Veggie Burger Update

Man, I have to admit that I am kind of sad that my diet hasn't really exploded into an adventure of vegetarianness like I wanted it to. I mean, it has significantly diversified, but compared to how I ate before, it's not really any better.
Things that I have experimented with:
-Edamame, both raw and cooked. Delicious!
-Quinoa in various applications
-Barley in soup. I have to put down a recipe for the soup my mother made recently.

Today, I had a fritatta with lots of things in it that I would normally pick out. It was... eggs of course, with spinach, red pepper, eggplant, garlic and parmesan. Frankly, if I wasn't in the presence of a new acquaintance who had made it specially for me... I wouldn't have eaten it. But I am glad that I did!! He made it in such a way that the combination of the red pepper and the garlic and parmesan blended together, and the eggplant and spinach were added in such a way that it was difficult to taste unless you were specifically attempting to detect it. It was very nourishing and very pleasing!

I concede defeat

I guess I am really not going to be vegetarian this summer after all-- I am going to be a flex- pescatarian. Do you want to hear the trials and travails of my arduous effort to convince my mother that fish are animals?

Here's an example conversation:
MOTHER: Oh, yeah, I told all the girls at work that we're going vegetarian this summer and I asked them for their best fish dishes!
ME: Mommy, you know that if you eat fish, you're not a vegetarian.
MOTHER: What do you mean?????
ME: Fish are animals. If you eat fish, you're not a vegetarian. If you eat fish, you're a pescatarian.
MOTHER: ...........

I respect those who choose to eat only fish just as much as I respect those who eat only eggs or no animal products whatsoever. They are all furthering the greater good of environmentalism and improving the health of Americans at large. Frankly, it would be silly of me to judge those who choose to eat only fish when up until only a week ago, I indiscriminately ate everything I could get my mouth around. But the fact of the matter is, vegetarians do not eat the flesh of any animal, and that includes fish.

But anyway, the point of my story is that I am going to end up eating fish once in a while. And I ate it last night. Story after the jump.

Veggie Burgers

I desperately need to go grocery shopping. It's only been 3 days and I've already veggie burgers for half my meals. Yes, I do prepare them in a manner that makes them delicious as well as nutritious, with dill relish, horseradish mustard, and multigrain bread, but I'm sure that there's something bad going to come out of eating them so often.

Luckily, we have two kinds in the house-- the Boca vegan burgers, which are fake meat patties made out of soy, and the Garden burgers, which are shaped kind of like hamburger patties but are much more obviously not attempting to imitate meat.

I prefer veggie burgers to regular burgers, really. I never ate hamburgers much as it was, but when I did, I put every single condiment on in the house so it was absolutely dripping with mayonnaise and ketchup and all manner of indelicate substances. My manner of dressing the veggie burger is much more subtle, and it takes it well. Long live the veggie burger!

My first official vegetarian meal

On Friday, the very first day, I was busy packing to come home from school and we ate on the road. We stopped at the Westborough Plaza on the Mass Pike; my mother said , "OOH, D'ANGELO'S!" We went in and looked at the menu. There was one item available for vegetarians... and it was disgusting. There was one ingredient that I didn't hate on it. Therein lies the issue: American food is not vegetarian-friendly.

So we went over to the next place, with the friendly yet seemingly-false moniker of "Fresh City". I doubt its freshness. Really, we're at a rest area on the longest highway in America. It's probably not fresh. So I ordered the "burrito grande" which boasted a lot of rice, black beans, gross salsa and not enough cheese. I really am a fan of salsa in its many variations, but this salsa just smelled wrong.

So there's my first meal as an official vegetarian. Rather inauspicious, really.

Here goes

Well, last night (technically still this night since I haven't gone to sleep yet...) was the last night of eating meat for the entire summer. My friends and I went to Bertucci's, because where else would we go? I ordered the something shrimp, purportedly spicy but in actuality rather whatever. I mean, it was tasty and all, but I was expecting a sauce rife with crushed red pepper. Instead, I got a relatively tasty but plainly marinara sauce to accompany the shrimps, broccoli, asparagus, and peas with linguini.
At any rate, I enjoyed my "last supper", but I am looking forward to this adventure.
Quote of the night: "Erin, did you just say that you are going to go on a journey of self-discovery and that Leah is going to help you? How can someone help you on one of those?"

I have an announcement to make

I have decided that I am going to try being a vegetarian for the entire summer. I have several reasons. I am trying to get healthier, thinner, and all those other positive-change adverbs regarding my physical health. I also have come to the realization that it is hypocritical of me to hold certain opinions regarding beef (more on that later) and I can't stand hypocrites, so I am not going to let myself do that.

My family is joining me on my adventure. The United States makes up 1/15 of the world's population and eats 1/3 of the world's meat. As of now, 4 less people will be eating it here in Connecticut.