Last night, I met up with some lovely bloggers at Seasons 52. Of course, I forgot my camera! In attendance were Emily, Emily (visiting from Boston), Tina, Sarena, Anna (a reader), Tyler and Laura.
I’d met Emily and Laura before was excited to see them again and meet everyone else. Everyone was very sweet and friendly. We ate dinner around 8:15 or 8:30 and when we got up to leave, I was thinking that it was maybe 10, but come to find out that it was after 11. Time really flies by when you have a lot to talk about! I’m waiting until someone else posts a picture so I can snag it.
Since I wasn’t home, Jason had to fend for himself for dinner and he wrote about it:
Veggie Challenge, Days 2 – 5
I’m not sure which is harder; not eating meat for a week or trying to blog about it every day!
Actually, I’m sure it’s the blogging!
The good news is that I still haven’t had any meat since Sunday. But, the bad news is that I haven’t been going about my new diet in the healthiest of ways. I was so concerned with trying not to eat meat, that I allowed myself to compensate with other things. Pizza two nights in a row isn’t exactly healthy, but they didn’t have any meat on it.
I didn’t really bother to blog about the last few days, because there really wasn’t anything interesting to report. I work odd hours, (overnights three days a week, and evenings on weekends) so during the week I’m not as tempted to run out to a fast food joint for a burger since I’m working from midnight until 8 a.m.
Those days basically go like this. Go to work at midnight, drink lots of diet-coke, and eat a piece of fruit or yogurt or something small and simple. I don’t really have an appetite during those hours, and honestly I’m so busy, there isn’t time to sit down and have a “meal” After work, I come home made some eggs and fake sausage then went to bed until Lee comes home… then either she or I will make some sort of vegetarian meal.
So, I don’t feel I’ve really been “challenged.” We haven’t gone out to dinner, and as such, I haven’t had the experience of only having one or two dishes on a menu to choose from. We haven’t gone to a cook-out or barbecue. I imagine this would be much like a recovering alcoholic going to an open-bar party.
So I MIGHT extend the challenge, at least another week to get a real feel for “living without” but I don’t think I’ll be a true vegetarian for life.
So far, I’ve been living off of veggie burgers, fake chicken nuggets, 4-cheese pizza hot pockets, eggs, fake sausage, yogurt, waffles, and veggie pizzas, but there was one highlight to the week. On Friday night Lee went out to dinner while I caught up on some much needed rest. When I woke up, she wasn’t there to make me a delicious veggie dinner, so I had to fend for myself. Working with what we had in the kitchen, I was able to whip up a sort-of “vegetarian chicken chow mein” I stir fried a pepper trio, some onions, and spinach, boiled some chow mein noodles, and added about 8 of the fake chicken nuggets to the mix. It was pretty good, and made for some good “cold Chinese food” leftovers.
I’m at work now, and this might be the most challenging part of the challenge so far. Usually on Saturdays and Sundays, I do get time to go out and grab a bite to eat. Usually it’s Wendy’s, Taco Bell, Subway or something like that. I didn’t pack a lunch, so I’ll have to go out on my dinner run tonight, and try to find something vegetarian. I’ve had Subway’s veggie-delight before… but it’s really not a delight. It’s more like a salad sandwich. It tastes like it is missing something. Oh yeah, MEAT!
I’ve heard Moe’s has descent tofu burritos? And there is a Vietnamese/Thai place nearby that has veggie dishes… So, we’ll see!
To be continued…
It’s Lee again. I have much to say about his latest entry. Specifically on being vegetarian and not being healthy and also on the idea of feeling like “living without.” I will address both of these tomorrow as I’m attempting to paint my bedroom (or rather, prep for painting) and should get back to it.
However, I did want to ask a question. As you might be able to infer from Jason’s references to various fast food joints, he and I do not exactly eat the same way. I honestly cannot tell you the last time I had fast food, not counting Subway. It’s been years. If you have a significant other, do you eat similarly? I’m assuming that most of you reading this eat pretty healthy. Does your significant other?
