well could be, but I'm going to be the one to call BS on a good 90 percent out there who claim to never crave it anymore. 

There are a few occasions where the temptation can take over, like when a friend of yours is eating something that smells amazing & they offer to share it but you have to sadly shake your head and decline because of its contents. But For me it's most often at family dinners when my Nonno makes his special steak or roast beef, the smell of it makes me wish I could still eat it. Theres also some nostalgia that comes my dietary restriction like when I think about eating Macdonalds burgers when I was a kid or the little sausages my dad used to make me for breakfast. I have this really fond memory when I was 4 and it was pouring rain outside and my mom picked me up from art camp. She drove my sister and I straight to KFC and picked up a family sized bucket of fried chicken. Now whenever it rains I crave fried chicken. I don't necessarily crave to eat meat but at times like this I just miss having some of those comfort foods from the happy memories when I was younger to indulge in.

Sometimes I try to satisfy it with fake versions of my favourite things like veggie chicken fingers or veggie burgers. I've grown to love these alternatives and I know which brands are the best to buy now, but before I've been stuck eating some weird mystery patty that tastes similar to dog food. YUCK.

So the answer to that is yes you still crave meat in some way shape or form, but it is usually short lived. The idea of going back to my old diet scares me much more than giving into temptation.

Where do you get your protein from?

Contrary to popular belief, you don't actually need as much protein as you may think. In fact in North America it is quite common for us to have too much protein. For the average women 46 grams per day is sufficient and for the average man 46 grams per day is sufficient. The excessive protein in our bodies will convert itself to fat if not used up and can contribute to a higher BMI. Making it actually worthwhile for longevity reasons to consider other forms of protein.

My most common forms I get it from is actually vegetables. Especially dark leafy greens. It seems unlikely but if you eat enough of it it is actually sufficient protein. I also often try to include beans and tofu in my meals. I make soup or stir-fry almost every other day so this is pretty easy for me. I usually use nuts for snacking or putting on salads. PEANUT BUTTER IS MY WORLD. Cheese is also a protein vegetarians use quite often as it is quite tasty. However, many vegetarians often face obesity too because they choose to use too many fatty substitutes, like cheese, for protein so there is more taste. I LOVE CHEESE but also try to limit myself with how much I use. However now and then I will make the cheesiest pasta I can. Life is about balance right?

I want to disclose before I end this post that to certain people me discussing my choice to be vegetarian is often taken as braggy or ridiculous. I often struggle to understand why people become so upset when I do speak about being it, as it is a big part of my life. Regardless, please simply take this post as me sharing my knowledge to those interested in this topic. Thank you :)

I hope you enjoyed this post! If you have any other questions feel free to leave them in the comments section and I will gladly answer them to the best of my ability. 

Until next time,

Jade