The Art of Zen Living

It’s been a little over a week since I began eating as a vegetarian.  I’m trying to find some downsides that really are downsides, but I’m not having much luck.  Yes, it makes it a little harder to go out - I went to Carrabba’s with my mom and my cousins, and there was only one thing on the menu that was vegetarian.  There were several fish dishes that I could have eaten under my “fish is OK” rule.  In practice, I don’t really like eating fish - at least not that often.  It feels like cheating.  In the 10 days I’ve been eating like a vegetarian, I’ve eaten fish twice, so I’ve been glad the option was there.  Having said that, I think that a large part of the reason for having to eat fish twice during the first week is simply a lack of experience on my part.  With a little more experience, I think I could have avoided at least one, and possibly both, fish entrees.

I am finding a lot of benefits.  I think it’s important to once again note that I’m not simply eating a vegetarian diet - you can eat nothing but cheetos, twinkies and Oreo cookies and say you’re a vegetarian.  In reality, you’re a “crapitarian”.  I’m looking for fresh vegetables, whole grains, and whole foods.  The less processing, the better.  Most of what grows out of the Earth, from what I can tell, tends to be healthy and good for us - it’s only when humans get a hold of it and start to process it that things start to get bad for us.  Sustainable practices is more of an environmental concern, but it’s something I try to stay aware of and support.

Here are my top five observations:

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I’m up a little late tonight, it’s been a bit of a crazy weekend - hurry up and wait, mostly.  Tomorrow morning, I start my vegetarian diet.  Earlier this weekend I made a batch of the Best! Black! Bean! Chili! Ever!, so I have it ready to go for the week.  If I could only give you only one tip about making any sort of drastic change in your diet, it’s this: have food ready so that you do not have to think about it.  It’s the thinking and choosing that destroys 99.9937264% (this number was made up completely out of thin air, but it has the ring of truthiness* to it) of diets.

Tonight I made a week’s worth of breakfasts - Barley Harvest Cereal.  Barley is one of the first grains ever domesticated by humans.  In ancient Egypt, it was used to make beer and bread.  For many Egyptians, that was their entire diet.  Today, barely is largely forgotten as a food - we use it mainly for beer and as animal feed.  It’s low fat, and has an extremely low glycemic index, which means it has very little effect on your blood sugar.  The result?  You stay full longer, and have more energy longer.  The other ingredients in this mixture were also chosen for their relatively low glycemic index - it ends up being a reasonable amount of calories, low fat, high fibre way to start the day.  Sitting down with a bowl of it also makes me feel somehow connected to those ancient ancestors, and to the earth.

Like bread, it doesn’t take long to put the pieces together, but you do have to come back to it a few times over the course of about 90 minutes.  I think it’s well worth it.  This is the second time I’ve made it, although it’s the first time I’ve followed the actual recipe.  The last time I made it with pecans, dried strawberries and bananas.  It’s a very flexible recipe that adapts well to a variety of flavors.  I think I’m going to try cranberries and almonds next!

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