A new new years resolution

Posted on March 5, 2008
Filed Under Health, Information |

In January I mentioned an eHow.com article that listed five tips to help you keep your New Years resolutions. Tip number five was to begin in spring so I thought I would talk about my newest new years resolution.

As of Saturday March 1st I have been a vegetarian. Today is the beginning of day five, and I have to admit the temptation is much less than I had feared. The major temptation is not a craving for meat in my experiance but the convience of food that has meat in it. I am only at the beginning of this journey, but so far I have found a couple of things that have helped me.

No fast food breakfasts: I know that there are probably a few fast food places that have a meat free breakfast option. However for the most part fast food breakfast is a no go for the vegetarian. This is a tough one because if you were like me, you got into the unhealthy habit of getting a fast food breakfast because it is so convenient. You are in a rush and you leave the house with the knowledge that you can pick something up on the way. I have had to slow down and actually fix something at home. If you are in a rush you can fix something that you can take with you. This morning I will probably have peanut butter on toast and take it with me. I have also been told that there are a number of vegetarian friendly breakfast options you can buy at your grocery store.

Find a few trusted lunch restaurants: If you can’t pack your lunch every day and you can’t afford going to a fancy restaurant for lunch, find a few places that you can eat. For me there are two sub sandwich shops that have multiple vegetarian friendly options. There is also a California mission style burrito place that has a lovely bean and rice burrito that I like to eat at. Worse case scenario and you are going to eat at a fast food place, the taco restaurant will usually offer any beef dish with beans instead and probably have a bean/rice burrito option fairly cheaply on the menu. Know the places you won’t have a problem eating and plan on them if you can’t take the time for a healthier lunch.

Reward yourself: Sometimes it is nice to go to a nice restaurant. Reward yourself, there are plenty of very tasty options at Japanese and Indian restaurants that you will probably enjoy more than finding the one or two vegetarian friendly options available at the chain restaurants.

Find a group of vegetarian peers: My mother went veggie over a year ago and my brother went veggie in January. Find someone who has made the switch, they will often have good advice and suggestions. They might tell you about restaurants you didn’t know about and can probably share some tasty veggie friendly recipes.

Do you have any tips for becoming vegetarian? Please share them with the rest of us.

Comments

5 Responses to “A new new years resolution”

Strumpet on March 5th, 2008 8:40 am

I was vegan for awhile a long time ago.

I still LOVE vegan food.

I think the problem with my not lasting more than the 14 months that I did, was because I was so strict.

I think that if you are vegetarian and not vegan, you have more of a chance in succeeding simply because of that.

If you look into it, I am sure you can find a way cool veggie/vegan restaurant or coffee shop that caters to the lifestyle.

Also go to your local bookstore and buy yourself some vegan/vegetarian cookbooks.

Linda McCartney had some GREAT books FILLED with her vegetarian recipes that are still in print, I believe. She raised her whole family veggie and has some AMAZING shit in there, plus they’re fun to read with all their Brit refs.

You should also look into some of the chain grocery stores that cater to vegans/veggies like Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s and see if there are any within driving distance in your area. They carry MANY prepared and HEALTHY foods for the veggie lifestyle.

Another difficulty with veggie-ness is VARIETY. You GOTTA make sure you’re mixin’ things up quite a bit, ESPECIALLY in the beginning, cos it helps reduce cravings SO much. Plus, at that time, a LOT of the veggie food itself is new for a new vegetarian.

SNACK A LOT AND SNACK HEALTHY. If you keep your metabolism going with lots of cool snacks in between meals….you help reduce cravings not only for meat but for bad food in general. Snack on organic baby carrots and hummus. THIS IS MY FAVOURITE SNACK IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD AND I EAT IT ALMOST EVERY DAY. My favourite is horseradish hummus. Whomever invented this combination, I want to perform oral sex upon them. That is how great this type of hummus is.

Also great snacks are APPLES and BANANAS and PEARS. Keep your fridge stocked with fruit and you can’t go wrong.

Vegetable soup is a great and healthy lunch and if you make a great big ol’ batch it lasts you for EVER in your freezer and you can bring a thermos filled with the stuff with a couple of slices of whole grain and some cucumber spears for lunch and you’re set.

The DRAWBACKS and now there are so many ways to avoid this with all the healthy carb options available that were not available when I was vegan is all the CARBS. Cos pasta is yummy and it’s mostly vegan. And it’s cheap. And I’m Italian, so I love the stuff. So, it was always an easy option for me. But it gets old fast and it’s so heavy and ew.

But, NOW they have WHOLE GRAIN pasta and pasta made from EGG WHITES that are mostly protein. However, I don’t know if you’re doin’ eggs and cheese or not.

One of the BEST breakfasts in the whole wide WORLD is tofu scramble. You can toss just about ANYTHING into it, and it’s SO yummy and healthy.

Also, substitute FAKE meat products. I am STILL quite addicted to veggie burgers. My freezer RARELY lacks a box of them. Tossing one in the microwave and just eating them plain sans bread or condiments or cheese are another of my favourite snacks.

Anyhow, I have tons of cookbooks and WAY more to say on the topic as I still let my inner vegan play….I just love oysters too much.

Some vegetarians do seafood though!

As I said, half the battle is that you’re not vegan and going vegetarian. You have less restrictions and therefore you’re eating healthy, saving animals, feeling better, AND have more of a chance to stick to it.

Good on you, Sir It.

Congratulations.

Let me know if you have ANY questions about the lifestyle or what things are veggie and what aren’t. You’d be surprised, but again, depends on how strict you’re going.

I think the steps you’ve already taken are stupendous.

You freaking rock, yo.

xo
Strumpet on March 5th, 2008 3:12 pm

Yay!

It’s here.

My extensive rambling is here.

I did something right today, at least.

xo
jaredrbyer on March 5th, 2008 6:29 pm

Your comment could be a whole post, thanks Strumpet. I am veggie, I would have a hard time giving up cheese and a couple of other things. Seafood, I think I will do from time to time. You know once or twice a week so we can always go get oysters. Also I don’t think I could give up good sushi.

I am glad your rambling is here, it is great, thanks for sharing it.
Strumpet on March 5th, 2008 7:27 pm

You have no idea how happy I am to hear that you will still eat oysters.

Just don’t go giving up Twister.
jaredrbyer on March 5th, 2008 9:17 pm

Me, You, Oysters and Twisters sounds like a fun time.