Paying penance

I have to confess an accidental meat incident. About two weeks ago, I was with my new small group and we had each brought an appetizer to share. One of the appetizers was a cheeseball which was clearly, plainly, covered all over with chipped beef. Whether it was the way it presented (i.e. "I brought a cheeseball" instead of "I brought a cheeseball covered with meat") or my own lack of attention, I did not even notice the meat until I went back a second time. My less-than-supportive neighbor said things like "that doesn't count as real meat" and "We won't tell. Eat what you want." But this same neighbor could be fairly categorized as a food pusher so I withstood his taunting and did not have any more.

It was an honest mistake, and really just a tiny amount of meat was consumed, but I feel compelled to make up for it. So, during my upcoming trip to New York this weekend, I'm going with my brother and his girlfriend to a wonderful restaurant in Manhattan where I will have an entire meal that is not only meat free, but fully vegan. I really can't wait! The last time I was in New York, my brother took me to a vegan bakery where I had one of the best pieces of cake I've ever had in my life. How in the world can they make such a delicious cake without eggs? Or milk? Or butter? I don't know but it was heavenly. I know better than to even ATTEMPT such a feat, given my miserable failures with non-meatloaf.

Speaking of milk and eggs, a thought occurred to me more than once during the past month. I agreed to give up meat, not go the whole vegan route. But what I really don't understand is how a full-on vegetarian can justify eating eggs. Even those from free-range chickens. Is it the whole "it's not a chicken until it is born" argument that many pro-choice advocates use? If so, I can respect that position (although I disagree with it). Is it related to the fact that egg yolks do not have flesh? I suppose I can understand that as well. But actually, it seems a bit hypocritical. Don't eat meat, but eat their unborn. And this is coming from a carnivore. But I digress....

So, my second meatless month of 2011 is behind me, and I look forward to many delicious meatless meals in New York this weekend. I am eager to discover how much easier it is to be vegetarian in New York City than it is in the mid-west. Because even though I have completed my mission, I still love my brother immensely and I'll be on his turf and under his tutelage. Plus, I have penance to pay.

Tofu? Or not tofu?

With a fresh hissy fit behind me, I'm ready to face the last full week of Meatless October with a better attitude. I've given up on tempeh (that stuff is still in my refrigerator, believe it or not) and feel no guilt about it because both my brother and his girlfriend told me they don't like it and don't eat it. My new meatless obsession? Tofu. I've been a friend of tofu for many years, actually. It's been an ingredient in my daily breakfast smoothies for a long time. In my Vitamix, the tofu is liquified so there is no texture to worry about. On my plate? There is a texture issue. It's mushy.

During my first vegetarian month, I decided to try cooking with tofu by using it in a lasagna type dish and was sadly disappointed. Despite instructions to "press" the liquid out of the tofu brick, the stuff was still mushy and the texture really kind of ruined the dish for me. I can't even remember what it tasted like; all I remember is the mushiness. And not like "cooked mushroom" mushy, but more like the kind of soggy mushy that will make you wrinkle your nose instinctively when you bite into it, while you try to act like you're not actually making a nasty face. I hadn't used tofu in my cooking since. Well, other than my breakfast smoothies of course, but that's not really cooking. Sure, I've ORDERED tofu in restaurants (tofu teriyaki burritos and tofu mango curry have made recent appearances in my belly) but I haven't tried my hand at preparing it. This is all changing, my friends. It's all changing.

Sometime early last week, I was at Whole Foods and a magazine called "Clean Eating" caught my eye. My curiosity led me to thumb through it and most of what I saw looked like what I would normally cook; the recipes looked like those I would be drawn to. I bought the magazine out of part curiosity (as to the exact meaning of "clean" eating - maybe I'm "clean" and don't know it), and part because there were some recipes in it I wanted to try. Pineapple Curry Tofu was one such recipe. I will admit I had some real reservations, but I was willing to give it a go. After all, it was selected as a "best of the best" during the Clean Eating Chef Showdown and came from the kitchen of Pura Vida in Las Vegas, one of the 10 Hot New Vegan Restaurants according to VegNews.

