Lent And My Attempt To Become A Veggie

Although I am not an overly religious person, I do still commit myself to some of the Catholic traditions, or laws if you will, with Lent being a main one. Each year I give up something and for most I succeed in keeping my vow. Admittedly, what I give up are trivial things – sweets, fizzy drinks, chocolate. Going without these for forty days is not a big deal as I don’t have a very sweet tooth which allows other foods to provide me with comfort. Using past experiences to really pose a challenge to myself, I decided to give up red meat.

Other factors have contributed to this decision. One is the recent horsemeat scandal; the thought that I have may once eaten these beautiful creatures saddens me. In fact, I have always had an uneasy feeling about eating meat in general – I don’t really feel comfortable at the thoughts of slaughtering and eating another being. I only really eat animals which I grew up eating as the habit is there, and it has often been the case that I will refuse to try something on the basis of its cuteness or lovability. My second reason is that of late I have been feeling awful – always tired and lethargic. Having read the benefits of a healthy meat-free diet, I decided to experience for myself what positive outcomes can occur from this change. Of course I am aware that this will mean a lower intake of iron which can have a negative impact for somebody who is already lacking in strength but only time can tell if that will be the case.

Let me state here that for now I have decided to allow some poultry in my diet. I am not ready to cut out meat completely. Up to this point I was not a big vegetable eater and I need to incorporate more meat free meals into my everyday life before cutting out foods which do have nutritional benefit for me.

So how am I getting on so far? Not very well overall. While I haven’t eaten any meat, eating chips and noodles solely will do me no good. I made this decision unprepared grocery-wise but plan to rectify this when shopping tomorrow. I have scoured the internet for some new recipes and I really am looking forward to making some new food discoveries. For instance, today I had vegetarian lasagna for the first time and I really liked it! I also felt less bloated than when eating the meat version. This could be the beginning of a new me. I may never give up meat fully, but if I can significant decrease my consumption, I am doing both myself and the animal world good.