try being a vegetarian

I am curious to know what you think. I’ve been pretty much meat-free for almost five months. However, I’ve had a bite or two here and there of certain things.

Examples:
- I tried bacon last month to see if I still like it (I don’t),
- I had a bite of our new dishes about two months ago at the restaurant where I work as a server – one bite each of the following: pork, buffalo, duck, turkey, and chicken – so I could give our clients feedback (all my coworkers loved it, but I just thought it was okay). This makes me feel like a total cheater, but I have to defend myself by saying that it is VERY difficult to answer questions about our food when I haven’t tasted it.
- I had a bite of my mom’s chicken dinner (I liked it, but I only had that one bite)

Is that cheating? Am I not allowed to call myself a vegetarian? I have to admit that I feel like sort of a cheater, but then again, it’s a self-imposed rule, so I’m not really betraying anyone.

Am I?

when I have been meatless for six months. Right now I’m at three months!

I think it’s been about two months since I last ate poultry. Yikes! I miss chicken and have told myself that I will splurge on it if I really want something, but I’ve been able to resist so far. I don’t know, does splurging not make me a true vegetarian?

Haven’t had red meat since the last time I posted about it, meaning it’s been a year and four months. The only things I really miss every once in a while are chili cheese fries and an In n Out burger, but even so, there’s turkey chili for chili fries, and when I go to In n Out, I get it without the hamburger patty.

I eat chicken, turkey, and seafood, but right now I don’t feel super set on cutting those things out, because I feel like there aren’t enough things I like to still get enough protein. Also, I think lately I haven’t been getting a balanced enough diet, so I think trying to become a full vegetarian right now is not such a great idea. Anyway, that’s my progress so far. I won’t eliminate this goal from my list, it’s not something I’m focused on. I have no plans to bring red meat back into my life, though.

I see that my last entry on vegetarianism was seven months ago so I figured I’d post a little update. The last time I ate red meat was New Year’s Eve (it was a Costco hot dog). I’d done well for a very long time but then my uncle died and we had to travel for the funeral, staying in relatives’ homes and I had less choice as far as food was concerned. However, I’ve stopped again, and my goal this time is, I think, to not eat red meat for the whole year, just to see if I can hold out for that long. I think I’ll be able to without too much difficulty. It’s already April, and I haven’t really felt tempted at all. In fact, I was watching the food channel the other day and Ina Garten made some sort of beef, and I noticed that I was actually kind of grossed out by how it looked. Plus, I’ve noticed that some days I don’t eat any meat at all, and that’s without even making a conscious effort. Both yesterday and today were meatless.

Today I renewed my goal to give up red meat. I’d been doing well for a while, but then I caved and had an In n’ Out burger! I’m not holding myself to this goal too heavily, but like I said, I’m starting out by cutting out red meat, as sort of a trial period.