This? Will have a permanent spot in my recipe collection. I was somewhat disappointed that the seasoned coating on the tofu kept coming off while it was pan frying so it wasn't as firm as I had hoped, but I think this is just a cooking technique I need to work on. The flavor rated a 10 and got rave reviews from all carnivores at the table, even with the slight mushiness. Soft enough to notice, but not enough to complain about. I was actually so encouraged that tonight I tried another fried tofu experiment: Tofu Parmigiana.

I sliced the tofu into little "steaks" which were then pressed (not part of the recipe, but my own experimentation), lightly breaded and pan fried, then topped with sauteed onions and mushrooms, low-fat mozzerella, marinara sauce, and fresh basil from my garden. Eureka! I am getting the hang of it! This was so good. So very, very good. I need to get out there and find a bunch more tofu recipes. And tofu recipes, I have discovered, are much easier to find than recipes that use Garden Vegetable tempeh. That stuff is going in the trash, I'm serious.

A Bad Attitude Day

I am dying for a big hamburger. With cheddar cheese and carmelized onions. Either that or a pulled pork sandwhich. Or Chick Fil A. I have actually been craving meat for about 2 weeks now, which sucks because I'm only 20 some days into my 2nd vegetarian month of the year. Do the math and you'll see I've got just about a week left before I can sink my teeth into the aforementioned burger.

I really don't know why this month has been so much more difficult than previous meatless months, but it has been. I guess maybe the novelty has worn off and now it's just about deprivation. Further, I haven't really been planning well so mealtime has been something of a mental chore.

However, I did have some fun with "Smart Chick'N" earlier this month which is worth mentioning. During my first meatless week, I prepared a delicious (scrumptious, actually) stir fry which included fake chicken strips (called "Smart" Chick'N for reasons unknown). During the meal, my 17-year old son picked out all the veggies and just ate the "chicken." I decided not to tell him it wasn't really chicken because I'm going to keep this in my arsenal for future ambush meals.

This "Smart Chick'N" stuff is really quite amazing, truly. In fact, I prepared this same stir fry last night for my neighbors and they all commented that they would not have known it wasn't real chicken had I not told them. Well, to be fair, one of them DID say that it had a "funny shape" but who is really looking that closely at their stir-fry? His assessment was in accurate anyways but whatever.

But seriously, I need a new attitude if I'm going to make it to the end of the month. Regardless, I can tell EXACTLY where you will find me at dinner time on November 1, 2011. I'll be sitting at Brazenhead Irish Pub chomping on a big honking cheeseburger with carmelized onions. Can't wait.

Is a Meatless Day for Me?

Last week, I led a Weight Watchers meeting where the topic was "Is a Meatless Day for Me?" Two amazing things happened during this meeting:

(1) I had one of most talkative groups ever as they rattled off, with no hesitation, a long list of foods they ALREADY EAT that are meatless. They were really getting into it! Curiously, a divergent topic emerged about quinoa spaghetti and pasta made of yam paste. However, as pasta is already meatless, I gently guided them back to the topic, but made a mental note to try one of these interesting pastas. I was genuinely excited by their enthusiasm!

(2) My excitement was short lived. As the meeting came to a close, several people smiled and nodded and found the concept interesting, but only ONE agreed to actually try it for a day. One. And another one told me she might was well file for divorce if she tried to pull this off. Keep in mind, this is after we spent most of the meeting excitedly identifying meatless meals they ALREADY incorporate into their days. And spending some time designing daily meal plans including all meatless meals. I even went so far as to share some of my favorite meatless recipes and tell them about my favorite chicken substitute which I currently use for fajitas on a regular basis.

Conclusion: People have an emotional attachment to meat. This actually grosses me out because I just had a horrific vision of Brundle-fly.

