30-Day Vegetarian Challenge

A 30-Day Vegetarian Challenge was a great way to kick-off 2014, especially given the heinous acts of gluttony I committed over the holiday period. There was some seriously great feeds had over family gatherings and a month of lighter meals to balance out the over-indulgence was necessary, said my guilty conscience. 

Vegetarianism is defined by good, ole Wikipedia as the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat. This is different from veganism and also pescetarianism. As a vegetarian, I would only consume plants and plant-based products, and also allowed myself tohave  animal/diary products such as eggs, cheese and honey. This variation was known as the lacto-ovo vegetarianism.

Being vegetarian for a whole month made me realise a couple of things:

Most-strikingly, as born and raised foodie, my choices when eating out were significantly reduced. It was particularly evident at places that did French cuisine, as the French really just have a way of preparing meat that is so damn good. Things were also made difficult with the on-slaught of sharing menus from the new and hip joints opening in and around Sydney. I am ever so grateful to have friends who supported my challenge, and would suggest we visit vegetarian restaurants, such as Yulli's, Sadhana's Kitchen and Pilgrims. These places have really embraced the essence vegetarianism by using the best, local produce (read: not the sort of processed vegetarian products on the market) and employing clever, wholesome cooking- that is, clever matching of flavours and textures. My non-vegetarian friends and I thoroughly enjoyed the meatless meals we had out, forgetting that it was indeed vegetarian. Sydney also has many food places that cater to the vegetarian diets, often at pizza joints, most Thai restaurants and any cafes that makes coffees from single Os. 

Being a fairly active person, who tries to get her exercise in everyday, the vegetarian diet took a toll on my physical body. I felt substantially weaker when completing my laps in the pool, and my recovery period after a strength training session was extended - this was obviously due to a lack of protein and iron (I have this hereditery condition where my red blood cells are smaller than the norm cannot efficiently produce iron). After hearing me complain about the prolonged soreness in my limbs, one of my amazing friends gave me a table of vegetarian options to boost my protein intake. So I started incorporating a lot more sun-dried tomatoes, tofu and lentils to my meals. After a couple of days, I felt a lot more stronger when doing cardio workouts, and my recovery rate after strength and conditioning sessions reverted back to normal rates. 

An off-shoot of being a vegetarian for a month was that I became very mindful of what I was eating. I learnt to listen to my body, and ate according to what it needed. It was a great way to get into the habit of mindful eating, which I am attempting to practise as part of this month's 30-Day Meditation Challenge (will have a post on this after I'm done). It makes you realise how we, as a society, consume way too much meat for our own good. Not only I am referring to our own physical needs, but also environmentally speaking. If attending an agricultural high school has taught me anything, it is that it takes a lot to produce that 500g of steak we can so easily order off a menu.  

Contrary to the Wiki definition of vegetarianism, I found that being a vegetarian involved a lot of proactivity on my part. As a general rule, I like my 30-Day Challenges to involve some positive act, as opposed to outright prohibition, because it allows me to add a little something extra to my life; sorta like adding sprinkles to that scoop of ice cream.  Although being vegetarian meant I had to say 'no' to meat, I felt it was more an exercise of seeking out new ways to use veggies in my cooking. I found new, exciting recipes to try, which meant night-ins with good company. It also had me on top of preparing lunch everyday for work. This not only kept me healthy, but saved me around $10 a day, allowing me to dine out at nicer places that catered to my dietary needs. A couple of my workmates picked up on my vegetarian quest, and even introduced me to chefs who made delicious vegetarian meals. It was a beautiful cycle to be in: sharing food-knowledge, learning new cooking skills and nom-ing on real, homemade food.

January 2014 has come and gone and I have reverted to having meat in my diet. Having said that, all the meat I have had so far has only been fish and chicken, and at a very minimal level. I am no where near eating as much meat as I ate before, and feel as healthy as ever. The biggest thing I was actually craving for during my vegetarian challenge was fish - I grew up eating a lot of it. My weakest moment was probably when one of my workmates ripped open a can of tuna one afternoon, with the slightly pungent smell cutting through the coffee-office waft that hangs over us. Thankfully, he reminded me of what I was doing and stopped me from dipping my carrot stick into that delicious, stinkin goodness.

Most of my vegetarian friends are vegetarian for ethical reasons. I don't have anything against eating meat, though I would go vegetarian for reasons relating to environmental sustainability. I have always been strongly against any sort of battery/cage-style farming practices, as highlighted in the documentary Food Inc. The vegetarian challenge has definitely made me more conscious of the mass production of meat. I have become interested and curious as to how the industry operates, which has prompted me to Philip Lymbery's Farmegeddon:The True Cost of Cheap Meat (added to my never-ending pile of books to read). Once again, this is another example of how vegetarianism isn't about just saying 'no' to meat, but also about actively making decisions and choices that bring us above the 9-5 grind, introducing new ways of thinking and being. 

Knowing that I was able to be a vegetarian for a whole month has given me the confidence to convert to vegetarianism if there was ever a day I felt strongly about the ethics and sustainability issues surrounding the consumption of meat. I am definitely more aware of where meat comes from, and will probably only choose to eat meat that is free-range, locally and sustainably farmed. However full-range and organic meat isn't the most budget-friendly option for a university student who is saving up to move ou. I guess this is why the vegetarian diet suited me better - fruits and veggies are significantly cheaper to buy, they use less resources to produce, and there are heaps of delicious recipes to experiment with in the kitchen. Tick, tick and tick.