For the Love of Babe

Last week on my drive home from Chicago I passed a semi-trailer carrying cows. It was dark, so I couldn't tell if these cows were meant for milk or hamburgers. For some reason my brain jumped to the latter and I was struck with a sense of sadness. The kind of sadness I felt after watching the movie Babe in middle school. Perhaps the reason I jumped to that conclusion was because I was about to embark on being a vegetarian.

A vegetarian diet is not a form of medical nutrition therapy, but rather a lifestyle choice. There are many reasons people decide to be vegetarian. Some people may have decided that an animal losing their life for the sake of adorning their dinner plate was not morally okay. Others may have read up on big industry meat slaughtering practices and now their stomach turns each time they so much as glance at the meat section. For whatever the reason a vegetarian may have, it's their choice to do so.

Being a vegetarian is not as simple as cutting out the meat and filling in the gaps with other foods. Cutting meat out of one's diet can make it more difficult to get adequate protein. It can also affect their intake of micronutrients such as iron. Previously the USDA did not have recommendations for vegetarians. Perhaps this is why some of the vegetarians I have talked with acknowledged they were vegetarian the "wrong" way and simply replaced meat with grains and cheese. These people knew they needed to replace the calories they were missing from meat, but were unaware of nutrients they needed to replace.

This being said, in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, there are recommendations for lacto-ovo vegetarians. Lacto-ovo vegetarians are able to have animal products such as milk and eggs. Basically, if the animal did not have to die to produce what is on your plate (or in your glass), then it's okay to eat/ drink. Eggs, nuts and seeds, beans and peas, and soy-based products are what fills out the lean meat portion of the food guide pyramid. That's where the changes end. Vegetarians following the guidelines do not need to increase their grain, fruit, milk, or even their vegetable consumption.

Starting with where I usually begin my week, I went grocery shopping. The bill this time was about $30 higher than my usual bill. However, my bill did include gluten-free chicken nuggets for my final day on the Celiac diet. With that in consideration, my bill was closer to what I spent on the DASH diet. Time wise, I spent about the same amount of time I typically spend grocery shopping.

On to what I am actually eating. Given what is recommended, I'm hungrier than usual. I think this partially due to the fact that what is recommended to replace lean meats are nuts, seeds, and soy-based products. When it comes to nuts and seeds, a half of an ounce of nuts or seeds is equal to one ounce of lean meat. Have you ever measured out how much that is? Take that handful of trail mix and cut it half... twice. You're left with about 5 peanuts, 10 sunflower seeds, 3 almonds, a cashew, and a couple raisins.

I have also tried tofu for the fourth time in my life, second time actually preparing it myself. With the right seasoning and cooking procedures, it can almost pass as meat. A real soft, not nearly as satisfying, meat. The other night out of sheer laziness I cooked up some Tofurky Italian Sausages on my indoor grill. Surprising to no one, there was approximately two drops of "fat" in the drip pan. This may be part of the reason why one is not left feeling totally satiated after eating tofu. As some who misses eating meat, it tasted close enough. This experience may have made me brave enough to order tofu next time I dine out.

But tofu will never replace my bacon.