Vegetarianism: Day Eight
It is said that humans are creatures of habit. I imagine that a human’s eating habits are no different. Specifically, I imagine that a families eating patterns are dependent on where they live geographically. Valerie and I live in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas, an area merging the foods of the United States and Mexico, both good and bad. A better Tex-Mex meal cannot be had in Texas.
But not just region plays a role, but neighborhood location plays a role as well. On the corner of the major intersection of our neighborhood is a gas station, Stripes, which sells its own brand of breakfast tacos, highly sought after, a Burger King and a Little Caesars. There are no less than three fried chicken restaurants within a few miles of our house. I don’t think I contain the number of Mexican/Tex-Mex restaurants to the ten digits on my hands. There is exactly two Chinese restaurants in the neighborhood, neither of which is that great.
There is one grocery store, which I have to grant, has superb produce. There are a couple of Walmarts within driving distance.
The point is, one’s diet is not just restricted by what one chooses to eat but by one has available to eat.
Every morning, I stick to the same staple foods, oatmeal with fruit, banana, coffee, and maybe a yogurt. Easy enough. No meat in this meal.
But then, lunch and supper become an issue. Eight days in, and I have managed to find a good mix without finding myself becoming bored with what I am eating. I think that boredom probably will be my downfall in my quest to make it thirty days without meat.
Today, I took Valerie to the Olive Garden. I knew that I could easily pickup a plate of pasta and soup without violating my restricted diet. The question is, how much do vegetarians rely on pasta as a staple? Apparently, the answer is, a lot. In addition to providing energy, whole grain pasta is a good source of protein. Incidentally, nuts are also high on a vegetarian/vegan diet. See the website here.
So I made the right choice today. In fact, we got an extra plate of pasta to bring home.
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