A few days later, I was at a friend's house and she prepared pasta for our running group. I found out half way through the meal that it was actually that same quinoa pasta that my Weight Watchers member told me about! And you know what? I could not tell the difference. It was excellent. My husband was sitting next to me and upon hearing this news, promptly announced "That's it. I'm going vegetarian." *sigh* I guess he was also under the mistaken impression that regular pasta is made of some sort of meat product. Regardless, his announcement was disingenuous as he had a pile of italian sausage atop his "meatless" quinoa pasta.

Today, just because I feel like it, I'm having a meatless day. I had one of my favorite fruit smoothies for breakfast and I have some leftover Sweet Potato and Black Bean Chili in my refrigerator for lunch. All I need to do is decided on a meatless dinner - which may very well be quinoa pasta with marinara sauce - and I'm set.

Anyone care to join me?

I refuse to give up

My quest for the perfect "meatless meatloaf" has ended in yet another crushing disappointment. I know this can be done because I've actually tried some and it was remarkable. Remarkable in the "I seriously can't believe this isn't meat" kind of way. To make things worse, every time I check out the special "vegetarian/ vegan/ organic" frozen foods section at my supermarket, a multitude of frozen meatless meatloaf entrees taunt me.

As a side note, for some reason, this particular freezer case is located next to the produce department and FAR away from the other frozen foods. Do they think vegetarians never leave the produce section so they'd better put this stuff where vegetarians can find it? Come on, Kroger. Also, not EVERYTHING in this case is vegetarian so it's not like the "special vegetarian freezer." I'm not sure I understand the logic there, but maybe this is why I am not in charge of the store layout at Kroger. They do have Morningstar Farms and Boca products in the regular freezer, but this other freezer case is where the "special" vegetarian/ organic stuff (including frozen meatless meatloaf) can be found.

Because of my previous luck with seitan, I concluded seitan might be just the ticket to the non-meatloaf I seek. I found a recipe with promising ingredients, which also called for "ground seitan" so I plunked my chunks (giggle) into the Cuisinart and ground up the seitan. The results were ASTONISHING! It looked surprisingly like ground beef! The further along I got in the preparation process, the more convinced I was that I had finally found the Holy Grail. I will have to be honest here, I was actually smug. I packed the mixture into a loaf pan, topped it with my regular ketchup/Worcherstershire mix (vegetarian Worchestershire, of course) and slid it into the oven. Smugly.

45 minutes later, my celebratory mood took a mushy turn. While it looked like meatloaf and smelled like meatloaf, my knife slid through it like mashed potatoes. Which coincidentally, were also part of the meal. I schlooped it up on my plate and immediately started my concession speech. It wasn't all that horrible, really, but it was mushy and I just can't get excited about mushy meatloaf. Now, it's worth pointing out that my husband suggested more than once that I add an egg to the mixture before cooking to help "bind things together" but I told him to pipe down and let's try it before making modifications. Remember, I was smug at the time. He did try it, and he did mention the egg thing again, but I'm too discouraged to try it again right this minute. Maybe next meatless month. And maybe with tempeh.

Fun with Tempeh

I am now the proud owner of Tempeh (your guess at pronounciation is as good as mine). I have got no earthly idea what I'm going to do with it, but by God I'm going to do something with it. At lunch the other day, it suddenly occurred to me that I don't remember when I last had some protein. Corn chowder? No. The grilled veggie wrap I had for dinner last night? No. In fact, the only thing I could come up with was the tofu I put in my breakfast smoothies, but I haven't even had one of those in a few days, opting instead for fresh fruit. Suddenly, I felt weak and slightly dizzy so I drove (very carefully) straight to Whole Foods for some plant-based protein. The actual object of my search was "Match Meat Italian Sausages" (that's the actual name, "Match Meat" - sounds like a devious vegetarian game, doesn't it?) but I was unable to locate this particular product. I had read about "Match Meat" (that just makes me giggle) on another blog and had been assured it would make any bottled meatless pasta sauce taste authentically Italian. I was determined to find out while satifying my body's desperate need for protein.

