Veganish? Flexitarian? Veganish? Meateater?

Recently on Oprah, she had a episode that showed how she and 378 of her staffers attempted a total vegan diet for one week.  Some were super successful, some failed miserably, some were ok with it and some just survived.  A lot of weight was lost, a lot of weight was gained and a lot of poop was pooped.

On the show she had Lisa Ling go to a Cargill Slaughterhouse and show what happened to the Cow from it's time on the farm right until it was ready to be served to us.  To be completely honest, I couldn't watch it.  The images were so traumatizing that I was certain I was never going to eat meat again.  But wouldn't you know it, I had beef last night for supper.

Michael Pollan was on as well and you really need to read his books.  Greg and I have read them all and have learned SO much from him.  You can check out everything about him here .   He encourages to you think about where your food came from and if you can't then you probably shouldn't eat it.  He encourages you to go to slaughter houses and farms + see what goes on.  If I thought about where my delicious steak and yummy chicken came from as I ate it, chances are I would never, ever eat it.  In order for my basic survival I have disassociated meat from the animal.  I have to.

He also says never to eat anything with more than 5 ingredients or that have ingredients that you can't pronounce or that were not around when your grandma and/or great grandma were alive.

He agrees that everybody should try to have meatless meals at least once a week.  His fear of people going totally vegan is the increased consumption of processed foods which he is heavily against.  He also says that cows have 200 good days and 1 bad day and that if we quit eating anything animal related then so many farmers would lose their livelihood  which is what we don't want.

I own a copy of his Food Rules and consult it on a regular basis and highly recommend that you get one as well.

For the most part, Greg and I have eliminated all processed foods from our diet.  I say for the most part because we're human and not perfect.  There are days that are way too long and we have McDonalds but those days are few and far between.  I read all the ingredients before I buy anything and ensure that I can pronounce + recognize all the ingredients and make sure that there are not a huge amount in them.  We contemplated making our own pasta but that's as far as we have gotten.  I make our own bread, muffins, waffles, pancakes, + cinnamon buns from scratch.  I tried making my own spaghetti sauce from scratch but it didn't turn out that great.  Greg makes his own pesto sauce and it is so much better then what you buy at the stores.

I try to buy organic and/or locally grown produce.  I don't buy organic banana's because they taste gross and we go through so many that I would be bankrupt but I strive to buy  others.  I find the best selection to be at Kingsland Farmers Market or the Calgary Farmers Market however Safeway, Superstore + Sobeys are pretty good with organic produce as well.  I don't think the Walmart produce section has any organic although I could be wrong as I don't shop their often.

As far as meat goes, I have purchased "free from" meat from the grocery store and the farmer's markets but I have not been consistent with it.  The one good thing about Canadian meat is that the majority is grain fed anyways so we just have to get the antibiotics out of it and then we'd be good.  I think the inconsistency stems from the fact that I rarely, if ever, buy meat for the family.  That has always been Greg's responsibility and he really hasn't jumped on the organic food train although he does support locally grown food which I can accept.

As much as being a vegetarian and vegan would be "cool" and great for the environment, I just cannot do it.  I think by having a meatless meal a week is a good start towards a happy medium.  Veganish as Oprah called or Flexitarian as the books I have reserved at the library call it.  I cannot give up eggs, chocolate milk, steak, chicken monterey, pork tenderloin stuffed with asparagus, snow crab or shrimp or my uggs.  I just can't.  I tried once and went 6 days.  It sucked and I caved the moment I saw the juicy steak that Greg's dad had just cooked for me.  It was delicious.

My goal one day is to be half meat, half vegetarian meals but it will definitely be a work in progress.  I am planning on having Tofu Cashew Stirfry on Monday to kick off my once a week vegetarian meal.  David Suzuki lists the top 10 things you can do for the environment and Meatless Mondays is one of them, so that we will do.  Every Monday (or Tuesday depending how much time I have in the evening) I will  update my blog with what we had for supper with photos and recipes in case you and your family are willing to do the same.  And I invite you to share your stories + recipes if you have any as well.

Nobody's diet is perfect but as long as we try and do the best we can, we will all be in a better place.

Happy eating everybody!