We made a delicious batch of chicken soup to warm the soul on Friday night (I'll post the recipe later), and then I hit the hay at 7:30 as my superstar hubby volunteered to do majority of the night shift using my frozen milk & bottles. There was no way I was objecting to that. I think I managed a solid 7 hours straight of glorious sleep that evening...
With my recharged bats I was ready to rock on Saturday, so I grabbed the opportunity to head to Kings Park first thing to do Jacobs Ladder. This consists of 242 steps and by the time you reach the top it feels as though someone has doused your legs in kerosene and threw a match at them. Times that by 8 laps = 1936 steps. Which equals... Ouch.
It is now Sunday & I woke up pretty much paraplegic this morning. Handicapped yet very hungry, so I cracked (excuse the pun) and had eggs for the first time this week;
So worth it. I never realised just how many eggs I ate until I stopped for Oscars tum this week, I found myself struggling with lunch ideas every day.
Currently, I'm watching the notebook whilst feeding the über chubby babe. Nobody needs a reason for the notebook.
I also took my number one gal for a stroll to the park for a paddle pop play date;
And ate some amazing brown rice & quinoa chicken sushi (so stoked to be back on the sushi bandwagon)
Ever since I was a little girl, and I spent Saturdays with Dad at his butchery, I remember thinking to myself, when I grow up I will never have to eat meat. Watching him stuff sausages into the thin cases of fat was enough to make me gag, but no, the real deal sealer was the dreaded chiller. Every little girls worst nightmare- a freezing room full of carcasses hanging from huge metal hooks. Meaty ribs swaying to and fro, pigs heads perched on shelves, and sickly blood stained sheets everywhere (Dad did home kills). Thinking back to that leaves me baffled as to why I never gave up meat years ago.. And my Dads butchery was one of the good, hygienic places, free from cruelty and germs. So I don't even want to imagine what goes on in meat works, although we've all heard a story or two haven't we?
This article talked about the seemingly never- ending pros of turning vego, I picked out my top three;
First & foremost- your health. Eating a mostly plant based diet is the healthiest and most effective way to ward off disease, keep your weight down, and live longer. According to the article "a vegetarian diet is inherently healthful because vegetarians consume much less (vegans consume none) animal fats and cholesterol". So that is pretty straight forward and makes a lot of sense...
Secondly; saving the environment. The pollution caused by the chemical and animal waste run offs from the meat works is devastating. I mean think about it, all the pesticide spraying, fertilisation, irrigation and harvesting that goes on- that can't contribute to a clean green environment can it? (Although a lot of these also occur in our non- organic produce too let's not forget)
Lastly; you'll spare the animals. I don't know about you guys but I cannot watch those docos on chicken farms without feeling physically ill. And we've all heard the horrific stories of how some farm animals meet their demise- pigs being scolded to death etc... I shudder at the thought. It's a brutal business to say the very least.
These 3 reasons should be enough to leave me running straight for the leafy greens and chickpeas, ordering kale and beetroot mains, and never looking back.
But.... Meat is so incredibly tasty. Not to mention, it is really good for you. Chicken? Protein. Beef? Iron. Fish? Good fats. Lamb? Melts in my mouth. I just cannot, in the foreseeable future, see myself giving it up. I wish that article were enough to sway me, I wish the documentarys were enough, but for me- they're just not (which is horribly honest). Oli is a big meat eater, our kids will eat meat, and I will no doubt be ordering that medium rare eye fillet till the bitter end. And how would I possibly survive without being able to whip up a spag bol in ten mins? However, we do want to contribute in our own way, so we are jumping on board this "Meat Free Mondays" craze. I really don't know a lot about cooking without meat but I'm fairly sure a few vegetarian currys will be easy enough to start with.
What are your thoughts on going vego? Are any of you vegetarian now/ have been in the past/ want to be in the future? Let me know!
Is it terrible that I can't imagine life without these occasionally?
Thought of the day "how ironic we are having meatballs for dinner"
Gemma
Yeah I'm on the fence about it too... I'm reasonably firm about not sticking anything in my mouth that isn't free range. Animal cruelty is an issue but the bigger issue for me is "would I eat that mangy animal if I saw it before it died?" You know? Like it's more for me about what I'm putting in my body. I think if I were single I would be more likely to be pretty close to vegetarian, but I have a husband and kid and it's hard enough being creative with meals without taking away the meat factor right? Davieth would be pretty upset I think!!!! A meat free day a week is an awesome idea. I think we do that without even thinking about it, but not in the creative way you are thinking.... More to have soup from the freezer or spaghetti on toast haha.
ReplyDelete