I grew up in a meat and potatoes kind of family.  Meat was featured at every meal even breakfast when we could.  My grandma made no bones about fried SPAM sandwiches and her famous Welshmans Mess which is a pound of bacon, a pound of sharp cheddar, a pound of elbow macaroni and a bunch of tomatoes.  Yep you read that right a POUND of fatty bacon.  It was just understood that a piece of meat took up about half the plate at most dinners and that was life.



As I grew into cooking my own meals I kind of followed the same patterns.  I stocked my freezer with chicken and pork and the occasional steak.  As I started to lose weight I re-evaluated the portion sizes of the meat to the deck of cards sized portions…but boy did that look small compared to the huge honking pieces I used to eat.  And I married a meat and potatoes kind of guy who thought nothing of just cooking himself two burgers for dinner and saying forget the potatoes unless they were deep fried.  Yummy oil soaked potatoes make meat taste better, right Hunni.



But slowly we started getting away from meat.  First there was the cost.  It’s expensive to eat that much meat all the time.  I was getting poorer on chicken for lunch and dinner instead of shopping like other people.  I like to eat quantity so I could afford more of the grains and veggies to make bigger meals if I at less meat.  I would buy it on sale but tried to incorporate at least one or two dishes a week without animal proteins.  And my wallet got a bit fatter and my stomach got a bit smaller.  And I made the tasty enough that Hunni didn’t really notice.  He just likes taste…oh and not having to cook



Then I watched Food, INC and realized that commercial meat was not very friendly for anyone.  It kind of made me sick to think about all the meat I had in my freezer.  So we committed to buying only organic meat and eating even less meat each week.  Now we are down to only one or two meat dishes a week.  We honestly haven’t bought any meat all year because I had that much stocked up from sales prior to our menu changes.  My freezer was packed so I went meat shopping in my own house instead of at the market each week.



I was okay with this minimal meat-eating until my GI specialist explained that my body doesn’t digest meat very well because of my IBS.  And since then I’m kind of scared to eat it.  Pain isn’t very friendly either.  His words kind of clicked with me because the few times since that appointment that I have eaten meat I notice my (TMI ALERT) bowels are slower.  Meat does not taste as good as I thought when I think about the after effects.  Kind of like how I love the taste of sugar on my tongue but hate it the second it hits my digestive track.  So more and more of my meals are sans-meat these days.  I have made a game of finding new meat-free recipes the same way I find sugar-free treats.



I’m not going full on vegetarian because occasionally I just crave a good piece of chicken.  But I have become and accidental “vegetarian” to avoid the ill effects meat have on my body.  And I think Hunni would go bonkers if he couldn’t have some pepperoni on his pizza even if there is a pile of veggies along with it.  I’ve learned how to incorporate much more beans and lentils into my diet.  And I’ve gotten adventurous with tofu and well actually tried it.  Since I can flavor it with sauces like meat I seem to enjoy trying new methods.  But Hunni has been super supportive and doesn’t complain about the lack of meat in our diets.  He wants me to be happy and healthy so he eats the majority of his meat when we eat out.  But even he is getting more brave and ordering things like the Buddha’s feast at PF Changs since apparently it doesn’t taste like “styrofoam.”



Who would have thought to meat loving fools would be primarily veggie?  Not me certainly…it all came around slowly and almost by accident.  But even though it is unintentional I’m much better for it.  My wallet is fuller and my digestion is smoother and I have more space in my freezer for fruits and veggies for smoothies.  And with a great suggestion of Angela for a vegan recipe blog I’m enjoying satisfying dinners and mindlessly wasting my time at work looking for new dishes to try



Have you ever gone vegetarian?