Living Without Meat

Sitting at my desk, I can glance up and see out a window overlooking an open field. I often enjoy watching groundhogs and birds romping around.

But not this Wednesday.

As the afternoon slump began to set in, I stretched and looked around. Two men (maybe 40-50 years old) were riding a golf cart through the field, which is not an unusual sight. Then they stopped, cart butted up against the fence, just behind the dumpster.

I was bored; I was intrigued. What were they doing?

It only took me a moment to realize what was going on: they had a groundhog pinned while one threw rocks and the other smacked at it with a stick.

“They’re beating a groundhog!” I shouted, catching the attention of my three neighboring coworkers. “I wonder how fast I can get out there.”

I leaped to my feet, ran down the hallway, out the door, down the steps, out the next door, and continued toward the fence.

“Excuse me!” I shouted, getting no response.

I clapped my hands, as you might have to get the attention of a stray animal. I finally got a look. They began to meander on their way, but I was not finished.

My heart was pounding.

“What is your problem? Do you honestly have nothing better to do that pick on something barely 1/100 of your size?”

Silence. One man shrugged. One gave me the creepiest smile that I have ever seen in person.

They finally began driving away, but were moving at a speed that told me they were interested in coming back. I stood statuesque, hand on hips, and stared. They stopped and turned around to see if I was still there. And finally, the *!@#$!s drove off.

I walked over to where the groundhog hand last been. He was cowering on the edge of the parking lot, a small thing scared and confused. I waited and watched as he was finally able to run off into the field safely.

I was agitated, shaky, and generally disgusted for the rest of the day. What is wrong with people?

I was sitting around my complex’s pool eating dinner the other night. It was steak night which is surprisingly the themed food night where I have the most options (sauteed mushrooms, corn, asparagus, salad greens, potatoes …).

Sitting at the table next to me was a woman with five girls, all about age 10. The girls were all settled with their meals when - horror! - it was noticed that one girl had not gotten a steak!

Observant Girl: You don’t have a steak on your plate.

Steak-free Girl: Um … I don’t really eat meat.

Mob Mentality Girl: But why don’t you have a steak?

Steak-free Girl: I just don’t eat meat.

Finally, they were all okay with this girl’s decision not to eat a steak. The poor girl was shy, and noticeably upset at having her food choices questioned.

I was noticeably excited to watch a budding vegetarian, though I was sorry that she is already meeting opposition.

Stay strong, Steak-free Girl! Make your healthy, cruelty-free diet choices!

As my juice fast was coming to an on Sunday, my teeth were restless. All I wanted to do was chew something!

My morning started out with a breakfast juice of an orange and a couple of carrots. For my first snack, I made a digestive aid using 4 large carrots, some jicama, and half of a pear.

After these two juices, I was so ready to never see a carrot again, but equally enticed by the recipe that I had picked out for a cold carrot soup for lunch. I juiced a few carrots, then blended it with an avocado and some cumin. It was so creamy and satisfying, but I really wanted a cracker or piece of bread to go along with it. I stayed strong though.

The mocktail for happy hour was fantastic! With the juice of one tomato, half a cucumber, some fresh cilantro, and a chunk of lime, it created a fun version of a Bloody Mary.

Then it was time to drink dinner: a juice blend of apples, spinach, parsley, and lemon that is meant to target the colon’s cleaning needs. I am surprised to say that this was my favorite drink of the day. It was light and refreshing. However, for the first time during the day I felt hungry and headachy. It was the least fulfilling … I may have had a little homemade hummus with carrots and celery at this point.

Drinking so much juice, I wasn’t really thirsty and only finished about one tall glass of water. I did, however, brew a pot of detox tea and sipped it throughout the day.

To round the whole day out, I treated myself to a tropical taste of pineapple, kiwi, strawberries, and ginger juice, blended with a touch of soy milk and some ice cubes.

In the end, it wasn’t a whole day of nothing but juice, but there is no denying that I had a very healthy day, offering my body a replenishment of nutrients.

The movie that I just watched - Charlie Bartlett - was very inspirational. After watching it, I picked up my guitar for the first time this year, and got an early jump on my Sunday juice fast. I made a pink lemonade juice that was amazing!

Into the juicer went: 1/4 organic lemon with the rind on (only okay if it is organic and washed); 2 huge, red delicious apples; and 1/2 thoroughly scrubbed beet.

