I wasn't always a vegetarian. In fact, I am currently twenty-two years old, and for about twenty-one of those years I was a proud omnivore. So, why the change?
There are many reasons people choose a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle - health, morality or religious beliefs, to name a few. I respect every reason for my readers' choices of diet, and I am hoping this blog will attract foodies and veggies of all forms (though I'm hoping the revelation of my past in the next few lines won't turn some of you off). I want you to know more about me, so I can tell you I'm one of those health-motivated vegetarians. But let's take a step back for a second and examine my past ...
I grew up loving all forms of meat - chicken, turkey, pork, beef, fish - you name it, I ate it. And I wasn't one of those "well-done" carnivores, either. My burgers and steaks were tender and rare.
On the other hand, the health history of my family does not exactly endorse this type of eating lifestyle. We have been plagued with heart disease, and eating red meat doesn't exactly help the reduction of this risk. While my consumption of red meat was dramatically reduced following the scariness of my father's open heart surgery when I was twelve, I continued to savor it.
With the independence of apartment-style living in college, my consumption of meat became even scarcer. I'd rather spend my free time doing other things (i.e. running and working out) than preparing extensive meals. As a result, I rarely prepared my own meat, and thinking back, was pretty much a borderline vegetarian anyway.
I can't remember exactly why I decided to make the full transition to vegetarianism. I was probably in search of a new project or a new challenge and thought I'd give it a try - I'm random like that. Nevertheless, last May, I ate my very last hot dog at my favorite stand (which, if you're not a veggie like me, you should check out) and have been a devoted lacto-ovo vegetarian ever since.
I will often field the question of why I don't eat fish. "It's healthy for you, and if you're not a vegetarian for moral reasons, I don't see the point of excluding it," they'll say. Good point, but I've always been a believer that if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it 100%. This is why I'm not one of those borderline vegetarians anymore. I will admit, though - I did consume some lobster a few months back. I'd never had it, I was in Maine, and I was coerced by some Mainers (and yes, it was pretty delicious). Hey, being a blogger means being transparent, right? I promise though, as long as I continue to call myself a vegetarian, it will never happen again.
...And if you want to say I've only been a vegetarian
since that little veggie-sin, it's fine by me.
