When I was 17 I became a vegetarian. At first I was the pasta, cheese sandwiches, and Twix kind of vegetarian. It wasn't exactly healthy, but converting a midwestern diet to vegetarian means that you either substitute a veggie burger where the meat goes, or just take the meat out. It's a start, but it leads to some strange meals. A lot of my meals were all shades of white: bun, cheese, noodles, potatoes, iceberg. When I got to college I started learning about avocado, hummus, and Indian food, and things really got cooking. All in all, I'd say it was a pretty good decision for me. It's kept me lean and healthy, and it's a good, blanket way to be socially responsible without trying too hard.
Potatoes and cheese, potatoes and cheese, POTATOES AND CHEESE!!
But I'm 35 now; I've been a vegetarian for 18 years. More than half of my life! And I've been considering: being a vegetarian isn't a choice I make every day or every meal anymore. I just get up and AM a vegetarian. I have been letting a 17-year-old decide how I eat. Who here would let a teenager from the midwest make that decision for you?
Vegetarian 4-EVA, kay?
So I had a simple thought: I can take that control back and decide for every meal what I'm going to eat as a 35 year-old woman with a hell of a lot more information than I had when I was 17.
Last week, I talked to my mom on the phone and I asked her how to cook chicken breasts. Having that basic midwestern palate that she does, she just said, "I just throw it in a casserole dish with some cauliflower and potatoes and garlic and bake it for an hour."
"You don't have to wash it or anything first?"
"Not unless it's slimy."
So I walked up the street to the Whole Foods, paid for some organic, happy chicken breasts, and threw them in the oven, mom-style, with sweet potatoes and lemon juice. It was ridiculously easy.
Then I ate it.
Whoa!
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