Yum! I highly recommend it … but I also recommend taking it slow when you pick the guiter back up. My calluses aren’t there anymore and now my fingers are in pain!

***

This, and all, of the juices that I am making during this juice fast were inspired by recipes from the very informative and innovative book The Juice Lady’s Juicing for High-Level Wellness and Vibrant Good Looks by Cherie Calbom, M.S. It’s one of the best resources for both recipes and nutritional explanations.

Protein will forever be a hot topic between meat eaters and veg*ns. When I first started Living Without Meat one year ago, in May 2007, I talked for a good number of days on the nutritional subject. I brought it up in my very first post - on May 17, 2007 - as I counted the most frequently asked questions that vegetarians encouter.

I then researched and wrote a two-part article all about proteins: What are They?, and How Much Do I Need? Still, I had even more to say. After analyzing my diet for two days (day one; day two), I finally pointed out that there is more to a healthy meal than just protein.

But out of all of these articles, I never once came up with the hilarity Vegan Soapbox did earlier this week in 10 Responses to “Where Do You Get Your Protein?” The list included the perfect mix of sarcastic and educated comebacks.

My favorites were: “The grocery store,” and “The same place you do. I get my protein from food.”

Now, go read the rest of the list oer at Vegan Soapbox!

Another major print and online news source has worked up a great article on veganism.

The New York Post published “Intriguin’ Vegan: (Don’t) Say ‘Cheese’ at These Spots” on Wednesday, June 25. The article hits on celebrities in the vegan spotlight and New York City vegan restaurant reviews (simultaneously by a vegan and carnivore). It also includes a spread from a photo shoot - “V” for Vegan.

I have always wanted to do a day of only fresh juice, but have never buckled down and actually done so. But with all of the birthdays, picnics, and celebrations going on this time of year, I am finally planning a fresh juice fast for this Sunday, followed by light raw vegan foods and more juice on Monday.

Today’s mission is grocery shopping in preparation.

MY JUICE FAST GROCERY LIST:

**All organic if possible**

* 5 red delicious apples
* 1 green apple
* 3 vine-ripened tomatoes
* 2 kiwi
* 1 pineapple
* fresh ginger
* 1 pack celery
* 20+ carrots
* 1 head romaine lettuce
* beets with greens
* 1 pear
* 1 avocado
* cumin
* 1 cucumber
* fresh cilantro, basil, and parsley
* 1 lime
* 1 lemon
* 1 orange
* 1 grapefruit
* 2 bunches of spinach

From a juicing book that I snagged at the Dollar Tree, I have a lot of great sounding recipes planned out for the day including a chilled juice soup and a bloody Mary mocktail.

Check back on Sunday for specific recipes and more.

I once had a doctor ask me “How do you get your exercise?”

“I walk. A lot,” I replied.

“No. I mean exercise. Walking doesn’t really count.”

While impressed that a general practitioner would take the time to ask a patient about their workout habits, I have been forever disturbed by her disbelief in walking as exercise.

I was reminded of this instance recently as a coworker and I have been chatting about walking lately. We both take our half an hour break to walk around outside. But this week she stepped it up a notch: she’s been wearing a pedometer … and she has an extra one that she gave to me!

Today is my first day counting my steps to a healthier system. Yesterday, said coworker topped 11,000 steps. The recommendation is at least 10,000 per day.

Game on! Here I go … (”walking down the street/ I get the funniest looks from/ everyone I meet”)

***

A pedometer is a small mechanism that clips to the waistband of your pants, and keeps track of how many steps you take. It counts by tracking each bounce created by your hips, so take it off when riding in the car.

For a free pedometer of your own, join Tylenol Arthritis Pain Relief’s Keep Moving Program and receive one along with a DVD.

Step counters are also available for purchase at sporting goods, health, and other stores. If you spend more money, you get more reliability and more functions (such as calories burned, time, etc.).

In all that you choose to do (or not do) in life, it always helps to have a support community of like-minded people. I’ve been enjoying searching for new vegan blogs to read in my quest for such. One of my new favorites is Vegan Soapbox, and, thanks to the writers over there, I have a new list of ones to check out: VegNews magazine’s VegBloggy award winners.

* Abolitionist Approach
* An Animal Friendly Life
* BitterSweet
* The Conscious Kitchen
* FatFree Vegan Kitchen
* Hezbollah Tofu
* Let’s Get Sconed!
* Post Punk Kitchen
* Ramblings of a Vegan Man
* SuperVegan
* The Urban Housewife
* Veg Blog
* Vegan Dad
* VeganEtsy
* Vegan Talk
* Vegan Yum Yum
* Vegans of Color
* Vive le Vegan
* Walking the Vegan Line
* We Like it Raw
* What the Hell Does a Vegan Eat Anyway?

