The Journey Towards a Healthier Diet

I've been tossing around the idea of cutting some of the meat from my regularly prepared meals, and, good sport that he is, my husband has given me the go-ahead to try it.

The move away from processed foods was simple, except for the I'm-exhausted-and-refuse-to-chop-or-otherwise-prepare-more-than-three-ingredients meals. Just last night we flew home from a week-long trip halfway across the country and went straight from the airport to a friend's birthday party at a dueling piano bar. Afterwards, the last thing I wanted to do at 10:30 pm was go grocery shopping to restock the house and then cook. Frozen bagged meals are my friends at these times, though they're loaded with sodium. But all in all these minor offenses aren't really a cause for concern.

The move away from red meat wasn't too difficult, either, once I learned how to properly prepare pork. Much more lean, usually cheaper, and more versatile than beef, anyway. Hamburger Helper no longer sits in our cupboard as an evil temptation, and I can whip up an awesome pork tenderloin in no time.

But even though we've cut out many boxed-and-bagged foods, and hardly ever eat red meat (aside from the weakness my husband and I both have for Carl's Jr's western bacon cheeseburgers - don't judge), we still don't need to eat meat at EVERY meal. It's just not necessary. Meat is hard to digest, and it's expensive. Plus nowadays, who knows where it came from, or what other friendly hormones or additives have hitched a ride?

My new goal is to incorporate some non-meat dishes into our diet. I'm not going to call them "vegetarian" because I'm sure there will still be milk, butter, eggs, and other animal-related paraphernalia in the dishes. Our biggest challenges will certainly be:

1. Protein. My husband and I both have very physical jobs. On our feet from 8-12 every shift, sometimes overtime or extra shifts, working with equipment or hazardous materials, we can't exist on vegetables, and we don't get breaks to snack on carrot sticks. Those meals have to stick, and have to last.

2. Tofu and beans. I dislike most beans, and tofu is not allowed. I may be trying to eat healthier, but I don't believe in half-assed substitutions like tofu. If a meal doesn't taste good because you substitute an inferior ingredient, you just ruined your whole meal. There's enough good food out there you shouldn't have to "suffer."

So off I go to the bookstore to find a new cookbook. "Flexitarianism" is the new "it" term for doing a partial-vegetarian diet, and it at least gives me a starting point. Hopefully you'll be able to look forward to great new recipes that will help you incorporate healthier ingredients without even missing the meat!

Wish me luck!