Be a better vegetarian

I traveled for work two weeks in a row this month. All week long. I am really tired of lettuce sandwiches for lunch because that’s what these meetings offer vegetarians. The array ranged from pita pockets filled with lettuce, carrots and sprouts (no cheese or dressing) to grilled veggies on rice or mashed potatoes. One day, they offered lentils with the grilled veggies (protein!!!!) but it was like a tablespoon of it.

Usually when I travel, I wind up overloading on carbs because I am never satisfied with the veggie options and their lack of any credible protein. I usually gain a few pounds on these trips.

I gave it up this round. I ate grilled chicken, turkey clubs, shrimp and even a small piece of filet mignon. And I have to admit, it was all yummy. And extremely filling. I never finished what was on my plate. Ever. And I tried to limit the meat to one meal per day.

I thought it went well. I felt a little sluggish the first week. But by the second week, I was good. I came back home and started eating veggie again.

My friends and colleages were teasing me at the last lunch. “What are you, bi-tarian?” “I know, you’re questioning!” Very funny from the Planned Parenthood crowd. Then I came up with my own: I’m a METROTARIAN! I act like a vegetarian, but I’m not really.

And that’s okay. I’m still reaching most of my goals in eating healthy and I didn’t gain weight on the trip. Amazing considering I sat on my ass all day.

So I’m going to keep this goal and see how it goes. But I’m a gosh darn mixed something or other.

My diet has deteriorated in a major way. I can blame much of it on all the work travel where it is so hard to get protein. And the more I cheat, the more I want meat.

I’ve even started telling people I am “transitioning” from vegetarianism. I even bought turkey to grill at home. It’s crazy. I never cook meat at home.

Not sure how to motivate myself back in the opposite direction. I’m hoping my farm share this summer will help.

increasing my protein and upping my veggies. The cravings have gone. I’m so back on track!

I am just craving meat all the time. I want to cheat all the time. It’s become such an inconvenience. I feel like I am a pain in the as to friends and family. I just have no patience for trying to figure out what to eat anymore.

To make things worse, cheating feels so good. And I’m feeling more and more guilty about calling myself a vegetarian. But I’d feel even worse if I started saying I quit. I know why I’m a vegetarian, but the cravings seem to outweigh it.

I need some inspiration.

Yesterday I finally picked up some fresh veggies. I hadn’t bought any food since 2007. Fresh spinach tasted very good. Fresh oranges too. They are yummy.

I’m trying this new chicken substitute that I found at the Asian market. It’s veggie chicken drum sticks. I’m putting Iron Chef Orange Sauce on them. Problem is, the cooking directions literally say, “Microwave or oven.”

Hello? Seriously? Oven at what temp or how long? Microwave for how long? This could go very poorly.

So I spent Christmas eating a lot. But it wasn’t like traditional holiday meals. Hubby and I went to Mom and Dad and we went to Chinese for lunch. I didn’t do well on the veg. I got crispy garlic shrimp (yummy) but ordered extra veggies on the side.

Then G and I went to a movie (PS I Love You) and out for Indian. A lovely veggie curry. It was G’s first Jewish Christmas. We cried, we laughed, it was great!

Yesterday was a good day, even though I ate turkey. I think, by not fighting my Mom on the protein front, she made an effort to have lots of veggies. We had string beans, cauliflower, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, and salad. I had one piece of dark meat with cranberry sauce and it was so damn satisfying.

I was happy and so was my family.

Nothing will

Today, I went to the local Asian market and bought some veggie meat substitutes. We’ve already tested the citrus spare ribs (very yummy) and I also got some fake chicken. I’ll let you know how I like it.