Check them out, let me know if you find any particularly interesting or fun … but do come back, ya hear?

Pick up the next issue of VegNews - the music issue - to read their review of each site.

In case you don’t have an awesome coworker that periodically sends you vegetarian and animal rights articles: Last Sunday’s Washington Post featured an equally cute and educational article entitled “I Love Moo: Tales From A N.Y. Animal Sanctuary.”

With that, the Sanctuary’s tour season is now in full bloom - head to the Finger Lakes to get your fill of animal love. The Bed and Breakfast on the farm fills up quickly, but don’t be bummed if you can’t get a room - Corning, NY is just down the road and is an fun, crafty town. Be sure to meet Sally the pig if you go: not only does she have the best name ever, but she has an awesome personality, too!

With exotic health foods becoming trendy, I have noticed that I don’t know how to pronounce some of the things that I am eating. So I will use my ignorance and a bit of research to clarify a few pronunciations, and while I’m at it I’ll tell you what exactly they are.

* Açaí (assai) : a small, round, blackish-purple, palm fruit used with increasing frequency in juices and teas. This nutritionally packed fruit shows high concentrates of fiber, good fatty acids, phytosterol (a cholesterol reducer), protein, and antioxidants. (Shown in picture, click to check out a site all about the acai berry.)

* Cacao (kuh-kah-o, also kuh-key-o): a vegan’s delight! Cacao is the plant from which cocoa and chocolate come. When cacao is the ingredient, this means that you are getting pure, raw chocolate - no milk added (unless also listed as an ingredient).

* Goji berries: this one needs an explanation just for the name. Most cultures actually call this little red fruit a wolfberry. The origin, and thus pronunciation, of “goji” is uncertain. Possible connections would suggest gou-qi, but people probably won’t know what you mean unless you say go-gee.

* Quinoa (keen-wah): the part we eat are tiny seeds from this grain plant. It cooks up similar to rice or couscous, but with a chewier texture. Protein content is extremely high, and it contains a balanced set of essential amino acids which is rare for such a grain. It’s gluten-free and a good source of iron, fiber, magnesium, folate, and phosphorus.

Recently I came across an archived article, titled “Should You Become a Vegetarian? Think Before You Eat,” from Ebony magazine’s July 2003 issue. It’s a good read, and good press coverage of a vegetarian diet, but I’ve devised a quicker way to decide if you should become vegetarian or not.

Answer each question with a yes or no:

1. Do you want to be healthy?

2. Do you like living animals?

3. Do you respect your body?

4. Do you believe that you are what you eat?

5. Do you feel that no creature should live a life of torture, confinement, abuse, and general mistreatment?

6. Do you like to eat delicious, nutritious, colorful food without feeling guilty?

7. Do you want to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally better?

8. Do you hate touching and preparing raw meat?

9. Do you want to be trendy and jump on the green-friendly or educated-consumer bandwagon?

10. Do you want to be in the company of celebrities like Paul McCartney, Carrie Underwood, Kristen Bell, Emily Deschanel, and Tobey Maguire?

If you answered yes to at least one of these questions, then you should become a vegetarian! (And if you answered yes to all of them … what are you waiting for?!)

France and Canada have a satirical TV show about a family of environmentalists called The Tofus. How have I missed this show and where can I catch episodes from the two seasons that it ran (2004-2006)?

The family of activists, made up of Mom, Pop, Chichi, Lola, Buba, and Curly the pet sheep, decide that urban life is not for them. They pack up and move to a farmhouse in the fictional town of Beauville.

It’s hard to tell without seeing the cartoon whether it’s offensive or not, but any show that touches on subject such as environmental organizations, animal rights, vegetarianism, green living, and pacifism is a step forward in my book.

The show, which has been translated into French, English, and Turkish, is no longer being produced, and does not seem to be on DVD yet.

People voted, and although it seems enough of us did not vote for Kristen Bell, two celebs have won PETA’s Sexiest Vegetarian title for their first times. “Bleeding Love” singer Leona Lewis and Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis have won.

Congrats, Leona and Anthony. And Kristen and Milo … don’t worry. You two are the sexiest in my book!