Challenge Week: Vegetarian Food Only!
Posted by spillay on May 4, 2008
So, lately I’ve been thinking a lot about life’s heavy questions. You know, the usual ones such as why are we born and what our purpose in life is (and all that). For those who really know me, this is nothing new. I have gone through many such phases before and this is just another one,…yet again. I like to think of it as my “on-off spiritual affair”.
Anyway, to satisfy my current need for reflection and learning, I have come up with a new project for myself. I call it the Challenge Project, whereby I will be setting myself up for challenges and (hopefully) learning from them. The intention is to put myself in unfamiliar and/or uncomfortable situations and benefit from them. The main objective is to learn something new about myself, and not necessarily to gain a new skill/experience. That would be a bonus :) . Sounds simple enough? We’ll see.
So, to kick start my Challenge Project, for 5 days (starting Monday 0505) I will be a vegetarian. What’s the big deal? It is a big deal for me! Sadly, I’m one of those people who cannot go without meat for more than one day! Growing up,..I used to dread Fridays for this very reason (Friday was vegetarian day at home). I remember getting really anxious on Thursday nights itself, thinking about how I was going to survive the next day! Shameful isn’t it!
Hubby is not going to have a choice - he too is going to be vegetarian for the next 5 days. I actually haven’t told him about this yet. Anyway,.. he’ll find out tomorrow at dinner. The kids are going to be exempted - only because I did ask them, and they point-blankly said “Not Interested”. My 6 year old added that he is a “Meatarian” and that meat was necessary - end of story. (Anyone with children will know that there is no point arguing with kids about food - it happens too much already. So, I am happy to leave it at that).
Even with the extra work that will be involved - with making both meat and vegetarian dishes, I am still very excited about the next 5 days. I hope to blog my little journey everyday, and share my excitement and frustrations. Let’s see what happens…. Wish me luck 
.
May 5, 2008 at 1:04 am
Good luck! I’m with you all the way. Do share your progress, ok?
May 5, 2008 at 2:28 am
You can do it!!!
I love my meat - but I do it for Navarathri every year so it’s doable.
Good luck…
Waiting to hear about your day by day account.
May 5, 2008 at 7:00 am
It might be harder to stop “cold turkey” if you don’t love grains, vegetables and fruits. What I did was cut back on meat, started eating just chicken and turkey, then slowly dropped meat altogether as I began to include more grains, lentils, beans, fruits and veggies in my diet. What I found was that food preference is learned. So you can learn to like different foods and unlearn liking meat, if you want. I used to hate tomatoes, for example, but decided they are good food, so started incorportating them into my diet. Now I love them. With meat, after not eating it for a while…about 6 weeks as I recall, I was at Subway with my daughter. I ordered a Veggie Delight, and she ordered something with chicken. Guess what? I had to ask her if her chicken was OK, because it smelled gamey to me…you know, rotten. I had unlearned eating meat. When you consider there are cultures that eat blubber, raw seal eyes, insects and grubs….and love it, it makes sense that what we enjoy eating is a learned preference. The one exception might be sugar. Everyone loves sugar. dkw
May 5, 2008 at 7:39 am
Good luck my friend
sounds like an interesting challenge for sure… am giggling re Meatarian lol classic!!!
May 5, 2008 at 10:57 am
@ Kat: Thanks!! Will do!!
@ Bavani: Thanks for cheer!! (I will imagine you jumping up and down with pom poms for me
. Navatari used to be extra hard. So much so, that after a few years, my parents exempted me from being vegetarian during the festival. And,..I was already in my teens by then! Shameful!
@ Dan White: Thanks for dropping by
. I agree with you! It is all about conditioning isn’t it. Personally, don’t want to become a full time vegetarian (like my youngest brother and his wife),.. but I do want to be able to be a vegetarian for a stretch of time (more than one day) without stressing. This is a start - let’s just see where it goes 
.
@ SanityFound: Thank you sweety
. Let’s see how this goes. Am already scratching my head for ideas for next week’s challenge. Re “meatarian” - I often get blown away with what kids come up with too! They alway take us by suprise!! 
May 5, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Spillay,
I was born and raised vegetarian, its really hard for me to try anything else. I guess from the other end, it becomes an acquired taste to eating non-vegetarian and takes more effort to quit.
May 5, 2008 at 2:08 pm
@ Mitr: Yes - it is all about conditioning. Once used to something, it is difficult to live without. That is why, I am challenging myself with this task. It will definitely push me out of my comfort zone - and that is what I am looking for
May 5, 2008 at 2:12 pm
Sumi,
Just do it
Good luck!
May 5, 2008 at 7:14 pm
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May 5, 2008 at 8:07 pm
@ Kavi: Thanks for the luck
. DAY 1 went very well,.. 
May 6, 2008 at 4:52 pm
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May 7, 2008 at 12:58 pm
ah… i love veggies, my hubby loves meat…so along the line i got converted into eating meat regularly even though growing up i ate it once in a blue moon…but mondays is veggies for me….i recently took that up, been doing fine so far..it is all about discplining the mind…love your spiritual affair.
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