Giving it Up

The season of Lent came upon me quickly this year on Wednesday, March 9. I spent most of Mardi Gras thinking about giving stuff up: why do we do it, should I do it (I didn't grow up with this practice), and what should I do? I was gazing deeply into my fridge looking for answers and inspiration for dinner when it came to me-it was time to take the plunge and turn away from meat at least for this season. Once I came to this realization, I felt peaceful and rather excited. But how did a steak-eating Texican come to the point she was ready to give up the moo?

1. My best friend growing up is a Seventh Day Adventist. Her church believes very strongly in the biblical belief of taking care of the body through diet. Although her family didn't 100% adhere to vegetarianism, they did eat a lot more vegetables than mine did, and they were always a lot healthier than we were (minus the South Texas allergies). They did adhere completely to the diet outlined in Leviticus 11 and Deuteronomy 13.

2. I did a Standard Process purification last year during my pregnancy with Baby #3. The first ten days cut meat completely out of the diet. Since I was preggo, I was allowed to have an egg a day for the protein boost, but that was it. Although I was having withdrawals, I felt much better after the first three days and didn't really miss the massive quantities I was used to eating. I lost 10 pounds in three weeks, but Babycakes grew perfectly and is now a healthy little critter. In fact, Thing #3 is supervising as I write and motivating me by clapping and blowing kisses.

3. Alicia Silverstone's The Kind Diet detailed what Food, Inc. did, except with ink (and dead trees, but we won't go there). Although most people are very visual, I have to read things to truly believe them (I think I've been overly jaded by mainstream media, but I digress). Although Ms. Silverstone advocates veganism, I was completely turned to the idea of a veggie-centric diet. I was also turned on more than ever to the plant-your-own dinner and be a responsible Earthling ideas.

And so, here we are, nearly two weeks into Lent, and I'm quite the happy vegetarian. I don't really crave meat, but sometimes I'm tempted...like when I made the family steaks for dinner. I have a "thing" for raw meat, and it was really hard not to pop a nice, rare bite of steak into my mouth. But I didn't, and I was glad. I haven't really lost much weight (not the primary purpose of the exercise), but I certainly have maintained without much work at all (read: too cheap to spend my $3.50/gallon gas on driving 15 miles to the gym on base). I feel like my thing to give up is not truly in the spirit of Lenten deprivation because it's not been horrendously difficult (like the year I gave up ice cream). So I comfort myself with the thought that although I'm not suffering, I'm being a little more obedient to the original diet prescribed in Genesis.

I originally thought it would be really hard to convert because I got really bored with the vegetarian meals during the purification last year. Thankfully, the library came to my rescue. I'd been using the recipes in The Kind Diet, but when the book was due, I had nothing. As I was dropping the book in the return, I noticed the month's special display: cookbooks for healthy eating, with a number of vegan and vegetarian ones in the mix. Hooray! God came through for me before I even thought to ask Him for some help.

As usual, my attempts at biscuits and pizza dough have been beyond miserable, but everything else has been quite tasty. And since the recipes are all new, they're fun to make and try. Thank God for libraries, let me just say that. Baby #3 and I totally loved barley casserole and farmhouse stew. Num num num.

I don't know if vegetarianism is here to stay, but at the very least, I'll go back to only the Old Testament clean meats. And I don't want to revert to daily meat consumption. It should be more of a treat than anything else. We'll see, huh?

Challenge:
Make at least one vegetarian meal every week. When you've conquered that, go for a weekly meatless day. See how much fun you can have working new recipes into your taste buds!

-Domestic Goddess out.

Long Live McDonald's

This pair of photos, taken by Sally Davies, shows a standard McDonald's Happy Meal fare. The picture on the left was taken on Day 1 of Ms. Davies' experiment. The picture on the right is Day 180. Wowzah! I can't imagine how that meal is maintaining its good looks, but I need to know because imagine how well preserved I could be, too! Maybe McDonald's should take their secret to the beauty industry...

Just looking at this meal gives me the creeps. Granted, I usually order my kids the chicken nugget and apples meal, but still. I can't even begin to count how many Happy Meals I've eaten in my lifetime. What could that stuff have done to my insides???!!!

Now, I'm not going to blame McDonald's for making me fat. That's my own fault for not using up more calories than I consume...and that's the case for most people who are out of shape, no matter what they tell you. Getting in shape (use more calories than you consume) is as easy in principle as preventing debt is (spend less money than you earn).

But still...maybe whatever McDonald's is using in their "100% USDA-inspected ground beef" patties is not the healthiest thing for me to consume. Ah, organic meat is looking better and better, despite its cost (I bought 3 regular-sized, organic, free-range, etc. chicken breasts for $10.50 at Wegman's vs. 12 really large, mass-produced, "normal" chicken breasts for $8.90 at Sam's).

Maybe it's time for our little clan to finally go vegetarian...I doubt that would work very well. The kids don't eat any vegetables other than baby carrots and the occasional broccoli sprout. It will be a huge experiment, I'm sure. Maybe my consort and I can be the vegetarians and the kids can have organic chicken nuggets. Or maybe I'll be eating my salad or beans or quinoa while everyone else slices into a juicy steak without me. We'll see!

Today's challenge: Think about where your food came from and what you think it should look like in 6 months. If it's not completely decomposed in your mind's eye, then don't eat it! :D

-Domestic Goddess out.

Vegetarian Week

I'm trying to make my husband a healthier eater, so I declared this week would host only vegetarian lunches. He wasn't too excited about it. However, on day two of this experiment, he's starting to come around. At least he didn't subconsciously wrinkle his nose at the Zucchini Rissoto (from Rachael Ray's vegetarian cookbook) I made him. Seriously, though, I went to the Farmer's Market yesterday morning and picked up all the necessities for only $5. Sure, I had quite a few items on-hand, like spinach, rice, pasta, and crushed tomatoes, but still. I'm sure it all totals about $15 for a week's worth of meals. Not bad, not bad at all. Plus, I've really enjoyed cooking new things.

I love the NC State Farmer's Market here in Raleigh. I'm really going to miss it when we have to move next year. It's got everything: freshly baked German sweets, fruit, veggies, grass-fed/non-hormone meat, and wines. It's great to support local farmers and to eat fresh. My kids snack on all the watermelon, cantaloupe, berry, and tomato samples, making the shopping experience much more pleasant.

While cleaning yesterday, I was thinking about race and the issues associated with it here in the US. Does it make any sense for anyone to be racial in these times? Seriously. Sure, some generalizations will hold true for people groups, i.e., Hispanics eat a lot of rice and beans or Japanese eat lots of seafood. But to characterize entire people groups based on what the media (news, music, and movies) shoves in our faces all the time is just silly. Make your own generalizations based on your neighbors, co-workers, and friends. I'm sure a majority of them rise far above what the mainstream would have you believe. I sure hope I represent my race (too mixed-if I decided to hate any one people group, I'd hate myself) positively. Wasn't America supposed to be all about acceptance and judgement based on merit? Just tired of hearing black, white, and Hispanic references being tossed around the news like we're all a bunch of ignorant imbeciles.

Domestic Goddess out.