Veggie Tales #1

This will be my first diary entry of many on becoming a vegetarian while also battling the Celiac war. I was diagnosed about 3 years ago with Celiac Disease and had to drastically change my diet. The first week, month and even year was rough. I had to remove most simple carbohydrates like cereal, bread, pastas, breaded foods, some common sauces and baked goods. I lost about 14lbs in about 3 week’s time because I was having a hard time choosing the proper food and sticking to the diet. I would basically eat salad and rice with meat, then cheat and instantly regret it. The Celiac lifestyle was not easy, many because I think I was forced into it – I did not and would not have voluntarily chosen that diet in a million years. No, three years later I am doing “o-kay”, I have the odd hiccup and like I said instantly pay for it but getting better. But now I have made the decision to go Vegetarian as well.  Although I knew it would propose its own challenges I still made the decision to stick to it. Here is a break-down of what my diet will consist of:

-          Soy milk, goat cheese, feta cheese, soy ice-creams, organic lactose-free yogurt, organic sour cream – replacing dairy products. Dairy wasn’t that evident in my diet to begin with but cheese is a hard one to let go of so I am leaving some options open.

-          No Meat bi-products – no chicken, beef, pork, lamb. I am allowing fish that is fresh water caught and free-roaming eggs.

-          FRESH Organic Vegetables/ Fruit

-          No animal oils or fat – no butter or margarine

-          Soy and Tofu products

-          Rice, legumes, beans, sprouts

-          I am still allowing chocolate! Come on I need something… but if there is an option for dark rather than milk chocolate I will opt for the dark.

So as you can see I am not fully vegetarian, I will still allow for some animal products in my diet. I need to slowly weed them all out as I find alternatives. Until I started this diet I wasn’t aware of all the animal bi-products I was consuming. Nor the other things I was ingesting along with them – Bovine Growth Hormones (BGH), Pesticides, Antibiotics, Insecticides and chemicals such as Posalic Acid.

Difficulties:

-          I still love the taste of meat; I love my BBQ Steak (rare) and the odd chicken breast, bacon at Breakfast and meat sauce for pasta. This will take a while to get over, but the image the Book “Skinny Bitch” placed in my head helps to remind me of why I am doing this.

-          The simple dairy products I used on a daily basis is hard to remove and replace with soy products. I t is not as readily available. For example I cannot have a Tim Horton’s Coffee anymore because there is not soy alternative for milk or cream. But for a few extra bucks I can have my soy latte at Starbucks or Timothy’s Coffee House.

-          I love cheese! This is the hardest to remove from the menu but like I mentioned above I will be allowing for some loop holes for now. There are also soy cheese’ available, they are just not as good.

-          Convenience to others… I am especially hard to cook for and to dine with because I am now Gluten free and vegetarian. But those who love me understand and are trying to support my lifestyle choices. My Boyfriends’ Dad even bought me free-range eggs specifically for breakfast on the weekend so I didn’t have to have just fruit and water for breakfast while I was there without my Gluten free alternatives.  People are much more open to alternative eating styles now.

-          Eating at restaurants is a little hard too. I am sure some of the things I am choosing are not completely dairy and animal bi-product free. For example I had a Gluten Free pizza at Boston Pizza on Friday. I thought to have the cheese removed and replaced with feta but didn’t think that dairy would be in the crust until after. I think these things are small counter parts I will just have to deal with.

So there you have it... my first few day conclusions. I will be doing my best to keep you posted and update you on any findings I come across. As well I will be sharing my own creations and recipes. J Stay tuned for my three starter vegetarian soups!