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Giving it Up: Meat #1
By PepsiDriver 08-10-2010 01:33 AM
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Today marks the first day, that I can remember, where I didn't eat any meat.
I've been intrigued by the whole idea of eating less meat, becoming a vegetarian or even a vegan for a few weeks now. Here are a few reasons why I want to try out this experiment with myself and wife. 1. My wife has stopped eating beef over 6 months ago because she just never felt good internally after eating a hamburger or anything but a well done steak. Which makes meal planning a bit difficult. 2. I'm kind of tired of wasting beef at home because she didn't eat it, so it wouldn't be prepared for a nightly dinner and eventually go bad or freezer burn. I don't like wasting money! 3. I was driving my work truck and I was stopped at a red light behind a chicken truck. It was hundreds and hundreds of chickens just squeezed very closely inside tiny, dirty, crusty cages all on the trailer of the truck. As I sat at the light, I started paying more attention to the chickens than I normally do. Holy shit, these chickens look like death with feathers! They were missing a lot of feathers, looked like they were injured, mangy and all had bloody looking private areas. I felt really bad as they drove away, headed to Koch's Chicken Plant. :( 4. I've actually enjoyed the meatless products from Morningstar Farms. The spicy black bean burgers and their meatless crumbles go great in spaghetti and tacos. Yum! Those are just a few reasons that I wanted to take this venture. I'm sure I will come up with more to fill upcoming blogs. -- What I've eaten today Breakfast 5AM: I had the healthy breakfast of a Pepsi Max and a Big Texas Cinnamon Roll. Lunch 11AM: 2 Bean Burritos (Only beans and red sauce) from Taco Bell and a Diet Ski Soda Mid Day Meal/Snack?? 4PM: Another Bean Burrito (No onions) and a Crispy Potato Taco from Taco Bell (Geez) and a Slim Fast Snack Bar Small, Late Dinner 11PM: After my first jogging session in a long time, my dog and I went 1.65 mi around downtown Gadsden, AL. I came home and ate half a can of 365 Organic Cheese Ravioli from Whole Foods and some Gatorade. Are there any CAGs that don't eat meat? If so, please share any stories or tips. |
 Comments (Total Comments: 27) |
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snakelda
- 08-10-2010, 01:53 AM
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I've worked in a couple restaurants but my last job was such a pain. We would sell these veggie hamburgers and it surprised me that we would actually run out. When we run out,every vegeterian decides to eat at the place I worked and since we didn't have any,they would throw a god damn fit. I would suggest the normal hamburger but oh no,they would start yelling and WTF,just get a normal hamburger. It is our fault though since the manager never orders enough of those veggie hamburgers.
PS. They taste horrible.( I added onions,cheese,ketchup,jalapeños,lettuce, and they leave this weird taste in your mouth)Sorry for venting. I was wondering,if you don't eat meat,what do you eat to replace the protein the meat has? |
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PepsiDriver
- 08-10-2010, 02:02 AM
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I plan on replacing with beans, maybe like protein shakes. I don't know if I will stop eating meat altogether. If I do, it will be something like free range chicken, or without hormones and antibiotics. I had some grass fed hamburger meat one time and it was great.
I just don't really like the whole factory farming of cattle and other animals. It's just depressing and not the way it was meant to be. If you're talking about the Burger King veggie burger, then yes. That is some gross eating. I get mine from the freezer section at Wal-Mart. Soy Burgers aren't that bad either, they taste more like meat than the straight up veggie ones. Yeah, some people are extreme about their lifestyle, hehe. |
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dv8mad
- 08-10-2010, 03:10 AM
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I was going to stop eating meat, but then cows would get all uppity when I walked by, as if I was no threat to them.
Well, "screw this" I said, and punched a cow in the face. Hurt my hand pretty badly and didn't seem to faze the cow at all. So, in order to exact my revenge, I started bringing cheeseburgers everyday and eating them right in front of her. "Hey stupid cow, I bet this was one of your relatives. Maybe even your daughter. What was her name? Moogaret? Mmmmm... Moogaret is delicious! Who's in charge now cow? TELL ME! Yeah, dv8mad's in charge! Don't you ever forget it!" And that's exactly how it went down.  |
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f4t4lfury
- 08-10-2010, 03:42 AM
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I've been a vegetarian for almost two years. It was really one of the best decisions I've ever made. I love being able to make a difference in the world just be being alive (and not eating animals). I am also healthier.
