Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Definitely Not Using the "V" Word

So, I have been eating meat-free for the past three weeks or so.

I am not a real fan of the word "vegetarian"
I feel like when most people say it they have a purist "I'm better than you" mindset about it. While it is a conscious disciplined lifestyle, its definitely not a superiority thing. Everyone's bodies are different, some respond well to eliminating meat, whereas it would be detrimental for others.

For me, it has been great, I sleep better and have more energy throughout the day.
Since eliminating meat has been so successful, I decided to try going all the way animal free.

I was already mostly there, why not? :)

It was pretty easy for me to eliminate meat, fish, and eggs right off the bat three weeks ago.
It was the cheese holding me back. I know its SO fattening and not even good for me, but it adds so much flavor to things! I don't do much dairy, but where I do, I REALLY do. :/

Parmesan cheese, half & half, and pizza are the three main culprits.
Pizza most of all (I LOVE pizza, probably more than most kids I know... its bad)

So, last Friday we took a little date to EarthFare.
LOVED exploring. Hubby found some out of the ordinary German beer, and I found...

Vegan sliced cheese

Vegan Pizza

Vegan Parmesan Cheese

and....
Soy Coffee Creamer

I figured it would be fun to try and at least see if it could work.
EPIC FAIL.
On all levels :(

First of all, I have read in more than one place that excessive soy consumption is not great for estrogen levels, guess what one of the main ingredients in all of these products is?
You guessed it!
Soy overload.

Secondly, taste did not compare, while it did add flavor, it was not good, the Parmesan just tasted like I poured a bunch of salt on my pasta, pizza was really spicy and flavorless, and creamer was no more than over priced soy milk (ick! - I'll stick with my almond milk, thank you very much!).

It is totally a mental and marketing thing. I will not die if I do not have dairy substitutes, they add very little to my health. It's labeled "creamer" so it must be better in coffee than regular sweetened soy milk, right? I tell myself "I need Parmesan cheese on my pasta," so I seek an alternative rather than go with out. The main ingredient in the alternative is walnuts... seriously? So instead of going without I put flavored walnuts on my pasta?

Come on Shelb, big picture here!

Finally, the price was not justifiable. The tofurky pizza was $8.99 for a pizza with a diameter less than a foot! I would rather spend our money other places than on overly processed soy and rice products.

In conclusion, I would rather wean myself to eat less dairy than put these things in my body. While they are all animal byproduct free, I can not imagine they are much better for me than the real deal, and are most certainly not better for our budget!

Thank you for listening to my somewhat rant on vegan products :)

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