As I stood before the meatless deli section at Whole Foods without a single "Match Meat" product in sight, I cast my eyes upon the tempeh and just stared at it for the longest time, trying to remember if I had seen any recipes calling for it. Nope, can't think of one. However, you may recall one of my earliest posts describes my sense of mystery around tempeh and my quest for enlightenment. I decided then and there to bite the bullet and get some once and for all. Get it home, then figure out what to do with it.

Here is the problem: there are FLAVORS of tempeh. Since I have no idea about the texture, taste, or use of this stuff, how do I pick a flavor? I actually did see one called "Fakin' Bacon" and had to laugh but that is just not how I want my relationship with tempeh to begin. I played a quick mental game of "eeny meeny miny mo" and settled on "Garden Vegetable" flavor. I still have no idea how to use it but it's in my refrigerator and I'm not ending this month without trying it. I can anticipate your next question: If I didn't eat the tempeh, what did I do for protein? Well, as un-sexy as this is, I simply added some Morningstar Farms Griller crumbles to my bottled spaghetti sauce and that's about it. On my way out of Whole Foods however, I snarfed up a big tub of that Vegan General Tso's chicken that I just love, a few pieces of tofu meatloaf from the deli case (more out of curiosity than anything), and a package of seitan for good measure.

My strength has returned, and the recipe search is on. I'm actually quite intriged, to be honest. How many uses can there be for Garden Vegetable Tempeh? Maybe I picked the wrong flavor, but whatever. It's on.

Chicken-less Broth? No kidding!

A few months ago, I found a soup mix at my local grocers by Canterbury Naturals. They have several varieties but the one I picked up was Roasted Garlic Potato Corn Chowder. It's a dry mix with seasoning that I made for lunch that day and it is delicious. In addition to the mix itself, you need a few other ingredients, including chicken broth and a few slices of bacon. I use a LOT of chicken broth in my cooking so I always have some on hand and didn't give it a 2nd thought but bacon? That's some of most disgusting stuff on the planet. Trust me when I tell you I have encountered some truly disgusting stuff in my day (I will spare you the details - you're welcome) so I know what I'm talking about. Bacon is disgusting. Don't let the smell or taste fool you, really. It's just nasty. I substituted canadian bacon and was perfectly pleased with the finished product. It's quite tasty.

In preparing for Meatless March, I threw one of these mixes in my shopping cart thinking it was a tried and true vegetarian dish, if I just left out the Canadian Bacon. It really doesn't call for all that much anyhow. But when I went to prepare it during the first few days of the month .... DESPAIR! I had forgotten all about the chicken broth! I placed the mix back in the pantry and tried to figure out if there was a way to justify using chicken broth as an ingredient (since it is not actual flesh). I knew without a doubt what Chip would say if I asked him about it so that was that.

OK, listen up. I recently discovered that there is such a thing as MEATLESS chicken broth! Seriously? Who would have thought? I remain utterly amazed by the meatless community in this regard. How in the world do they make chicken broth without chicken? I am fascinated by this, but I really don't want to spend the time and/or energy to find out. It's not important, really. What IS important is that I was able to make the Roasted Garlic Potato Corn Chowder for dinner last night without cheating and without sacrificing one bit of the taste. I wonder if there is a reasonable meatless substitute for bacon.

Meatless Meat

My friend Michelle recently gave me a hard time about meatless meat but you know what? I like it. Well, let me clarify - I like some of it. Morningstar Farms corndogs, Smart BBQ, Quorn "chick'n" Tenders, Boca Lasagna, all total yum. Lightlife makes some SmartDeli meat that is ... suitable in a pinch. Tofurkey Italian sausage? Fake hotdogs? I'll just say "blech" and that about sums it up. I think the Tofurkey Italian Sausages were even rejected as fish bait, to be completely honest with you. Just think about that for a second... Nasty.

