Vegetarian Struggles

The following is a brief introduction of my purpose in writing this blog. The posts to follow will share many of the things I have learned about food and how I incorporate nutrition, color and Solar Nutrition in the preparation of my meals.


In the early 1960s, when I first decided to adopt a vegetarian style of life, it was not for health reasons. I had been witness to the formation of the energy which is produced by the fear and pain an animal goes through when being led to slaughter and at that point made the decision I did not want to put that energy in my body. I began looking at veggies in an entirely different light.


I became a lacto-vegetarian, which incorporated eggs and dairy products, and I continued on that path for a number of years. Now, I have to confess I really like cheese. I really, really like lots of cheese and on one fateful day I slipped back into a "normal" American way of eating. The downfall began with pizza. I always ordered the veggie pizza with black olives, mushrooms, red onions, broccoli, tomatoes and usually with extra cheese, and felt pretty smug about my healthy choices. But one day, not paying attention, I accidentally grabbed a piece of my friend's pizza that had ham on it. I think it was sugar cured but whatever they did to it, it was delicious. The first bite insured I would eat the whole piece. One piece led to another and my vegetarianism was down the drain. I was totally seduced and too weak willed to resist.


I was a meat eater for another year when common sense once again prevailed and I returned to the vegetarian fold. That lasted until I somehow acquired a "significant other" in the early 80s who was a heavy meat eater. He didn't know the meaning of the word vegetable. As a result of this association, I gradually fell back into the meat eating world and maintained that status for a number of years. My diet consisted mostly of veggies but I also ate fish or chicken. We were together ten years when he passed away with congestive heart failure. After that, I continued to vacillate between meat eating and non-meat eating which pretty well defined my yo-yo eating habits until several months ago.


My oldest son, who had been a vegetarian many years ago, made the decision to once again refrain from eating meat and has become a vegan. He and I go veggie shopping on most Saturdays which is great. We get to be together for a bit and we share ideas and recipes. Brings joy to my heart.


My love affair with vegetarianism is out of the closet and back in full force. I am actually vegan now as I do not use oil, eggs, dairy, sugar, and of course, meat. I would like to share with you the ups and downs I have experienced and how I am ensuring adequate nutrition and great taste in my daily diet.
Stay tuned...I am hopeful that the information I offer will be of interest and use to you. I will welcome your comments and/or any question you may have about anything I post.