HAVE I GONE VEGETARIAN?

YES and NO

To many of you ,looking into my daily routine of preparing and eating dishes, it will seem obvious that something you're most likely very accustomed to have on a daily basis is missing, chicken and meat; so, on that basis it would seem that, yes,I've gone vegetarian.

This being said, I am not the biggest fan of excluding any food type/group from your diet (with the exception of allergens) so this would seem to contradict what is apparently an exclusively vegetarian diet. So yes, it's been a while since i switched to a predominantly vegetarian diet and no, I haven't gone vegetarian because, as I just mentioned, I predominantly eat vegetarian, not exclusively.

The gist of it is that, by a rough calculation, more than 90% of the food I eat comes from fruit, veggies, grains,nuts and legumes and a bit of dairy and eggs.

WHY?

It's hard to answer now because my views have changed and evolved since I first started this pattern of eating.

STARTING POINT

The way this all started was that, since some my family members were unwilling to switch to a more sustainable source of meat and poultry which would also require them reducing the quantities they consumed*(more about this later), I had initially taken the decision to completely avoid them in my own diet until or unless I can get them from reliable sources like the Farmers' Market or our own farm.

The cost of raising chicken or cattle free range is significantly higher than conventional farming costs and, although small scale organic farmers have a much much smaller profit rate than big scale ones their products still carry a significant financial punch to the wallet of the ordinary customer and this means we can buy less for more, but this is not necessarily a bad thing, it's just different. On the other hand, our farm is so far outside the city that, although we could source many of our own pure products from there, we actually end up visiting quite rarely and the freezer can only hold so many chickens at a time so I have to ration my stored meat and poultry cleverly until the next visit.

ADJUSTMENT PERIOD

I wouldn't really say it was hard to adjust to the changes I'd introduced but it did take a bit of getting used to, just because we're so used to the convenience of using chicken; it's quick, easy to prep and versatile but I learnt to set myself up for success by smart prep of grains, beans and lentils. I soak and boil large batches to always have them at hand when in the mood for any of them.I divide them in boxes, some of them go in the fridge for regular use during the week and the rest go in the freezer.

An awesome vegetarian cookbook can also be of immense help and relief and I was lucky to find just the right one.The book is so great I actually bought 2 of them with the intention of gifting one of them away to one of you. I just need some suggestions on what challenge should I base my gifting decision on, something meaningful and inspiring...help me out guys, leave your comments.

GETTING INTO IT

What happened next was that, as I familiarised myself with more awesome vegetarian recipes and became really comfortable with the whole routine, I also started to notice the many health benefits of eating less animal sourced protein and, along with that , my focus started to shift more towards wholesomeness rather than just vegetarian options.

Eating more vegetables and fruits and other plant based foods has taught me to love and appreciate them even more, they just have that effect on you. And that also got me thinking about the whole point of it all. What was the point in just emphasising on better quality meat and poultry? Why not emphasize on better quality sugar sources, fat sources and think of the whole package of our eating habits and processing practices today?

We should definitely give these things a thought because our current food choices and consumption patterns are just not sustainable in the long run and that is disastrous for everyone from the farmers to the customers. I've recently come to the conclusion that I should try and move my journey a few steps ahead in the direction of consuming more whole foods with the least amount of processing as possible. It just seems like the natural transition and , although I'm already halfway there, I am quite nervous about a few things that you might also be concerned about if you're considering doing the same.

1. Doing It Alone

It seems like such a downer to have to go through these amazing revelations and transformations without the support and understanding of those surrounding you but, I guess, the harder the struggle the sweeter the reward (that's what I'm gonna tell myself anyway)

2. Sugar

Like many of us, I have a love-hate relationship with this sh#!t. The thing is that we all have different thresholds of sensitivity to sugar but mine is very, very low. Just a taste of it can pull me into a downward spiral of over indulgence.It's quite simply an addiction and, as with any addiction, you live to battle it another day every day, it never really goes away. So, while I can go on processed sugar fasts for extended time periods I sometimes get too confident in my own ability to resist anything beyond a sampling and I tend to fall into that trap regularly. Point 1. from above also adds to this anxiety as I don't get the option to just get it out of the house and our lives.

3. Oils

Oils , even natural, cold pressed virgin ones, are not whole foods. They are an isolated component of the whole foods themselves(the seeds or nuts) and nature has not intended for us to consume them that way. I know it's doable but I'm yet to arm myself with some awesome whole food plant based recipes for salad dressings and such because life without my homemade mayonnaise is going to punch me in the guts.

CONCLUSION

So, here it is, all laid out in from of you, my journey thus far and the destination I'm headed towards. I really hope some of you will decide to maybe join me and others in this quest because a whole food plant based diet resets all your senses to tune in to the cycles of nature. It has deepened my understanding of why and how we can and should consume less in quantity but more in quality. Nature cannot provide an assembly line of consistent supply, it needs (just like us) time to regenerate and reborn but our continuous demand of wanting (not actually needing) more is pushing its capacities to a brim. We can't just substitute our outrageous sugar consumption with honey, there isn't enough honey in the world for that! We need to come to terms with that and show some humility in the process. Allow natural cycles to provide what's fresh and seasonal and accept it with gratitude and respect, that's what we've lost and are in dire need to reclaim.

To be continued...