Thursday, June 28, 2012

Article: Why I went vegetarian

Going vegetarian was a lot easier than I first thought it would be. Like most American families my dinners consisted of a vegetable, side dish (usually white rice) and meat. Altogether, it wasn't unhealthy since my mom is a great cook and made sure us kids had our veggies before dessert. However, when she went vegetarian it changed our household and, almost a year later, it changed me. My mom recommended a book, “Skinny Bitch” by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, to read if I was curious about the origins of meat and the health disadvantages. Health has always been important for me and so I read it. It took me a few days to read the entire book and about halfway through I declared my vegetarian status. My imagination has always been vivid and the wonderful imagery the authors incorporate in this book was more than enough to make me want to hurl up my guts just thinking about a link of sausage or a flank of streak. I have been vegetarian since August 2008 and I don't plan on changing in this lifetime. I am not completely vegan as I do consume dairy when I am out of the house, but when I am home everything I bake is vegan. I have been fortunate to have supportive people in my life to make this lifestyle change easy: My mom for showing me there is great food on the light side, my boyfriend for also adapting to the lifestyle to make grocery shopping easier and to give his stomach some TLC, and my dad who had always teased us veggies but still supported our choice. Thanks Mom for showing me the light side and I hope Dad is enjoying himself there too!