A Vegetarian for Lent

ok, a link -


http://www.deandeluca.com/Aboutus/Default.aspx?id=190&selItemId=190&parentItemId=14

Thomas, Nothing like a little deprivation, especially if you don't feel deprived.

I'll be interested to hear how this goes over the long haul.

http://www.deandeluca.com/Aboutus/Default.aspx?id=190&selItemId=190&parentItemId=14

Thanks for the link, Osso! I'll check them out the next time I'm in New York.

I agree, Roberta -- non-deprivation deprivation is the best.

Gotta sleep. See y'all tomorrow!

Sorry to repeat, when I'm not sure I even like the place, but... more interesting than the usual grocery store.
I prefer, if I have a choice, more... connoisseury (failure at spelling) places or the opposite, farmers markets.

But, wait, my real life is at Albertson's.

I'm interested to hear how your blood sugar / diabetes reacts.

Good work so far!

(ps - it's me - the other Oz cat lady - rather than Olga!)

I apologize for the times I've mixed you two up, margo. I think I have you nabbed, now, but maybe not always.

I tuned in hoping for suffering and gnashing of teeth....


Nothing?


Well, I should be happy for you, I know.

There....I'm happy for you!!!

Good on you, Thomas, for giving vegetarianism a go for Lent! What a good choice!
I suspect you'll find all sorts of benefits from a less meat-dominated style of eating, after this experience. There are many cultures in which meat is used as a flavouring, rather than the main feature of meals. I have no doubt that you'll discover that less meat doesn't necessarily mean less interesting food. To your benefit, absolutely!

I am rather a "fan" of Singer's writings, but am personally not capable of living my life strictly in line with what he advocates. I wish I could, as I find what he advocates very admirable & inspiring. I am a "lapsed" vegetarian, after 18 or so years at it.

The point of lenten abstinence, as it was always explained to us by our parish priest, was that it was a sacrifice willingly made, in imitation of your boy Jesus, whose sacrifice was, of course, corporeal life. Our parish priest had grown up in Ireland of the civil war, and had lived in the extreme poverty which was all too common in Ireland in that era. His observations on the relative wealth of our lives were usually acid, and there was a sharpness about his calls for sacrifice on the part of the congregation. My final lenten sacrifice was to give up Catholicism, and i've kept to the resolution now for 45 years.

How strict are you going w/vegetarianism? Eating eggs? Dairy? Fish? It does make a difference in terms of how full you tend to feel/how readily you get your nutrients in.

The Moosewood Cookbook is traditionally a very, very fatty cookbook. Personally I don't recommend it. It's vegetarian but it is cheese and butter city. I just looked at it on Amazon and it is better than I remember it but do be careful. Moosewood Cookbook. I think you'd do better looking for a low fat cookbook and adapting it for vegetarian, rather than vegetarian and adapting it for low fat, if that makes any sense. Of course fat isn't the only source of calories but if you go for a low fat book it will, by definition, not have a lot of meat-heavy recipes in it.This one happens to be both low fat and veg and is well-rated by Amazon. I have not read it but Amazon is a good source. I'd do what I did (of course!), e. g. do a search on low fat or low calorie or vegetarian cooking and have the results sorted by average customer review. That should give you an idea of whether the recipes are easy and tasty.

I was a veg (no red meat, no poultry; now I eat poultry) for 15 years, from 13 - 28 years of age. The restaurant issue, of having few options and having them crystallize your thoughts, is exactly what my experience was. It is again, these days, as I don't eat red meat and of course I'm watching. So I have fewer choices, but I tend to find that liberating and easier.

Enjoy -- in Philly, we'll grab something veg. My friend won't mind; she more or less eats that way, too.

Yes, I'd agree with that. Rather outdated now, too. Some quite time consuming recipes. I remember them well!
I'd recommend some of the "ethnic" (Indian, Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranian, etc) bookbooks. If this suits your taste in food, of course, Thomas. Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian is very good. Also, lots of good vego sites on the internet.

I believe in fat. Fat is good for you - not fake fat, not processed fat, not factory farmed fat- real fat. All the fat people I know eat low fat diets. I believe in the Weston Price philosophy about diet.

http://www.westonaprice.org/

Paeleontologists who study human genetics have come to the conclusion that people who have a fondness for fats and sugars enjoyed more reproductive success over the millennia than those who did not have such a preference. Therefore, they conclude that preferences for fats and sugars are "hard-wired" into an individual's genetic make-up. The theory goes that those who packed carbs and fats enjoyed a higher survival rate in winter time, or the equivalent starvation time in subtropical and tropical regions (the rainy season, or the dry season, depending upon the foods relied upon). I consider it a highly probable thesis, given the commonality of "starvation time" evidence from primitive peoples in historical times.

Yes, the evidence is good. I'm related to a somewhat famous heart specialist (now semi-retired and living in Canada because he hates the US health system). He eats butter, eggs and bacon - usually at the same time. He will eat a non-commercial cheese burger (grass feed cow). He is thin and walks at least 3 miles day for exercise. He believes the whole cholesterol thing is overblown and not accurate- as studies are now proving. He thinks most people in this century have developed heart disease because of partially hydrogenated oils, factory farmed animals, lack of exercise and smoking. He always says: "Show me a person with heart disease and I will you show a person who sits too much and eats food packaged in cardboard."

We need to go back to eating a more primitive diet. Thomas, you mentioned you were diabetic. You might want to look up the studies done in Australia on diabetic aborigines. When they stopped eating like Europeans and went back to their native diet they reversed their diabetic conditions. I'm not suggesting you search out kangaroo and insects after lent, but you might want to check out the Weston Price way of eating on a scale that works for you.

(Edited to correct quote)

Heard about the guy who decided to give up sex for Lent?

When his girlfriend asked why he wasn't amorous, he replied "It's Lent."

"That's crazy!" said she. "To whom and for how long?"

A thought from watching your entries on the exercise goals thread -- you seem to have recently upped your exercise, what with running for a full hour and the like. I've found that exercising tends to "kick in" at a certain point, weight-wise... partly because for a while you're building new muscles as well as burning fat, partly some sort of cumulative effect (adjusting your metabolism, perhaps).

The "mindful eating" thing makes sense too, though. Especially in tandem. (Burning more calories via exercise while also taking in fewer calories via diet.)

I do like the idea of Lent and was even thinking of doing something similar. We seem to be a very Catholic community, everyone's doing it around here. (Giving up soda seems to be a popular one, but I never drink it anyway...)

(heh!)

We actually practice Lent too for the same reason: to give up something
that we indulge in otherwise. I mainly do it to teach the child a lesson, but
ultimately it helps us all. In our case it's chocolates and other sweets.

Thomas, there are excellent Indian restaurants in NJ and they always
have a good vegetarian choices.