Cooking With Vegetables

For a Vegetarian, learning to use vegetables is one of the most important things a person can do....having said that, I will share with you my journey into the world of vegetables as it applies to being a vegetarian.

Being a Vegetarian, while healthy, is not all there is to health and maintaining a body weight that is healthy.  Surprised?  I was.  I thought that by becoming vegetarian, I would automatically loose all this weight and not have to work very hard at it.  Wrong!

There are all kinds of pitfalls for the novice.  

1.  We think that because we are eating fruits and vegetables that this means we can have unlimited pastas, breads, and high carbohydrates vegetables like corn

2. We think that we can now eat all our favorite foods like unlimited olives, peanut butter, (which is high in fats and sugar),  and nuts, (which are high in fats).

3.  We think that we can eat in larger quantities because we are eating vegetables and fruits.

4.  We think that we can use dairy as a replacement for meats so we add cheese to everything

5.  We think cake is one of the vegetarian four food groups

6.  We think that we don't have to exercise with this lifestyle

The consequences for these misconceptions...tremendous weight gain!!!!!

So, what did I learn from  these misconceptions?  That in order to make a vegetarian lifestyle work, I have to learn everything I can about vegetables and nutrition, and I have to exercise, (that four-letter word I have been avoiding like the plague).

What else did I learn?  Not all Chinese restaurants are equal.  There are good ones and bad ones.  And not all offer vegetarian dishes on the menu.  However, with a bit of creativity, I have learned to order vegetarian fare in a Chinese restaurant.

I had no idea how much of our menus are based around meat.  It is difficult to find good food that does not contain meat and diary.  It is difficult to order food in a restaurant-- period.  I remember the day I walked into an IHOP and tried to order a healthy meal.  I had my choice of  a dinner salad, (which was not very appetizing), or ordering one of their meat salads with all the trimmings - hold the meat.  So, I decided to order the meat salad.  I also ordered a BLT hold the B.  Well, the waitress insisted that I was wasting my money by ordering the meat salad.  She did not accept my choice.  

She knew better what I needed. So, I got a dinner salad with extra lettuce and tomatoes, (which was nice of her, but not what I wanted).  What I wanted was the meat salad that contained olives, pickles, onions, peppers, etc. etc. etc. but without the meat.  

When I got my meatless BLT, I had no idea that their particular combination contained cheese, which was a unique concept.  I heard the waitress and the cooks in the background laughing at me and my strange order.  They just did not understand that sometimes the meat salads have more variety of vegetables in them than a plain dinner salad and that I don't mind paying the extra cost of the meat to get that variety.  It is just one of the complications of being vegetarian.  I know this and accept it.

I am in the process now of learning about vegetables, nutrition in regards to their use, and how to cook them so I can have a variety of tastes and smells without compromising the nutritional value.  I admit, this is a daunting task but I feel up to the challenge.

In the meantime, I have gained weight, much to my horror, but I have now included a minimum of 10 minutes on the exercise bike each day.  Why just 10 minutes, you ask?  Well, that is the level of ability I am capable of right now due to the sedentary life style I have lived for the past five years.  I learned a valuable lesson.  Use it or lose it.  I lost it and now I have to work like a dog to get it back.... sigh.

However, let me say to you that I have never felt better physically since becoming vegetarian.  I do not have heartburn unless I eat something that has the spices found in pumpkin pie spice.  That means no oatmeal spice cookies, no ginger snaps, no pumpkin pie... sigh. 

 However, my blood pressure has crept up about 10 points since gaining the extra 10 lbs, which means my blood pressure is directly related to my weight.  I am working on losing the weight and thereby lowering my blood pressure as a result.  I have reached the point, weight wise where it now has an effect on my whole body health.

It is so nice not to have that terrible burning that used to make my life miserable!  I also take acidophilus  each day to get rid of the yeast in my body.  That contributes to the gas and acid in my stomach and also causes yeast infections, which I am prone to.  I can manage the yeast problems with the acidophilus and not have to take medication to counter it.

Another possible area I have to investigate is blood sugar levels due to the high carbohydrate diet I am not eating.  I have read that a true vegetarian diet will prevent diabetes.  My family has a history of it and I have a tendency toward high blood sugar.  The next thing I am going to do is monitor my blood sugar to see what is happening to my body in this regard.  I will start out with the urine strips and if that does not work I will go to the finger prick method.  I want to know just how this vegetarian lifestyle is effecting my whole body wellness.

Check back soon for more on my whole body wellness journey.

Chris

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