Seven Months, Seven Discoveries

If you ate lunch at your child's school last week as part of National School Lunch Week (mystery meat, breaded everything, scant vegetables), then this week's special happenings may be very welcome to you. A bunch of U.S. cities are celebrating Vegetarian Restaurant Week (apparently the whole month of October is Vegetarian Awareness Month. Who knew?!) Participating cities include Atlanta, GA; Brooklyn, NY, Harlem, NY, Raleigh, NC; Hollywood, Fl; Dallas, TX; Los Angeles, CA; and St. Croix (US Virgin Islands). Other countries have similar celebrations at other times of the year.

According to the Vegetarian Restaurant Week website:

Whether you're a seasoned vegetarian, just starting out, or an adventurous omnivore, you're invited to explore the diversity of plant-based cuisine.

Whether you're interested in comfort food favorites, ethnic-inspired dishes or health-supportive fare, you're bound to discover new ways of eating that are sure to
please the senses!

And, guess what? Today ends the 7th month (and counting!) of my year-long "Nothing with a Face" experiment. Here's what I've discovered so far:

1. There are basically four types of vegetarians (forget lacto, lacto-ovo and vegan for a minute).

* Pasta Cheesies. (Lots of pasta. Lots of cheese)
* Tofurkies. (Lots of processed pseudo-meat and frozen dinners)
* Beans, Greens and Grainies. (Lots of simple, unprocessed ingredients)
* Worldies (lots of ethnic dishes from world cultures)

Although I do eat pasta about once a week, and cheese does have a starring role in something almost every day (cheese and apple, quiche, whole grain pizza, stuffed peppers, . . .) I've been aiming for the beans, greens, and grain direction all year (amaranth, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, oatmeal, you get the gist). I run in the opposite direction of tofurkey and everything else in that section of the supermarket. But I could definitely use a couple cooking classes in world cuisine (Indian, in particular).

2. There are three basic nutritional challenges on which I've been a bit obsessed:

* Iron
* Calcium
* B12

The iron is a challenge, but I eat everything I can find, including fortified cereal (which I never really ate before). Calcium isn't that big a deal because I'm a big yogurt eater, I eat so many greens and I drink a glass of fortified orange juice each day.

The B12 almost did me in (there is no B12 in a vegetarian diet without a few tricks). Fortified cereal has it, but my big saving grace has been nutritional yeast. Something like two tablespoons of the stuff provides 133% of your daily recommended allowance of B12. I sprinkle it on salads, in oatmeal and in yogurt and I pretty much hated it when I started. I discovered if I also added two tablespoons of freshly-ground flax seeds, I actually like it. So, now I don't even give it a second thought. It's just part of my daily routine.

3. Tofu. Ah, tofu. I have a long way to go on this ingredient--its potential far exceeds its current performance in my life. I do eat a container of the stuff a week, and I am learning some ways to prepare it that are delicious. One thing I do is slice and broil extra firm tofu at the beginning of the week, in some kind of marinade, and then just throw it in to my meal when I throw meat into the kid's meals (my husband is almost 100% vegetarian, by the way, and my kids are what I guess we'd call flexitarians). We're also eating a lot of firm tofu-based vegetable pancakes, with various toppings, which the kids adore. Speaking of the kids, I feel like what I've learned this year so far has helped me make sure the vegetarian meals they do have are more balanced and complete than they used to be. For instance, a pasta dish now includes beans. Smoothies now include nutritional yeast and flax.

4. Energy. I've never felt better. I thought for sure I would have an energy problem this year and that the iron thing would catch up with me (I had trouble during my pregnancies even though I was diligent about eating well). So far, so good, it seems. I did have blood tests done at the start of this experiment (including specific tests for B12, iron and vitamin D) and will end the year with follow-up tests. I keep telling the kids I'm "studying for my blood test," which they think is funny but which I tell them is completely true. That blood test will measure the decisions I'm making, day in and day out, and every choice does ultimately matter.

5. Mistakes. I've made a few (makes you want to sing, huh?) Altoids, for instance. Who knew they contain gelatin and that gelatin is an animal product? Teriyaki sauce. Contains fish. But, boy was it good with the tofu until I discovered that early on. Rennet in cheese. Comes from the linings of, I don't, know, sheep stomachs or something. There are ways around this. Most organic cheese, for instance, is made with vegetarian rennet. I have to check the labels.

6. Challenges? Eating out can be a challenge. Definitely. How many veggie burgers can I eat? And "hold the chicken" when ordering salads can often leave me with something that just doesn't have enough oomph. Eating at someone's house is pretty much a nightmare. For me, it hasn't been that big a problem because I don't eat out that often, and when I do, I usually have a say in where we go. Boredom can be a challenge, but usually that's a reflection of my lack of planning or attention rather than the availability of exciting options.

7. Surprises? How seamlessly I've been able to fit this into my life. How good I feel. How easy it has been. How strong people's opinions on this topic are. Some vegans are astonished I consume "liquid meat" (milk). Some carnivores rave about their latest kill. Most people don't want to discuss it at all, which reminds me of the old Linus quote, "There are three things I've learned never to discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin." Add vegetarianism to that, Linus, my friend.

Do I miss meat? The short, honest answer is no. I have been tempted to nibble on chicken sausage while slicing it, but that is more out of habit than desire. I feel sort of like I did the year I gave up chocolate (a dumb idea, by the way) and suddenly I began discovering lemon and blackberry and ginger and all these flavors that got overpowered whenever big, bold Chocolate joined the party. Now that meat is no longer my centerpiece (and, in all honesty, we had already drifted away from that relationship awhile ago in my family), many other supporting characters get starring roles.

Next steps? There is still so much to learn. There are things I'm probably doing wrong. I know the issues with milk and eggs, and I do think ultimately vegan is the way to go. However, I have some real concerns, especially about the estrogenic relationship between soy and breast cancer. My initial research suggests that that may be confined to isolated soy protein, not whole soy, but I am not yet comfortable enough with this information to give up my other protein sources just yet. And also, since I don't want to be a tofurkey vegetarian, a vegan diet requires a great deal more involvement (time, energy, knowledge) than I currently possess. But things change, so I'm open.

I'm also open to going back to meat, especially sustainably-raised, humanely-slaughtered meat from farmers I know. I'm guessing I probably won't, but I completely understand and respect this option.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the journey. And I'm thrilled to discover some new vegetarian dining choices this week.

Got questions? Check out these veggie fact sheets. Got answers? Let me know!

Seven Months, Seven Discoveries