Meatless meat has been a satisfying and simple way to modify some of my favorite foods and recipes to become meatless, while retaining a great deal of the texture and flavor I enjoy in my predominently carnivorous life. One of my favorite tricks is to take Cincinnati-Style Chili Seasoning and make Cincinnati-Style Chili using Morningstar Farms Crumbles instead of ground beef. Given the nature of the seasoning and the teeny-tiny crumbles of beef typical of Cincinnati-Style Chili, you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. But let me tell you about how meatless meat ROCKED MY WORLD recently.

My step-mother often prepares a dish called "Windsor Egg Casserole" which I've written about in the past. Every trip I've ever taken to North Carolina has included Windsor at some point. It's one of those dishes that you prepare for guests and everyone asks for the recipe. It's scruptious, it's decadent, and it contains two cups of diced ham. This past weekend, I decided I needed to have some Windsor (seeing as how I was in NC and it's practically a tradition now) but just leaving out the meat would quite likely result in something soupy and generally unappetizing. But I had a plan. Instead of ham, I used Morningstar Farm sausage patties, cooked and then crumbled up. I used a full package of 8 patties and let me tell you something. It was something straight from heaven and I am so not kidding you. I am actually tempted to make Windsor like this from NOW ON. That (!) is how amazing this was.

So while Michelle may disagree, I'm not in any hurry to ban meatless meat from my diet at this point. In fact, I recently discovered another interesting blog called "Adventures in Fake Meat" of which I plan to become a follower and a student. Perhaps I will share my new Windsor recipe with the author. We shall see.

It's Official: I'm Sick of Pasta

As a marathon runner, one thing I've learned to REALLY look forward to is Friday-night pasta. It's something of a ritual for me since most of my long runs take place on Saturday morning. Once the training runs get to a certain length (generally 15 miles and up), I have pasta every single Friday night. I look forward to it. It's comforting and it's yummy. It's also easy enough to make meatless so it's at least one no-brainer meal per week for me this month.

However, I have recently discovered that pasta is also the default "what do we serve to a vegetarian?" meal. Last week, I went out to dinner with my husband and found NOTHING vegetarian on the menu. So the chef whipped up a pasta primavera for me. Upon arriving in North Carolina last weekend and informing my step-mother that I've gone vegetarian for the month, she announced we'd just go out for dinner on Saturday (to an Italian place). Sunday, I attended a memorial service where my step-cousin (a chef) was preparing dinner for everyone. Do you know what he prepared for the token vegetarian? Amazing and delicious Seitan and Sweet-Onion Skewers with Boubon-Maple Glaze! SCORE!

Just kidding, he made me bow-tie pasta with marinara sauce. But I have to tell you that recipe I just posted looks FANTASTIC so I'm definately going to have to try that. Watch for a blog update with a review coming soon. I've had wonderful experiences with seitan. Mmmm... Now I'm thinking about the Rosemary and Hazelnut-Encrusted Seitan I prepared for Chip and his girlfriend when they came for Christmas last year..... Mmmmm.... But back to my story.

All in all, I had something like four or five nights of pasta during the past week. And with the Humana Heart Half Marathon coming up on Sunday, there is at least one more pasta dish in my immediate future. I am going to have to do more research and plan further ahead to avoid this sort of pasta-bottleneck in the future. Either that or I'll need to to do a whole lot more running.

Road Food

Yesterday, I drove from Cincinnati, OH to Mooresville, NC to attend a funeral this weekend. The long drive is unpleasant enough without having to stress over where to stop on the road for food. I was at LEAST smart enough to grab a Vegi-Max sandwich from Subway (YUMMY) as the trip began - and by the way, both my husband and step-daughter had Vegi-Max sandwiches too and I'll take credit for that thankyouverymuch. As we drove along, it occurred to me that I have made this trip before and had not found any Subways along the route that carry these Vegi-Max patties so I began to worry. I don't dislike salad, but thinking that's the only option for me for a quick meal during a road trip is not a pleasant thought. If I'm forced to eat salad then yes, I do in fact dislike it.

