Veggie Story

I became a vegetarian when I was 18. I was never a huge meat-eater, but I did love a good hamburger after a swim in the pool, my Grandma’s Scottish mince pie, and as I was living in the Southwest, I loved beef tacos. We also had the usual cookout food, such as fried chicken.

I had started meditating a couple years before and I was increasingly aware of the large amount of hormones and chemicals added to meats (this was in the late 1960s). I had a few friends who had become vegetarians.

One evening at dinner having some fried chicken, I suddenly became aware that I was gnawing on a leg bone. Yuck! I put the chicken leg down and never had fried chicken again.

With encouragement from friends, I decided to go vegetarian for a year. The only things I had a hard time giving up were the poolside burgers and greasy beef tacos. I went to a naturopath to get nutrition advice; I still ate some eggs and dairy. I also took protein powder for the first year or so.

Back then, there were no vegetarian restaurants and no menu items intentionally vegetarian. But I was lucky to be in Tucson, AZ where there were many international restaurants so I could always find something to eat if I wasn’t eating at home.

After the year, I saw no reason to go back to eating meat. I have been a lacto-ovo vegetarian for nearly 45 years. I have never had health issues related to being vegetarian and had two children without any nutritional issues.

I eat much less dairy now and have cut back on eggs. At home, the only eggs I have are ones from local farms with free-range chickens. I can see a time when I will not eat eggs at all.

I am not a great cook – I tend to just fix salads, bean and rice dishes, veggie burgers, miso soup, very simple things. I will have simple snacks like apples and peanut butter; hummus and carrot sticks or crackers. I have only recently added tofu to my dishes at home. The key to vegetarian cooking at home is to have your ingredients on hand. Going to one of the natural food stores makes shopping veggie very easy while you are experimenting with a new diet. Today, there are hundreds of vegetarian cookbooks and it is very easy to go out to eat and be vegetarian.

For many, the easiest way to become vegetarian is to keep some dairy and eggs in your diet – at least while you “transition.” Yogurt and cheese go a long way to providing variety and protein. Eggs can be a meal, although I understand eggs may be something we can let go of eventually. If you are doing eggs and dairy in your transition, I think it is important to try your best to get organic and animal friendly products. You have more control over this for your food at home. For me, I can see eventually not having meals with eggs or dairy at restaurants at all.

Any steps you take toward having more vegetarian meals will be beneficial for yourself, animals and the planet. Just cutting down on the number of times you eat meat during the week can have a big impact. And, if you want to try going vegetarian, there is plenty of support out in the world and here at Buddha Mind.

~ By Deborah Kay( Chuan Kai)