Why Vegetarian?

There are a lot of reasons to become vegetarian, some more controversial than others, but my reasons are pretty tame. I was raised eating meat, but I never really cared for it much. I was one of those kids that would stuff the pieces of pork chop in my mouth, then go spit them out in the restroom. Meat just wasn't my thing, except for a few specific dishes. I considered going vegetarian on and off for years, but never did because I didn't know what I would eat... and the thought of giving up chili dogs was unthinkable.

Back in 2009, I suddenly started getting nauseous all the time. My doctor ruled out every possible medical cause; I even got ultrasounds on my gall bladder, which turned up nothing. I finally made a connection that it was happening every time I ate meat. A nutritionist finally suggested that perhaps I had GERD, which is essentially bad acid reflux. That doesn't explain why even lean meats made me sick, but at that point I no longer cared. I had dropped meat from my diet, I felt better, I didn't miss the meat, and I sure as hell didn't want to add more prescription medicine on top of all my allergy control stuff. Thus, I became vegetarian!

The switch was a lot easier than I expected, and I soon became an enthusiastic vegetarian cook. Since becoming vegetarian I've also learned a lot about the environmental costs of large-scale livestock farming, so on a socially-conscious level I'm happy to be doing the whole plant-based diet thing, too. Obviously I don't judge people who choose to include meat in their diet, though, otherwise I would never be with Nathan! I do advocate eating organic, grass-fed meat, though, and supporting local farmers whenever possible - but the reasons for that are for another post.

Ultimately, becoming vegetarian was an easy change for me, and I'm so glad I did it. It's been three years since I quit meat and I don't miss it at all!

(Okay, I DO still miss chili cheese dogs with onions, but that's it, really!)