When I started getting hungry for dinner, I did a quick internet search (smart phones are the bomb) and found a Chinese restaurant up ahead. I was stoked because as I recall, my brother always liked going to Chinese restaurants due to the plethora (or so I thought) of vegetarian offerings other than salad. Vegetarians traveling through Virgina take note: The Peking Chinese Restaurant in Wytheville, Virginia has a 4 page menu with ONE vegetarian entree, Crispy Tofu with Broccoli. On one hand, I was pretty disappointed that there was only ONE entree available. On the other hand, I was relieved that it wasn't a salad. So, with mixed emotions, I ordered the Fried Tofu and quite enjoyed it, actually. I had asked if they had vegetarian egg rolls but since they did not, the waitress was kind enough to bring me some crispy fried wonton noodles and duck sauce. That was nice of her, but still.

I am really curious as to what the trick is to being a vegetarian and also being able to take a road trip. Do you have to pack a cooler full of grapes? What is the deal? How do you do it? I don't yet know and I doubt I'll find out in time for the return trip. At least I know where I can get some good fried tofu in Virginia.

Breakfast Casserole and Sacrifice

If you are looking for a good vegetarian breakfast casserole, try this one. I served it to my running group on Sunday and it was quite well received:

1 box Morningstar Farms veggie breakfast patties (not the maple ones)

8 ounces shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

5 eggs

1 package (6 oz) yellow cornbread mix

1 T. hot sauce (we use Gator Sauce which is less hot, so we use a bit more sauce)

1/8 t. ground cayenne pepper

1/4 t. ground mustard

salt & pepper as desired

1. Preheat oven to 350, coat 10" glass pie plate with cooking spray, set aside

2. Heat breakfast patties according to package directions. Remove, chop up, and place in pie pan. Season with salt and pepper if desired.

3. Sprinkle grated cheese evenly over sausage.

4. Combine corn bread mix, eggs, milk, hot sauce, mustard, and cayenne pepper in large mixing bowl, mixing until smooth (use a whisk or mixer).

5. Pour cornbread mixture over sausage and cheese.

6. Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 minutes or until top is golden brown.
7. Let rest 10 minutes, slice and serve.

This? Is yum. You know what else is yum? This meat-free "Smart BBQ" that I found at Kroger. Now, I got a bit of a lecture the other day from my mostly-vegetarian friend Michelle about avoiding meat substitues and processed foods and all, and how healthy and nutritious vegetables are, so let me go on record now as saying "I'm not really a vegetarian." The title of my blog actually gives it away. Giving up meat one month a year is not the same as "becoming a vegetarian" for a month. The truth is, I like meat. I enjoy meat. I'm not doing this for health reasons or moral reasons or religious reasons or social reasons - although I genuinely appreciate all the positive impacts of giving up meat for a month. I'm doing this simply because I love my brother and feel this is a fun and unique way to connect with him. It's an actual sacrifice, but it's a sacrifice born of love.

Is it really such a sacrifice to give up meat one month per year (actually, two months in 2011)? Yes, it is. My whole thought process around meal planning has to change significantly. To keep my meals interesting (and my husband from complaining - too much), I have to experiment and try new things. Some new discoveries I really like (such as Quinoa Stuffed Peppers - delish!) and some I don't (Bean/Veggie Burgers, entirely disappointing), but there is something mentally exhausting about the process. It's not much different than when I joined Weight Watchers 7 years ago and had to relearn how to eat, but I don't have to go through that learning curve and re-invent my diet once a year. Unless I'm giving up meat for the month in which case a total renovation is required.

I know what Michelle is going to say: "Then don't go back to meat! Stop reinventing your diet!" This is because Michelle is a vegetarian mole and I'd like to know how my brother was able to contact her and plant her in my group.

