Not Soy Good

The highlight of this week is today, Wednesday. I decided that I would make today “Soy Meat Day”. As I am writing right now, I am staring at this:

my lovely soy ham sandwich with all the fixings. The brown-pink substance that is resting on the bottom piece of bread is my new best friend, soy ham (lucky me that my school’s sandwich station offers soy meat). Since I am planning on eating soy chicken cordon bleu for dinner tonight, I opted for soy ham rather than turkey on my sandwich. I’m nervous, but here goes nothing… It doesn’t take like real ham, but I’m not really surprised. I would go so far as to say it tastes hamesque, but what’s really off is the texture. I don’t exactly know how to describe it, but the “meat” crumbles in my mouth which real ham definitely does not do. There’s a chance I could get by on eating soy meat on sandwiches forever, if I decide to stick with this dietary path. Did I expect this foreign substance to taste like the real succulent rear pork leg that ham comes from? The answer is obviously no. This does taste better than I had hoped for; there is no funny after taste, and no foul smell (it does however, have a strange appearance and texture). My meat cravings are somewhat satisfied by this alternative, but there is still a part of me that is dying to give in to the temptation of all the meats I see my friends eating. This meal has made me more optimistic about dinner tonight (I’ve been dreading today).

            Soy chicken cordon bleu, 

looks delicious doesn’t it? I picked off the soy ham and cheese on top of the “chicken” (too much “ham” in one day), and took my first bite of the chicken-like substance. It was surprisingly delicious, and I felt like I was eating real chicken. There was a nice crunch when I bit into its fried existence; the only dead giveaway that it wasn’t real is that it lacked the juicy quality of chicken. If I didn’t know it was made from soy, I probably would have been pretty convinced. As much as I enjoyed my soy chicken, my body did not. I’m not sure if it was the “ham” or the “chicken” that made my stomach upset, but while I was going on a run an hour or so after dinner I was struck with nausea and had to stop a couple times. I figured it was because of the heat, it was a blazing high seventies when I went running, but when I was still feeling sick around 10:30pm, I knew it was something I ate. It’s disappointing that one or both of the soy meats I consumed made me feel awful because I was just starting to get used to the thought of eating meat substitutes often. Maybe I’ll get ballsy enough to try again, but it will not be any time soon. I’m still recovering. Have any of you tried soy meat? Did it make you sick as well? I’m curious as to if it was just my body not agreeing with it, or if it has happened to anyone else. Anyways, I’m back to my bed to sleep off the sickness.

Say No to Animals?

You may be wondering why I chose to be a vegetarian out of all the different things I could have chosen to write a blog about. A part of me was curious as to if I could actually commit to not eating any animal, and there’s always been a part of me that felt bad for eating defenseless creatures.  As human beings I think we are responsible for the way we treat the planet and everything that inhabits it. Sure we’re the most sophisticated being on Earth, but that doesn’t mean we should take advantage of that fact. In Juliana Devries article “Making Choices: Ethics and Vegetarianism”, she describes many of the reasons why I made the choice to go vegetarian. Climate change, workers’ rights, animal rights, and land use are some of the issues she brings light to in the article (Devries). I knew climate change was affected by the food industry, but I didn’t know that livestock farming alone had such a large part in it. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2006 report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” 18 percent of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are generated by livestock farming, while cars, trains, planes and boats account for only 13 percent (Devries). I was appalled to find out that livestock farms produce more greenhouse gasses than all the modes of transportation combined. Global warming is something my generation is becoming more and more aware of, and I feel as though this fact could change people’s opinions towards the livestock industry. If people pushed for different practices in slaughter houses, this could decrease the emission of greenhouse gases. Not killing cute and furry animals was the original reason behind my conversion; now I am more aware of the economic reasons rather than just the emotional. I feel healthier, and while I still crave meat, the thought of actually consuming some defenseless animal keeps me from giving in. Imagine that cute little calf, chick, or squealing pig being raised in a space that is too small for them, getting fed food they aren’t supposed to consume so they get fat faster, and then being abused before they’re slaughtered just so we can have a steak, chicken breast, or ham. When I see meat now, all I picture is that animal laying on some table with its eyes glazed over, covered in blood and still twitching. I know it’s a disturbing image, but that’s honestly how I feel now. Vegetarianism has become more about others than myself, although it has a lot of popularity because of the health benefits.

            There’s trendiness to being a vegetarian, mostly for its health benefits. Lowered weight and blood pressure and the protection against and management of Type 2 diabetes are some of the advantages to a well-balanced vegetarian diet (Donovan-Kicken & Romo, pg. 406). These advantages draw people to converting to vegetarianism. Switching to a vegetarian diet sounds like an easy thing to do, but from my experience so far, the task is not so simple. The most difficult part about my becoming a vegetarian is the fact that I’m lactose intolerant. As I’ve mentioned before, milk protein (lactose) is how the majority of vegetarians maintain their protein levels. The challenge so far has been finding alternate forms of protein (although I’ve been eating small amounts of dairy). I’m currently doing some research on more protein options, so make sure you keep your eyes out for it in the upcoming posts.

