"That must be hard"

I had some girlfriends over the other night, and we had some food, drank some beer... Talked about life, and everything. Of course our conversation topics rolled to this and that, and landed on food... somewhere in between boys and beer... The comment was made to me "That must be Hard" (to cut out eggs and dairy), and wouldn't I miss cheese?!


Honeslty, it hasn't been that hard, and I'll tell you why. I've been eating a mostly vegetarian diet for about 3 years now. And leaning towards vegetarian for about 5 years. So, my transition has been slow. I still remember the last steak I ate. It was three years ago, and I thought I was just craving the steak salad at Outback. I remember how something just switched, maybe it was because I was by the ocean and there were markets with fresh produce everywhere, and why with all the abundace of the tropics was I craving a genaric steak. My steak salad came to the table, and it was totally unappatizing. I would never eat steak again. Something bloody on top of fresh greens!! Yuck! Not anymore.


Before that, I gave up eating chicken and all poultry in general. Mostly what turned me off to eating birds was the really nasty, dirty conditions in which they are raised in. And I still have the traumatizing memory of whitnessing some friends chop the heads off chickens that they had hatched and raised. Their chickens probably had a pretty good life... well fed, clean, and got to peck around in the grass and eat bugs even. But seeing them run around without theirs heads... well... not very appetizing. I gradually cut the dairy out of my diet, because it made me feel awful. I'd get a stuffy head and have no energy. Basically I was some form of lactose intolerant. As we all are! OK... Yes, I will miss cheese just a little...but I won't miss the way it makes me feel.

Eggs, well, they always left a bad after taste in my mouth, and I was always afraid I would get some sort of food borne illness if I ate the cookie dough, or licked the beaters full of cake batter. I really don't miss them at all. The only thing that you can't make without eggs, is a good meringue. I can live with out meringue.

So, My commitment to go vegan gave me the opportunity to fully give up eating fish and seafood. Eating fresh fish... this, I miss the most. But honestly, it's not that 'hard'. Being vegan has only raised my awareness of what I put in my mouth, to feed and fuel my body. I feel empowered by my food choices now. And the feeling of "I can't have that..." is gone, and replaced with "I choose.."

In conclusion, being vegan is a journey, as is all of life. Feel good about your choices! Embrace your journey!
Lisa