Watching videos on PETA's website will break your heart and make you never, ever want to support the horrendous animal factory farming industry. For tips, I have some good cookbooks I could give you titles of if you'd like. I love tempeh and seitan as protein. I'm not a big tofu fan, but that's certainly an option if you like it. A great recipe for tempeh sandwiches - $$$$$$$/bOyKx7 <-- add bit . ly to the front where the $ signs are, don't know why the link is being weird. Indian food is really easy to make and is easy to make veg friendly. Black bean tacos, nachos, mushroom and bell pepper fajitas, pitas, paninis, there is so much good veggie food out there. And of course pasta--some pasta is made from eggs though, so keep an eye on ingredients. Gelatin is another sneaky ingredient that is in so much stuff that would seem to be vegetarian. |
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hostyl1
- 08-10-2010, 07:25 AM
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My sister-in-law and I were just talking about this the other day. I cant understand how or better yet why anyone would choose to be a vegetarian. Some say it's for health reasons, but the truth is, if you dont eat meat or meat by-products (as in a vegan lifestyle), you need supplements to keep your body right. I'd rather get things naturally through meat.
That being said, I think it's a good idea to incorporate meatless days into your diet. I live under the mantra "Everything, in moderation". So even a vegan meal or two is a good thing. We have "Meatless Tuesdays" in our house where we make meatless dinner at least once a week. There are tons of good vegetarian meals. But what I dont like are veggie meals that try to be meat. They fail at almost every turn. The veggie meals that focus on the flavor of the veggies tend to be best. I am a big fan of Betty Crocker's Tofu and Sweet Potato Jambalaya. My wife is from Louisiana and even appreciates this jambalaya. It doesnt try to be like traditional jambalaya, instead carving its own path. I also dont care about the 'animal rights' aspect of vegans. Sure, I'll agree meat is murder....tasty, tasty, murder.  |
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celegus
- 08-10-2010, 09:12 AM
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@Hostyl1: No you don't. Promise.
I've been vegan for about 2 years now and it's definitely one of the best decisions I've ever made. I feel SO much better and healthier than ever before. It's really not hard to make the switch though, especially if your wife is for it. Me and my wife pretty much did it overnight and never looked back. Vegweb.com is full of all kinds of tasty goodness, definitely my favorite recipe site. You can make your own "taco/chili meat" or veggie burgers that are even better than the non-vegan morningstar stuff with TVP(textured vegetable protein). You may want to try almond milk instead of cow milk if you eat cereal and such, that's an easy enough change and may make you feel better. As completely and totally random as this is, switching from cow's milk made my lifelong problem of big nasty pimples all over my back go away almost instantly. Turns out many people are lactose intolerant in some way and don't even realize it. Anyway... I could obviously go on for a long long time. If you had any questions or anything, feel free to respond or pm me! It's always great to see someone at least giving this a chance and actually thinking about it. |
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TLFerrill
- 08-10-2010, 10:13 AM
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I grill meat at least twice a week in the summer. I grill wild game (venison, moose, occasionally bear), but personally don't hunt anymore because it's
 in boring.The worse thing to me is when non-hunters wig out at hunters for killing animals while they eat beef and chicken every day. Pretty stupid. I would always say that deer had much more of a life then a mcdonalds doublecheeseburgur cow. I laugh when people say they don't eat chicken or only buy free range eggs. Chickens don't know if they are free range or not. Chickens are very, very stupid creatures, we raised them at home when I was growing up. I'm sure chicken fatcories are just as gross as people say, but they are a valuable part of the human diet, and our society decided a long time ago we don't have time to all go out and catch our chickens in the wild. Although if there were wild chickens it would be easy to do, they'd probably just hop in the oven. My opinion, keep us filled in on your experience! |
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HDaveB
- 08-10-2010, 10:29 AM
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Vegetarians/Vegans will not be vitamin/mineral deficient just because they don't eat meat. You can easily get your protein from beans and soy products.
I'm not a vegetarian, but my girlfriend is so I get to try all kinds of vegetarian dishes and they are delicious. It can be expensive to be a vegan/vegetarian if you cannot cook though. Some of the best lasagna I have had was a veggie lasagna. Mushrooms are also a great meat substitute. Even if you don't plan on staying a vegetarian/vegan, incorporating some no meat meals with help your diet and overall health a lot. |
eldergamer
- 08-10-2010, 11:02 AM
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I love the pretenious attitude of some vegaterians/vegans who act like they're personally saving the world because they didnt eat a hamburger that day.
