About a month ago, unbeknownst to myself, I tried being vegetarian. My mom, who is usually the one who cooks food for my family, did not make any meat foods. There was no special reason for why this happened, we just didn’t go out to buy meat at the grocery store. My family eats a lot of meat, so this was a rare occurrence in my household.
The first couple of days of vegetarianism went by without my knowledge. My mom is an excellent cook, so anything she makes, whether vegetarian or not, is delicious. I think that is why meat never crossed my mind. I am also fine with vegetarian foods in general. When I was a kid I used to be very picky about eating vegetables, but since then I have changed a lot since then. A large part of the reason why I branched out goes back to my mom’s cooking. I remember I used to not eat eggplant, but then I tried my mom’s eggplant curry and I realized that I really enjoyed eggplant. Now I’m open to trying new foods when given the chance.
It wasn’t till the end of the second week that I started feeling as if something was missing. Though my meals were good, I didn’t feel as satisfied, and I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. This feeling went on for a couple more days till I found my answer. It was Wednesday and I was watching Wheel of Fortune while eating dinner. Then, an ad for Popeyes came. The beautiful chicken appeared on screen and I realized that I really wanted some chicken. I thought back to when I last had meat, and I couldn’t remember! I knew that this is what had been craving for the past two weeks.
I didn’t ask my mom if she could make chicken or if I could buy food outside, though, because I thought this was a good experience for me. I’ve always thought about trying to be vegetarian, but after my time those two weeks, I knew that it was not the right lifestyle for me. I realized that meat is such an integral part of my diet that it’s pretty unnecessary to stop eating it, especially if I like it so much. And at the beginning of the third week, without me mentioning my craving, my mom felt that she hadn’t cooked meat in a while so she went to the store and bought chicken.
The first couple of days of vegetarianism went by without my knowledge. My mom is an excellent cook, so anything she makes, whether vegetarian or not, is delicious. I think that is why meat never crossed my mind. I am also fine with vegetarian foods in general. When I was a kid I used to be very picky about eating vegetables, but since then I have changed a lot since then. A large part of the reason why I branched out goes back to my mom’s cooking. I remember I used to not eat eggplant, but then I tried my mom’s eggplant curry and I realized that I really enjoyed eggplant. Now I’m open to trying new foods when given the chance.
It wasn’t till the end of the second week that I started feeling as if something was missing. Though my meals were good, I didn’t feel as satisfied, and I couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong. This feeling went on for a couple more days till I found my answer. It was Wednesday and I was watching Wheel of Fortune while eating dinner. Then, an ad for Popeyes came. The beautiful chicken appeared on screen and I realized that I really wanted some chicken. I thought back to when I last had meat, and I couldn’t remember! I knew that this is what had been craving for the past two weeks.
I didn’t ask my mom if she could make chicken or if I could buy food outside, though, because I thought this was a good experience for me. I’ve always thought about trying to be vegetarian, but after my time those two weeks, I knew that it was not the right lifestyle for me. I realized that meat is such an integral part of my diet that it’s pretty unnecessary to stop eating it, especially if I like it so much. And at the beginning of the third week, without me mentioning my craving, my mom felt that she hadn’t cooked meat in a while so she went to the store and bought chicken.
That's a really interesting experience with vegetarianism you had. I have never gone that long without eating meat myself because I just really suck at self-restraint. It's awesome that your mom got by without meat for 2 weeks without you noticing--that's quite an accomplishment!
ReplyDeleteHmm, I'm tempted to try to convince you to try again. But what can I say that you haven't heard before? Anyway, nice post. I wonder if we are addicted to meat like we are addicted to caffeine? Probably not.
ReplyDeleteI think the debate over whether or not to be vegetarian is interesting, especially since my best friend was pescatarian (only fish and shellfish) for most of his life and recently converted to eating meat, which he says tastes amazing. I understand that it makes sense for people to not eat meat because they want to prevent animal abuse or cruelty, or because of religious beliefs. However, I often see that children are raised with a certain diet and are not allowed to explore what they prefer. I think that it should be a purely personal choice, and that once someone is at an age where they can cook for themselves they should be allowed to choose.
DeleteI agree with Omeed. Nice post, and I really want to try some of your mom's cooking! Diet in general is a really complicated topic. I've never seriously considered being vegetarian because my family eats some kind of meat pretty much every meal and I love it, but there are pros and cons to both the vegetarian and omnivorous arguments. I'm sort of inspired to try it out now that I've heard your experience with it, just to see if it works for me.
ReplyDelete