Works Cited:

Devries, Juliana. “Making Choices: Ethics and Vegetarianism.” Dissent. 59.2 (2012): 39-41.ILL. Web. 30 April 2012.

Donovan-Kicken, Erin & Romo, Lynsey Kluever. “ ‘Actually, I Don’t Eat Meat’: A Multiple-Goals Perspective of Communication About Vegetarianism.” Communcation Studies. 63.4 (2012): 405-420. ILL. Web. 30 April 2012.

Veggie Tales

Not eating meat for breakfast wasn’t a big deal since I normally get coffee and a pastry of some sort. When I hit lunchtime on Day One, I was craving a roast beef sandwich piled high and topped off with mustard and lettuce. Then I remembered, today is the day I become a vegetarian. Since it was around 3pm and I hadn’t eaten anything since around 9:30am, I was too starved to think about my options. I ordered a caprese panini from the sandwich line, and then after it was heated to perfection, I took it back to my dorm room to eat with some carrots and red bell pepper hummus. Now I know that my caprese sandwich had tons of mozzarella cheese on it, but hey, it was the only thing I knew I liked and was vegetarian at the same time. In my book, I was killing two birds with one stone. On the other hand, dinner was more of a struggle. I was hoping the dinner special would be something fantastic, but a falafel gyro did not sound that exciting, and I had no idea what falafel was. I later googled it, and according to Wikipedia.com, it is made from ground up chickpeas, and/or fava beans (I love chickpeas, which makes me sad I didn’t get the gyro). I decided to make my own vegetable stir fry with tofu over brown rice. It was…decent. However, I wasn’t a fan of how large the chunks of tofu were. I could feel the mushy texture with every bite. I later had a snack of wheat thins with goat cheese to fill me up. All in all, despite finding out I had strep, day one was successful.

Luckily, the rest of week one went by without too much of a hitch. In Benson (my school’s dining area) on Wednesday, the special was succulent prime rib, with steamed vegetables and a baked potato. I started salivating at the tempting thought of biting into the moist, slightly pink flesh. Instead I ordered this:

The vegetarian special substituted the prime rib for vegetarian chili, and it was the best meal I've had so far. Thursday morning I had an omelet, which I normally get with veggies, ham and cheese. Who would have thought that the loss of ham would be so noticeable? The salty taste was absent from my palate, and I was not nearly as satisfied as I wanted to be. That same night I went to Pizza My Heart and had a delicious slice of vegetarian pizza. I risked the consequences of eating dairy because I was craving something familiar. The experience of trying foods I have never considered before is enticing, but exhausting. Soy meat is the ‘exotic’ food I want to attempt to eat before this project is over. I didn’t think I would be craving meat as much as I am. Whenever I’m itching to give in to my temptations, I imagine the faces of all the cute animals I am no longer eating. It helps a little bit. So far, so good.

            Now, my lovely readers, you might be wondering how this was all making me feel. Despite having strep, this week was one of the best weeks I’ve had in a while. I don’t know if it’s because I’m no longer subconsciously guilty about eating fuzzy animals, or if I’m just having a good week. Whatever it is, I feel amazing. I haven’t made it to the gym this week, so I don’t know how my being vegetarian is going to affect my workouts. My overall mood and energy levels this week have been better than usual, and I’m excited to see if this feeling stays consistent.

            When I came up with the plan to become a vegetarian I thought it would a piece of cake. My first week was pretty hellish. With every passing day, my respect for vegetarians grows. Controlling my urges is not as easy as I anticipated, every time my eyes land on a piece of meat, especially red meat, I cannot get my mind off of it. It makes my meals less enjoyable because I keep focusing on what I can’t have instead of enjoying all of the yummy things I can have. I knew this week would be the hardest, and that it will get easier with every passing day. I’m optimistic that I can stick it out for the entirety. Keep your eyes peeled for my post on soy meat, I’m sure it will be interesting to say the least.

Works Cited

“Falafel.” Wikipedia.org. Wikimedia Foundation, 24 Apr. 2013. Web. 24 April 2013.

About Me

Hi, my name is Lauren Miller. I am currently a freshman studying biology at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, California. Originally I’m from a suburb of Seattle, Washington, so living in sunny California has been quite the treat. This is my first blogging experience, and I’m excited to start. The challenge: six weeks, no meat. I will blog about how hard it is, my mood and energy levels, what I ate and how much I enjoyed it, along with information on the health aspects of being a vegetarian. I am lactose-intolerant (although I break the rules sometimes) and the majority of vegetarians get their protein from milk, so I’m going to have to find alternatives. I will also be discussing the ethical reasons behind people making the change to a vegetarian lifestyle and the truth behind the quality of the meat we are eating. As I’m working on this project, you’ll be learning alongside me since my knowledge on these subjects are limited. I hope you enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them (and hopefully I enjoy being a vegetarian).