Some of the Food I’ve Been Eating, Part 5: Meats/Proteins

Day 72

As the people who know me best are aware of, I love meat. Even though I am meatless for the year, I still can’t deny the fact that meat tastes great. It is succulent and savory. You can bake it, fry it, broil it, grill it outdoors and spice and slice it anyway you want. How can something so flavorful pose such a health hazard?

Well, besides the fact that consumption of meat can increase one’s chances of heart disease and cancer, there is this other factor to be aware of as well.

Better living through chemistry? No thanks.

The minuses of eating meat far outweigh the risks for me. In addition to the above negatives associated with eating meat, there are other factors one should consider as well. The meat industry’s treatment of the animals it uses in production is simply deplorable. I covered this in an earlier entry. Go see for yourself. I’ll wait.

Sad isn’t it? There are also environmental concerns such as the high emission of greenhouse gases from livestock production and the industry’s vast consumption of grain, water and fossil fuels that could be better spent elsewhere on our planet.

I also feel the best I have in years since dropping meat from my diet. My energy levels are up and I am taking off the extra pounds (I have shed 16 lbs. as of this writing).

With all these factors coming into play why would I ever want to go back to eating meat? And, with plenty of other, healthier foods to choose from: natural peanut butter, legumes and more that give me most of the vitamins and nutrients found in meat, I don’t have to!

If you are reading this blog right now and want to drop meat from your diet, then do it! What have you got to lose?

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
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Some of the Food I’ve Been Eating, Part 3: Dairy (or Dairy Substitutes)

Day 69

So, dairy. Uh, yeah...dairy.

What can I possibly say about how I fulfill my daily dairy dosage? As longtime readers know, when I originally went meatless in November, it was just cutting out beef, pork, poultry, fish/seafood and whole eggs. On New Year’s Day I started to leave out dairy products too. If you want more details on this new wrinkle in my diet go here and here.

Before I cut true dairy out of my diet, I mainly got my share of it from 2% milk and the Chobani brand of Greek yogurt. Of course pomegranate was my favorite flavor of the Chobani. Whenever I bought some I tried to get as much of the pomegranate flavor as I could. Not an easy feat because some stores in my area didn’t always stock the pomegranate kind, so whenever I saw that particular variation of the brand on the shelf I bought every one in sight. Yeah, I know, “Jason, leave some pomegranate Chobani for the rest of us!” Sorry, but it is really (BLEEP)n’ good yogurt and I make no apologies whatsoever for hoarding this tantalizing treat.

So there.



When I told my family I was giving up dairy for the year they groaned. My brother-in-law told me I was going to get sick. Not so. As with meat, you can find plenty of good stand-in foods that give you the same vitamins and nutrients as the real deal.

So, on New Year’s Day I began to get my fill of dairy via substitutes such as Rice Dream, an enriched milk substitute fortified with Vitamins A, D, B12 and calcium, and calcium supplements themselves. The Rice Dream goes great in my coffee at home and whenever I buy some java in the outside world I first see if they have any non-dairy creamer. If not, then I just take it black.



There, that wasn’t so difficult, now was it?

Talk to you soon!
meatlessman@yahoo.com
Facebook A Man Finally Eats his Veggies Fan Page
All writing and pictures copyright the author of this blog unless otherwise noted.

I Dream of Meat

Day 14

For me, there are a few signs that a new diet is working.

Weight loss – I was 212 lbs. when I started going meatless on November 2nd.

Now I am down to 207 lbs.

Another sign is that I have a steadier stream of energy. I continue to feel great with the exceptions of a few blips on the radar here and there. Otherwise, I feel much better than when I was eating meat.

Better digestion. That one speaks for itself.

The last sign of a new diet working may only apply to me. It’s a strange one:

I dream of the foods I’m avoiding.

You heard that right. Meats are invading my dreams! They have been kicked off of my meal plate so they are trying to sneak into my psyche!

Last night I dreamt I had to eat at McDonald's so I ordered a salad. On top of the salad greens were strips of bacon! Under the salad was a fine layer of chilled, pre-cooked ground beef. It was firmly coating the bottom of my wooden salad bowl (since when does McDonald’s have true dinnerware?!) and was an unavoidable presence.

Waking before I could put any beef or pork in my mouth, I was relieved that it was only a nightmare.

The same thing happened to me when I first did the Atkins Diet years ago. Around that time I dreamt I robbed a donut stand at an airport! Yeah, I know, weird and random.

And yes, I have done the Atkins Diet in the past. It does take off pounds quickly but they come right back if you go off of the diet plan. Not worth it for that and a few other reasons.

Talk to you soon.

Days 3-5

I'm back. I would have posted last night but I've been having some computer problems.

Here is another thing people have brought up to me about being veggie; balancing your food groups and avoiding junk.

One of the Rebeccas I know informs me that she knows some meatless people that consume a great deal of junk food. She thinks it's just as bad as including meat in your diet and I would have to agree.

I'm not against sweets. It's okay to treat yourself to ice cream or cake once in a while but it shouldn't be something you have everyday.

Giving up meat for better health means not just thinking about giving up beef, pork, poultry, seafood or whatever; it means looking at the foods that remain in your diet after you have made the change.

Ask your doctor or a nutritionist what you should be eating and how much are the daily servings of each. Make sure you are getting your proper allotment of dairy, grain, fruits and vegetables.

Giving up meat alone won't guarantee a healthy diet. Look at everything you eat.

Talk to you soon.