Sunday, February 2, 2014

My Meatless Month

Well, that title is not entirely true.  I ate fish.  Lots and lots of fish.  I became a pescatarian for the month of January and I'm glad that I did it.

Veggies at AJ's

However I should first start with the 'why'.  I'm sure you've all seen the videos that PETA puts out.  The chickens shoved into tiny cages, never to see the light of day.  The pigs made to give birth and nurse for their entire (short) lives.  The cattle being led to slaughter.  Those videos always bothered me.  Always made me think...'Could I be a vegetarian?'  But never enough to actually go through with it.  Because I love meat.  I love seared duck breast with cherry glaze; braised lamb shank with creamy polenta; medium rare filet mignon.  Oh...and of course I love a good In-N-Out burger, the occasional Taco Bell burrito, even some greasy McDonalds.

NOT In-N-Out
But recently I saw some videos that were beyond what I had seen from PETA.  Beyond what I ever wanted in my head.  They were awful, horrible, inhumane, scary, disgusting, sad, brutal, horrific videos that have burned their way into my brain.  And I decided to try to stop eating meat for one month just to see how I did.

It was an interesting month, sometimes even challenging.  I ended up eating a lot of sushi and a lot of pizza.  But I never really missed eating meat.  There were a couple of nice restaurants where my eyes lingered on some delicious sounding meat dishes.  But I was never disappointed with my fish selections. And I even felt better, my conscious that is, felt better.

Sushi at Yasu











Soft Shell Crab Roll

















Now, I know the arguments about farmed fish and wild fish and radioactive fish and mercury, etc.  But baby steps!!  I had to have some form of protein!  

Pizza at Pomo













So, what I determined from this month is, I'm not willing to cut meat completely out of my diet.  I am prepared to eat much less of it, though.  In fact, yesterday was my first day off the pescatarian diet and I only had a bit of salami on some bruschetta and some pepperoni on a pizza.  I am prepared to be more conscious of where my meat comes from.  I've learned that many of my favorite restaurants get their meat from local, grass fed farms.  I've learned that I can, yes, pay a premium, and shop at Whole Foods where I can also buy organic, grass fed, free-range meat.


Shrimp and Burrata Salad at Shady Lady



Crab Legs at Little Cleo





















Does this mean that I will never again have an In-N-Out burger?  Weeeeeell, probably not.  I'm not Superwoman.  I get cravings.  But then again, perhaps my body will get used to this new diet and maybe I won't crave such 'crap'.  We'll see.  What I can say is that it's nice to know that I can do it.  I just keep those curly-tailed pigs, those big-eyed cows, and those roaming chickens in my mind...that makes it easier.  


“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.”
― Julia Child

AND THEN

 "Animals are my friends, and I don't eat my friends."
- George Bernard Shaw





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