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Vegetarian Living: The Smart, Delicious ChoiceJan 11 '03 Write an essay on this topic.
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The Bottom Line A vegetarian or vegan will live a lot longer and contentedly.
*As vegetarianism is an unique diet, hopefully this category works better than Writer's Corner where dieters would probably not be as likely to spot it and be helped by it.* I was just quietly amused by my google search in how many websites there are concerning how to become a vegetarian. There are people from all walks of life sharing their stories of why and how they became one, usually encouraging those reading to try it. The strangest one by far was by an Indian who stipulated that vegetarianism means harming no living thing and that includes plants as well as animals! He would only eat ripe fruit that had fallen off the plant. While he did inform me that ripe bananas, pears and kiwi have Vitamin B12 and the fermentation allows greater absorption of minerals, staying away from plant food because you might harm it is silly. I also was intrigued by the several books offered about becoming a vegetarian or vegan as well as a ten-dollar online course of five, easy steps to the process. Christine Beard with her new book, Become A Vegetarian In Five Easy Steps (seems that is the magic phrase), can be found on Amazon, but another vegan author says that her information is outdated in the first chapter. He, Erik Marcus, has written Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating and he also recommends The Vegetarian Way by Virginia and Mark Messina and Becoming A Vegetarian by Mellina, Davis and Harrison. Our caprig has recently reviewed Vegan Vittles. So what do I recommend? Glad you asked. I've been a vegetarian for more than twenty years and a vegan for a year and a half. It took me only a few months to make the transition to a meatless diet, although my diet was pretty horrible to tell you the truth. I was an oddball amidst Nebraska meat eaters and had no vegetarian mentor, no book or class to help me, and especially little idea of how to substitute for meat. I ate lots of green beans, salads, grains, fruits and peanut butter if I recall and drank lots of milk and juice! It's still sometimes tricky today to stick to a vegetarian (and especially vegan) diet, especially when going out with friends, but it is much, much easier with wonderful help offered if you only look for it, which I recommend. There are oodles of reasons for choosing this lifestyle, but first let me define the four kinds of vegetarian before I go any further. Vegans - eat no meat, dairy, eggs Lacto Vegetarian - eats no meat or eggs Ovo Vegetarian - eats no meat or dairy Lacto Ovo Vegetarian - eats no meat There are four minerals and a vitamin that are reputedly difficult to come by in a vegetarian or vegan diet, that being iron, zinc, Vitamin B12 and calcium, but don't believe those claims. I don't. Though I daily drink a high soy protein meal replacement powder blended with calcium-enriched soy milk, containing one hundred percent of most vitamins and various percentages of minerals, enzymes and amino acids, I probably receive enough simply from my diet. I love my vegetables and fruits, usually an average of ten or more servings a day! Two servings of fruit sometimes in my morning shake; four to six servings of veggies or fruit (tomato, avocado) in my spaghetti or lentil/bean soup for lunch; five to seven servings plus one of soy cheese or tofu in a salad or stir fry at night, or a veggie burger. I snack on trail mix with peanuts, sunflower seeds, almonds and raisins. I have one hefty slice of whole wheat bread from the breadmaker and sometimes brown or wild rice, healthfully-made cookies or cakes I've baked (I've posted many of my recipes), mostly monounsaturated fat from olive, canola and walnut oil as well as milled flaxseed and walnuts for omega 3 fatty acids. It's a constantly delicious diet with all the variety of fresh or frozen produce, spices and quality soy products on the market these days. I challenge any one of you to take up such a diet for a few months and see if you miss meat or enjoy it as much when you consume it again. You will no doubt notice that you feel more alert and energetic, less constipated and heavy, with your new diet. Most likely you will lose body fat and gain incredible health benefits for your heart and other internal organs, immune system, bones, blood and brain. When I first became a vegetarian in my teens, I lived with my cattle-ranching family who couldn't understand my motivation. It disturbed them even and there was some rebellion in my decision, but mostly I just couldn't stomach hamburgers anymore. I was bored and dissatisfied with the rest of it, wondering why I couldn't lose my cellulite despite hours of jumping rope and bicycling. Now I know there are so many more reasons for becoming a vegetarian or vegan and hopefully by clueing you in on them, you will become motivated to adopt this diet. First there are the previously mentioned and well-proven health benefits. You will also enjoy a fitter, more energetic body. Cooking without meat will most likely take less time to prepare, may be much cheaper and encourage eating of veggies and fruit, but just as importantly not contribute to the water pollution, shrinking sources of fossil fuel and wasted land used for raising cattle, usually by large companies solely for profit. Millions of people are starving because over half of the world's grain must be fed to cattle. Billions are thirsty, sick and dying, poor, forced to sell their land or go without electricity; animals are crowded into factory cages, stalls and tanks or feedlots for their entire, miserable lives (which is only until they're fat enough from an unnatural diet) and the problem is only becoming worse. If the United States became vegetarian, though, odds are that half or more of our imported oil would no longer be needed, medical bills would be cut in half and we could feed the world! It's really very simple and smart to become a vegetarian these days. I would add it's a treat for your taste buds too. Just visit a natural foods grocery cooperative in your area and check out the huge selection of non-meat products. Pick up dried beans or peas, lentils, brown rice, nuts, seeds, veggies, fruit, olive oil, milled flaxseed, spices like basil and oregano, fresh garlic, maybe soy products. There's even absolutely awesome soy ice cream. If you have any questions or comments, I'd love to hear them. The time for vegetarian living has definitely arrived!  |
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