Vegify My Life

When I decided to start living life to the fullest, my friends helped me compose a bucket list [that I fondly carefully named “Living It Up List”] of random things I have always wanted to do. But after a couple of weeks, I realized that it was a daily life goal rather than a list of life goals. I didn’t want to follow a list; I wanted to go with the flow and do whatever came to mind in the moment. That is why so many of the things I do now are completely random, as you can tell from my posts of some of the things. Just because I didn’t want to follow the list does not mean that I do not want to do anything on the list. I still will, but it won’t be about crossing off each goal I complete.

Yesterday, I did a test run of a goal that is on the list and has been a goal of mine for a few years now. The goal I put on the list is to be a vegetarian for a week. Yesterday I randomly decided to be vegetarian for the day as a test run for the time I do it for a week (TBD).

As a Catholic, each Lent season is a time to make a personal sacrifice like the Lord made for us. Many people choose not to do or eat something for 40 days. One year—about 3 years ago—I decided to give up red meat and only eat chicken, fish or seafood (I wanted to go vegetarian then but I knew it would be too difficult to prepare each meal , especially with the stress of school). Considering that Filipinos LOVE pork and it is used in many dishes, it was difficult at times. I remember going to a restaurant and having to sit and pick out eat piece of pork in the fried rice. Or the many nights my family ate a meaty dinner while I was still preparing mine. My family even tempted me and questioned me all the time, but I just ignored it. I made a sacrifice and I was going to stick to it.

So why would I want to put myself through a week without meat, fish and similar products? There are several reasons for it:

1) I want to push myself mentally and physically, avoiding temptation at all costs. I want to be able to walk away from a roasted chicken, or be able to withstand the smell of a steak cooking on the grill.

2) I want to learn more about the food I eat—where it comes from, how it was made/grown, etc.

3) I want my family to eat healthier [my parents especially who have health issues] by showing them that you do not need meat to satisfy your hunger, and that there are vegetarian meals that are both nutritious and delicious. So by doing this, they too will try these foods.

4) I want to form my own reason as to why I would ever want to be vegetarian for life. I know many vegetarians, vegans and pescetarians who each have a different reason for their life choice.

5) I want to explore more vegetarian meals. Many people think vegetarians just eat salads, but there are so many vegetarian meals and options.I’d love to cook fancier vegetarian meals than having veggie pasta. In fact, the amount of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free products is rapidly expanding. I want to try some of the items I’ve heard of like tofu “chicken strips” and vegan and gluten-free desserts.

Spinach, red onions, diced plum tomatoes, sundried tomatoes and provolone cheese.

With that said, it is time to reveal how I did during my test run. Drum roll please. *drum roll* It was easy until the final hour. There was meat leftovers but I managed not to eat them. For breakfast, I made oatmeal and scrambled eggs. For lunch, I made an organic mixed green salad with garden veggies and veggie pizza. And for dinner, I had leftover veggie pizza from lunch.

Piece of cake… until 11:30 when I got home from work and was faced with Chinese BBQ pork that my parents brought home for dinner. What did I do to avoid reaching for a piece of juicy, succulent pork? I made another salad. I could barely finish the salad. All I could think of was eating meat, and the raw onion taste in my mouth refused to go away, even after drinking water and the sweetest juice I could find.

With less than five minutes to kill before midnight [and before I could eat meat again], what did I decide to do? Push-ups.

Then I texted a friend without realizing minutes passed after midnight. As soon as I replied, I went straight to the meat. Pure happiness. This is why I cannot be a vegetarian for life. It’s too good to give up.

If I got through one day of being a vegetarian, I know I can get through a week. I just need to push myself.