The hamburger was still made whether you ate it or not. (sp) |
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celegus
- 08-10-2010, 11:21 AM
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@eldergamer: Growing up, I thought that idea was the main reason people were vegetarian; more of a boycott to improve conditions for the industry. And while it is just fine and dandy to know that I'm not supporting the industry, I'm completely aware of the fact that just boycotting it isn't going to make the slightest bit of difference in saving the world or changing anything. That's honestly one of the worst "selling points" to teach other people about veganism when there are so many other, better reasons.
Also, while I do feel very strongly about this issue myself, I do not judge people over it or have the vegan "elitism" that I'm sure everyone has encountered. I mean, eating meat is an accepted and regular part of our culture. The only thing that bothers me is when people refuse to look at both sides of the argument in order to make an informed decision. I've definitely never tried to shove veganism down someone's throat, so please don't take anything I say that way. |
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1NintendoFan
- 08-10-2010, 11:26 AM
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I think it is great that you are doing this. I have personally always wanted to stop eating meat and I have for periods of time (i.e. Lent) and I was always really happy when I did it.
I've just never gone completely without meat permanently because I always thought it would be hard to find food when eating out or harder to prepare meals. However, most restaurants have a lot of options and I think it is something I could do. There are a few things I would really miss and don't know how I would find alternatives, but I still think it would be worth it. I've been cutting some meat out over the past few months, i.e. I don't eat meat for breakfast/lunch and things like that and try to take it out of dinner some nights as well. Keep up the great work... hopefully some day I can commit to doing the same thing... and your breakfast sounds rather tasty  |
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snakelda
- 08-10-2010, 12:16 PM
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I work in a restaurant called The Cellar(I used to work there) and their veggie hamburger was pretty nasty. I would imagine Burger Kings veggie hamburger would taste bad too.lol.
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TLFerrill
- 08-10-2010, 12:39 PM
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Z_meista
- 08-10-2010, 01:05 PM
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Maybe you should stop eating meat in small increments. Start avoiding beef and/or fatty pork and work your way from there. You could also replace meat with fish for starters.
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kube00
- 08-10-2010, 01:16 PM
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maybe my wife and I should have a meatless dinner day.
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PepsiDriver
- 08-10-2010, 01:34 PM
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Wow! Thanks for all the input CAGs!
This really helps us out a lot. I will definitely check out vegweb.com for recipes for our upcoming shopping trip. I still have meat in the freezer and meat products in the pantry, I will eat them, rather than waste them. I just won't be purchasing any more in the future. I will try Almond Milk next time. I currently use organic 2% cows milk and my wife uses Rice Dream b/c she's the lactose intolerant. I've never hunted and I don't plan to. However I agree that hunting game for consumption is leagues better than buying something off a rack at Wal-Mart. I'll keep a semi regular blog about the transition. I may even start an occasional one about our transition into a greener home. |
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celegus
- 08-10-2010, 01:53 PM
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@TLFerrill: Yeah, it's pretty sad. Most people would choose to remain blissfully ignorant (and I can see why to a degree), so talking to those kinds of people about it is pretty pointless. It does make me happy when there are people that do honestly want to know more and are interested in it, because that's how I got started with it.
And yeah, definitely keep up the updates and let us know how it's going! I'd be interested in what you're doing for a 'greener home', as my wife and I are starting to look for a house to buy / fix up and don't know a whole lot about that aspect but would love to learn. |
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Chronis
- 08-10-2010, 04:32 PM
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I'm a carnivore. This blog doesn't make sense to me
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kainzero
- 08-10-2010, 04:37 PM
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there are avenues to get "humanely raised" meat.
if you're going to switch to vegetarianism or veganism for animal rights yeah i respect that but i don't like it when people switch for health reasons. meat and fish are healthy. and i especially hate the soy industry. |
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leftwing1018
- 08-10-2010, 10:12 PM
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I've been a 'pescitarian' (only meat I eat is fish) for over a year now and do not regret it one bit.
I've thought about being a vegetarian for a while, as I only eat fish a few times a week anyway, but I... well I'm actually not sure why I havn't. I guess a reason would be getting enough protein as I weight-lift, but I could probably find some other protein sources if I look. Once I stopped eating Beef and Poultry I physically felt much better though and would recommend it to anyone considering it. I have noticed more and more people I know becoming vegetarian over the past year, which I personally am glad to see. May I suggest the Morning Star 'chicken' patties, they are amazing, and grilling their burgers are exceptionally good too. I actually had a grilled morning star burger for dinner today  Bravo for becoming a vegetarian pepsi! |
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