Vegetarianism as I live it:

I just deleted an entry in progress.  I needed to write it but I guess I didn't have the courage\stupidity to post it.  Save it for a post card to frank warren maybe.

Non sequitor:

i've been meaning to jot down (digitally jot, of course) a few thoughts on being a vegetarian.

The journey has not been quite as challenging as i had thought it would be.  The cravings have been quite manageable.  more manageable, infact than my almost manic need for chocaolate-- something I have tried and tried again to give up and cut out of my life with limited success at best and binge-type failure at worst.

The foods I miss the most:

Rotisserie Chicken.

Bacon.

Turkey sandwich.

Lately: Hot Dogs 9even though I tried to avoid the crazy mish-mosh that is a hotdog even before I went veg!)

Chicken Lemon Rice soup from Chrito's & west side

Pepperoni pizza from cape cod cafe

coconut chicken fingers from chatta

Italian sub from d'angelo's

goddamn HAM!  succulent, salty, mouthwatering, goddamn boiled smoked shoulder of fucking HAM!!

THINGS I miss most since becoming a vegetarian:

Having plenty of options to choose from at a restaurant.  This is a biggie.  Good god, would it kill restaurants to think just a smidge out of the box and offer more meat-free meals?  There are so many possibilities!!

Easy, impromptu lunches.  you never relize how many of your favorite quick-n-easy go-to lunches contain meat--usually of the sliced deli variety--until you go veg.  I miss fucking SANDWICHES.  making a satisfying vegetarian sandwich is so much more of a fucking project!  Unless of course, you want Pb&J every goddamned day.

Trying my friends' cooking.  This one really twists my heart as well as my gut and tastebuds.  I have some talented chef-y friends and i really wish I could try their dishes.  Same goes for tempting options on restaurant menus.  

Not having to worry about Gelatin.  Or chicken broth, or chicken fat, or oyster sauce, or beef stock.  Try it.  It's a goddamned pain in the asshole, and this one inconvenience makes me pretty fucking certain that I won't be going Vegan.  Ever.

Easy, worry-free cookouts.

Marhmallows and dogs over a fire at camp.

easy relatabitlity.  I'm an other now.  a sub category.  a minority.  this engenders a cammeraderie among other veggies, but usually inspires the stink-eye or at least the polite coolness from non-veggies.

Not having to explain or comment on my eating preferences.  Miss it alot.  especially because I don't have super strong convictions about it-- it was just a choice I made based on vague feelings and some loose empathy, and largely because the chemicals and hormones riddling the disguisting meat industry concerned me a great deal.  I don't actually have a fundamental disagreement with meat eaters.  I just wanted to stop consuming the stuff in the present state of the industry.

Favorite vegetarian meals\dishes:

*Tofu Fritters from Chatta (everyone should eat these)

*Most Indian dishes I've ever tried, lol.

*Fajitas.  (I make 'em so fucking delicious you really don't miss the meat.)

*Pizza.  Pizza is such a fun fucking food to make and consume for a vegetarian.  Who even needs meat on a pizza?  I like red pepper & garlic the best, but last night I tried pineapple and feta and almost came in my pants! yum.  Also try pear and green apple. yumsauce.

*Autumn bake-- I am super proud of\enamored of this autumn root vegetable bake! so simple and so hearty and yummy!!

*Edamame, nuff said.
*Gruyere with Balsamic drizzle (also strawberries.)

*My veggie version of a blt: Sliced Carrot, Vlasic dill sandwich stackers, slices of cheese, lettuce, on toast with either honey mustard spread on the bread or even better: laughing cow cheese!

*One of the awesome vegetarian sandwiches from Better Bean-- the one with apples and honeymustard.  yum.

*Pierogies like a muthafucka.  how did I not know about these lil bitches growing up?

*chobani greek yogurt!  so high in protein!

Things that I have come to like, appreciate, or love, since being a vegetarian:

*Brussel sprouts.  weird.  but they are yummy now.

*Fresh green beans.  I used to only tolerate canned.

*Sweet potato fries-- awesomepants

*Tofettes-- back when A was a veg and I was not I'd cook these and maybe choke down one or two, now they are a staple in our diet and I heart them.

*Zuchinni-- another newfound dinner staple!

*My blender.  never saw so much action!

*GARLIC! why is this the best thing invented?!?!?

*Cooking.  I'm having more fun sometimes in the kitchen, trying to invent veg meals.

*relatives who think about us and take the time to cut out recipes and send them to us in the mail.  sweet.

*friends\relatives who are chill and always have something for us to eat without making a big deal about how it is different from what everyone else is having.

*cheese.

*sauces.

*Dessert, because this is generally meat-free anyway, so I'm on common ground again with everyone.

Things that I eat too much of:

Cheese.

Breads.

Cheese.

Breads.

Potato products.

Stuffing (the only variety of stuffing i've been able to find that doesn't contain some part of a chicken!)

eggs.

PASTA.  good lord we eat alot of different pasta dishes.  Pasta is almost as fun & versatile as pizza!

Things I am so fucking sick of by now:

*Veggie burgers.  thanks for having them at your cookout-- i honest to goodness really appreciate them, but good god, if i see another one this summer I might just go back to carnivore status.  lol.

*Omelettes

*Often?  Pizza.  despite its versaitility and it's ability to come through for me in the clutch, sometimes I am so sick of it I swear I'll never eat another slice.

*peanut butter and goddamned jelly.

*the 'why' question.  I know it isn't terribly fair or me to feel sick of it, but, well, you feel what you feel, right?

*mushrooms-- they're thrown into every 'vegetarian' dish at reataurants and in recipes and I'm really really just not a fan.  let's give mushrooms a rest.  Same goes for eggplant.  sheesh.

*cooking\meal planning.  yes, i realize this has made both categories now.  but sometimes I am so frustrated and stumped and resentful of meal planning and cooking that I want to throw in the towel.  even though I've basically been vegetarian meal planning since I got married, it somehow seems so much more difficult and tricky now.

Things I should prolly try harder to embrace but as of yet still feel repulsed by:

*Veggie dogs.  And most veggie products that try too hard to taste\feel like meat.  do not want.  do not like at all.  grossy gross gross grossness.

*mushrooms

*eggplant

*tofu (I like tofu, but need to work on liking it more and in more things and in more varieties.)

*Beets

*Seitan

*Veggie Subs\pockets.  ugh.  who is inventing these?

All in all it has been an interesting journey, but maybe more mundane than you'd imagine.

i make a really awesome vegetarian chili!

I think thanksgiving will be hardest.  I started this all the day AFTER last thanksgiving for that precise reaon.  let's see how I do in a few months.