Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Vegetarian vs. Vegan

I have been struggling with my own vegetarian vs. vegan debate. After watching Food Inc., which if you have not seen it, is an eye opening documentary about food in our country and where it comes from.

I come from a family where half ate meat, the other half was vegetarian. So I grew up eating both. I am very comfortable eating a cheeseburger or a veggie burger. In a lot of cases, I will choose the veggie option over meat. On holidays, we would have the traditional turkey and sides, along with peanut butter roast or mock chicken loaf for our vegetarians. I love mock chicken loaf! I crave it sometimes.

It is just recently that I considered going fully vegetarian. I know all of the health benefits associated with being a vegetarian. During my last pregnancy, I had a lot of trouble with my blood pressure. I am still continuing to have problems with it, even with medications.
That is why I am wanting to commit to a meat free diet.

But, one of my down falls is cheese and dairy. I love cheese and I find myself eating more cheese. So that is why I am considering going vegan. I just don't think I can commit to it, because I see a vegan diet as more of a hassle and too restrictive.

Has anyone else had this debate? What helped you make commit to your diet of choice?

2 comments:

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  2. I don't think I could ever be a vegan for the same reason, I LOVE CHEESE. And yogurt. Those are staples in my diet. I do enjoy meat sometimes, but I equally enjoy non-meat foods, and meat substitutes, so I don't think it would be as difficult to give up meat all together.

    Are you considering switching to a vegan diet for dietary reason, or because you feel it is cruel to animals? I think that makes a difference in the ability to commit. I have a friend who is a vegetarian and tried briefly to commit to being a vegan. He was good for about 4 weeks and then went back. Now he is gradually phasing out foods from his diet. I think that would be the best way to go.

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