Monday, December 12, 2011

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

2 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

I love your list of Top Foods to Avoid! For embarrassing gastrointestinal reasons, I avoid soy in general but eat local/organic tofu from time to time. And I eat dairy almost daily, but do try to eat vegan sometimes because I think I feel better when I do!

December 12, 2011 at 9:12 AM  
Blogger Catherine Pendleton said...

Thanks for posting your list of foods to avoid. Looking forward to reading your posts and getting some new ideas on eating this way. I'm kinda bored with the recipes I have. I need to get back to whole wheat pasts & bread. I do have dairy every day (milk in my coffee & tea). I eat cheese several times a week; eggs sometimes. I usually just say I'm a vegetarian since most people seem to know that means "no meat" (A friend asked me at Thanksgiving if I ate turkey right after I told her twice that I was a vegetarian!) I eat fish and seafood, but mostly when I go out. Although, I'm giving up seafood; it doesn't appeal to me anymore.

December 18, 2011 at 9:30 AM  

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