Let's Begin at the Beginning

I’d like to start this blog by making one thing very very clear: I love to eat. I love all aspects of eating. I love the sights and smells of a farmer’s market. I love glossy pages in cookbooks, Top Chef, spices, and backyard vegetable gardens. I love food arranged as art on the plate and casseroles all cheesy and dumped in a cereal bowl. I love recipes on curling index cards written in my grandma’s hand and how garlic makes itself known in all rooms of the house if you’ve used enough. I like the carmelized parts- I even like how that sounds . . . carmelized. I believe food is an expression of love and if Thanksgiving dinner comes out of a can or box and is served on throwaway plates then you deserve all the family dysfunction around the table. I believe that life is too short, and would rather rock some junk in the trunk than stop eating bread.

So, please understand, I am the last person on the planet who would deprive me of any gustatory pleasure. I, like most Americans, had developed a daily diet in which meat was the main man on the plate and everything else was incidental (unless pasta was on the plate as well. Then it was more a 50-50 sort of thing). I loved all kinds of meat but particularly pork. Pork loin. We had developed so many different glazes and marinades for pork loin in this house it had risen to piggy-worship. Ironically, pigs are my favorite animals. My relationship with pork was similar to the Simpsons episode where Homer has a pet lobster, Pinchy. Homer accidentally cooks Pinchy and then alternates between sobbing and pleasure-moaning as he eats it.

Then, last year, a number of things occurred all at once, and the end result was that I was done with meat. I turned 40. It wasn’t that I had a mid-life crisis or anything, but I did have major intestinal surgery on my birthday. On my actual birthday. Prior to the surgery, my doctor told me that meat wasn’t doing me any favors, and my gut and I would get along a lot better if I cut meat consumption way down. So I did what any 21st century citizen does- I researched it on the internet. In a few days’ worth of surfing I watched some frightening documentaries, read a few books, ordered some fantastic cookbooks, signed up to follow a number of vegan/vegetarian blogs, and I decided that I was done with meat. Pigs would be safe with me from now on.

So—here’s what I learned in the past year: I learned that there is more variety of delicious food out there than I could ever hope to eat (not for lack of trying, though). I learned that I actually feel better when I haven’t consumed meat. I learned that I can approximate most anything I ever ate in my “previous” life, and often times it tastes way better than I remember it. I learned that most of my problems with food (read: excess weight) were born out of laziness; it’s waaaaaaaaay too easy to grab a double cheeseburger at a drive-thru. I learned that my taste buds can (and have) changed. I also learned that I have fundamentally transformed and have committed to this lifestyle.

Which leads me to this blog. I have enjoyed this year so much that I just want to share it with others. I’m not trying to convert anyone at all. I’m not a spokesperson for vegetarianism. I’m not political about what you eat with the exception of the firm belief that the way we now “farm” the majority of animals that end up on our plates is inhumane and disgusting and causing untold harm to the planet. I made a personal decision to stop eating meat and in the process I’ve eaten better than I ever have before. I also lost 30 pounds, though that wasn’t my goal.

So before I jump into this blog whole hog (couldn’t resist), I want to make the following disclaimers:

1. I am vegetarian, not vegan. I still occasionally eat cheese and eggs.
2. I always loved eating meat, and have no qualms about creating “meat-like” dishes. I know some vegetarians balk at that. Not me!
3. I’m still learning.
4. I have 3 children who are not vegetarian. They eat meat about 3 days a week. And no, they don’t usually eat what I make for myself. I think that’s pretty typical in a lot of families. We are working on it.
5. My husband decided to join the vegetarian bandwagon with me without being asked. This has made the transition considerably easier.
6. I’m not a nutritionist. While I know that all of your dietary requirements can easily be met with a vegetarian diet, I don’t recommend you just take my word for it. Do some research and ask your doctor.

With all that said, I welcome you to Vegerrific. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think!