Going Vegetarian

Many people ask me where I get my glow, and I have to laugh because people have asked me that since I was a kid. I grew up a vegetarian--not because my parents were--no way, my dad was the meat and potatoes kind of guy until he had a heart attack. Just like the old saying goes, "Ex-smokers are the worst at complaining about smokers"; well, some ex-meat eaters are the same.

I grew up a vegetarian mainly because my dad was in the military and we traveled the world a LOT. Not that it was a bad thing, except when it came to meat consumption. Many in the US do not realize how easy they have it in the United States in getting meat products. If you have never actually walked through a market in China or other countries you have no idea. True that in Asian countries, they only kill what they will consume that day most of the time, but to walk through the market with dead animals hanging and bleeding out all over the streets is a smell you never forget. Our turn to vegetarianism was more from my mother not being able to find meat she thought was good to eat. Since two of her brothers were butchers and an uncle was a kosher butcher, she was very picky. As a kid, the faces of those animals, the crying, squealing, and even the sound of the axe as it hacked off the head of a chicken were forever burned in my brain. Yes, they still had their heads most times.

We traveled the world as vegetarians, and upon returning to the US and settling in California, we were dubbed as being part of the "fruit and nut brigade". Kids in school were always interested in what we were eating and why we never partook of the school lunch program {which I was glad for since the food was awful}. I would bring homemade soup and bread, veggie sandwiches made with homemade wheat bread, and things like vegan cheese, cucumber, tomato, red onion, and sprouts drizzled with lemon juice, you have to know, this was back in the day when veggie hot dogs still came in a can. I still love those sandwiches.

As I grew up and moved to high school, more of the kids got interested in my food, and I found other kids who ate the same, and didn´t feel much like a "fruit and nut". Even in cooking class, the kids had so many questions that the teacher did almost a whole semester on being a vegetarian, and we got some converts. One summer I went to a Seventh Day Adventist farm in northern California and learned how to garden, cook, and mix foods for proteins and vitamins--it was a great experience.

As I moved to college I kind of slipped. Time being the major problem, I started eating processed foods, then meat. Sure, I got sicker than a dog for several weeks. Not a pretty thing and my body didn´t let me forget it, but I kept on not listening. For several years I was a meat eater; I really didn´t like it, but through college it was eat what you could grab. A group of us grew a few vegetables and herbs in boxes and did what we could to get by.

After graduating from college, I was ninety pounds heavier, hating life, hating who I was as a person, and feeling guilty for the deaths of all the animals I had eaten over a four-year period. Then I saw a little sign someone had given me. I had no clue where it came from or who the person was, "Eat to live, don´t live to eat". And I thought, boy, someone thinks I´m fat because I eat a lot of food, which wasn´t the case, I was just eating badly. I was eating the wrong kinds of foods and that had an effect on how my body looked. It wasn´t until years later that I would find out why.

Now, some people would think that it´s easy to become a vegetarian. Not so! Sure, you can just quit eating meat, but do you know where your food comes from or what´s in the boxes of processed foods? You would be surprised when researching the ingredient list. Becoming a vegetarian takes work. Shopping or growing your own food. Cooking, knowing what you are buying, and what´s in it.

There are many different levels of vegetarianism.

Lacto-ovovegetarians: These vegetarians exclude meat, poultry, and fish, but include dairy and eggs. This group is where most vegetarians in the United States fall.

Lactovegetarians: This group excludes meat, poultry, fish, and eggs, but eats dairy products.

Vegans or Strict Vegetarians: This group is what most people would call the "elite" of the vegetarians. They do not eat any meat, poultry, fish, dairy, eggs, cheese, milk {except soy}, and some do not eat honey or wear clothing made of animals.

Today it is much more common to be a vegetarian. There are fewer funny looks and name-calling. Many schools offer vegetarian choices, and the upsurge of channels like Food Network, who at some points actually show viewers how to prepare vegetarian meals (it would be better if the cooks gave the non-meat alternatives on all their recipes). But that´s one thing a vegetarian can do is see something we think looks good from a meat table and make it vegetarian; we´re always thinking.

There is one particularly great thing about being a vegetarian, and I heard this time and again growing up. Few doctors at the time agreed but it really is better for your health. Doctors are finding that the benefits far outweigh the all-protein diets like Atkins. Vegetarians show lower incidences of heart disease, certain types of cancer, diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure.

Choosing to go veg takes some reading, research, and knowing the reason you are doing so. It does take work; like anything, you have to plan meals, shop, and prepare your food most of the time, but you can live a normal life and get all the protein and other nutrients you need. If you stay away from the high fat processed foods, white refined sugars, and salt-laden foods, being a vegetarian can actually be easier and cheaper while being better for your health.

Oh, and what drove me back to being a vegetarian? I got diagnosed with an autoimmune disease and everything I read about it and everyone I talked to that has the same disease told me what helped them was being a vegetarian. The ninety pounds came off too. And as for that sign someone gave me, I finally found out where it came from and what it really meant after years of having it hanging around, and I´m glad it was out there for me to borrow for so long.

For more information about going vegetarian check out www.goveg.com