Vegan/Vegetarian Experience Update

After a good 6 weeks of almost dedicated Vegan/Vegetarian eating, I learned something about myself:

1. I love food
2. I love to eat
3. I can make just about anything taste good
4. I love veggies
5. I love fish
6. I really love meat
7. Meat doesn’t love me
8. Meat might be the cause of some of my health issues

I absolutely love food of all kinds; ‘from the rooter to the tooter’ as they say down South. I am unafraid to try something at least twice; once out in a setting that is not my own, and then making it at home. That being said, I can make just about anything taste good with some garlic, onion, salt and hot sauce (Garlic and Onion are stables in my cooking).

I grew up eating veggies; from greens to beans. My parents didn’t play that, “I don’t like that”. It was eat, or go hungry. That lesson and experience has served me well in my years of cooking and eating.

I am an avid fish/ seafood lover and eater and am always game to try some fish that is not my usual, like this parrot fish below.

I saw it at my Asian Grocery Store, which is a great place to find all kinds of fish. The colors of this fish caught my eye and I was like, why not. The meat was firm just like I prefer. I seasoned this with an Asain sweet sauce and wrapped it in parchment paper and baked in the oven whole (YES, with the head, but scaled and gutted).

Even after this Veggie experience, I still love meat, especially some lamb, and a perfectly cooked bone-in ribeye steak. However, what I found when I try to go right back to meat, is that my stomach did not like it. I did not feel good at all; sour stomach, feeling very sluggish and such. And even then, I found that when I was testing myself, I really craved meat, but now I do not. I also found that when I am not eating meat on a consistent basis, that I have lessened quite a bit of inflammation that I was having in my back and hips and that right there is worth not eating meat all the time.

However, as it gets hot out I find myself want a nice cold-cut sandwich, which is what I had in this photo below. Ham, turkey, salami, baby swiss and smoked gouda.

Now, I am sticking with mostly veggies just because I want to and it makes me feel good. It also allows me to push myself in creating veggie-based recipes that I would not normally create.

So the verdict: Through this little experience, I learned a lot about myself and my body and my ability to stretch myself in creative cooking. And I have had the opportunity to try vegan foods that I would have not tried otherwise. Below is one of my favorites: Beyond Meat. And here is my juicy vegan burger that reminded me so much of meat, it was scary but beyond delicious. Also, I used this vegan cheese by Violife which was also my favorite vegan cheese so far.

Until Next Time: Cook, Eat and Enjoy. OH… Come and follow my Youtube Cooking Channel: Like, comment, Subscribe and tell a friend!!! CLICK ——–>>>> Cook Eat Enjoy