Am I a Vegan?

Partial Vegan, Vegetarian and Pescatarian

Three days out of every week I’m a vegan – no cheese, dairy, animal protein of any kind.  Those days it’s Ethiopian with olive oil instead of niter kebbeh (spiced butter), Indian, hummus, baba ganoush, quinoa, lentils and beans….you get the picture. Oh, and sometimes it’s just raw.

Maybe Vegetarian?

Four days of the week though, I’m a vegetarian.  That’s Mexican, Italian, and probably something else with  cheese. But, I’m not a fan of melted cheese.  And I use whole wheat tortillas and pastas.

Fish?

Once or twice a month or every 6 weeks, I’m a ovo – pescatarian: Fish boil, a salmon eggs benedict, a fish taco.

Perhaps Just a Puzzler

But it becomes more complicated when I add, I don’t eat anything fried, no soy/tofu (I break this rule when eating out), no artificial ingredients or sweetners.  Oh yeah.. and I don’t like cooked sugar. This seems to bother other people a lot more than it bothers me.  On the other hand, if I didn’t have my wits about me, I’d drink a Coke everyday, but I don’t. However, I can fabricate an excuse quicker than anyone else.  This is one of the reasons I like long trips “Coke keeps me awake.” Hey…I need a viable excuse to feel as bad as I do after drinking a Coke. It saps my breath and I feel, well, bloated. 

I don’t call myself a vegetarian or anything else. But I do have two rules: Less than 10% of my diet should be made up of Animal Protein (butter, dairy included) and no deprivation.  It’s actually kind of easy, even though it appears to be an oxymoron.

Take The Ick Factor Out

The Ick Factor includes all  the foods that make you feel icky after eating. Sometimes, you aren't even sure why. Hubby and I realized about 15 years ago that McD put us in a bad mood after about an 30 minutes to an hour of eating. Well, figured out it was a case of SSS (Sugar and Stuff Syndrome). Well that's what I've coined it anyway. Our bodies weren't made to process that SSS. But , all things in moderation, so these are my “Top Foods to Avoid.” In this order!

·         Artificial Sweetners

·         High Fructose Corn Syrup (I don’t care if they say it’s natural)

·         Fried Foods

·         White Pastas, Breads and Tortillas

·         Dairy and Animal Protein          

·         Soy/Tofu

·         Soda  (This one borders on deprivation, since sometimes I have a Coke Deficiency). I know, another weak excuse to indulge.

Kathleen Brandt

stradercom@aol.com