Mixed Messages and Support

This morning, Michelle got on my case for not updating my blog. It's just that I haven't had much to say - other than the fact that my husband seems to be all over the map on this "Vegetarian for a Month" plan. A few days before we started this year's quest, he told me the thing he doesn't like about vegetarian meals is that they are "mushy." So he asked me to try to prepare things that aren't "mushy." And no chili (He said this emphatically. Apparently, I've tried too many chili recipes over the winter and he's burnt out on chili). I'm feeling a bit of added pressure.

Shortly after, we were in the grocery store and he said "You know what I have always loved? Fried chicken." Fried chicken? Really? We've been together over 8 years and this is the first I've heard of it. I cannot recall a single request for fried chicken for dinner nor do I recall ever making a trip to KFC together. Unless he is a closet fried chicken addict, I'm thinking the timing of his expression of chicken love is very suspect. He proved his point by buying a bag from the deli and eating several pieces. I'd like to go on record now to say he hasn't mentioned fried chicken since.

Following these conversations, I was feeling justifiable concern that I might be met with opposition to every meal. Fortunately, my first meatless dinner was part of a "salad night" at a bible study group so that was an easy one. The second night, I strategically suggested we go out to dinner. I'm such a coward. This is where it gets interesting: Jeff ordered a chicken pasta dish and half way through the meal, commented that the chicken did not actually add anything to the meal, that it would be just as good without the chicken, and began picking the chicken out "just because." Maybe he's embracing the concept after all? I don't know - too early to tell. But I would think that a chicken pasta dish minus the chicken might have a sort of mushiness that he apparently did not object to. A good sign.

Last night, due to some scheduling issues, we had to dine out again. This time, the meat apparently DID add something considerable to the meal because he and my step-son split a pepperoni and sausage pizza right in front of me. A bad sign. Since there was absolutely nothing vegetarian on the menu except dinner rolls, I asked if the chef could just prepare some sort of special pasta primavera for me - which he did, and it was good, but certainly not as good as pepperoni and sausage pizza.

This morning, we hosted our running group and prepared two breakfast casseroles - one of them a vegetarian casserole that was really quite tasty. My Vegetarian for a Month Running Comrades and I were talking about the challenges of the quest in general when Michelle (the "mostly vegetarian already" member of our brigade) said "I think it's actually easier to be a vegetarian now than it ever was before." My ever-waffling husband agreed and said "We have things like Morningstar Farms products now." We. WE (giggle). A good sign. He had a pile of the meat casserole on his plate at the time. A bad sign. You can understand my confusion.

I did learn an interesting fact today - another member of our running group, with whom my husband runs regularly, is also "mostly vegetarian" and very rarely eats meat. I think I'll share this with Jeff to ease his anxiety over the whole thing. Actually, having two "mostly vegetarians" in my small circle makes me feel somewhat wimpy about only giving up meat for a month, but I'm pretty sure I'll get over it.

Hooray for Accountability!

So Saturday morning, I showed up for my weekly run with my buddies (several of whom are joining me for Meatless March) and happened to be reminded that Meatless March starts on Tuesday. I was reminded when Kathy asked me, "Are you ready for the vegetarian month? It starts Tuesday!" To which Michelle replied, "I'm so excited! I already know what I'm having for lunch on Tuesday!" It's worth mentioning that Michelle rarely eats meat anyways so I'm guessing this wasn't a HUGE stretch for her. As it turns out, I had my lunch on Tuesday planned as well, but more about that later. My reply to both of them was, "Actually, I totally forgot about it until just now." What did I learn from this? I learned that when the newness of the challenge has worn off, which it obviously has, I need a method of accountability. Consider this: when the Meatless Challenge was born two years ago, I spent two months contemplating exactly how I was going to pull it off. This time? I'm so not worried about it that I practically forgot about it. Am I that really that cocky? Blase? Or simply careless?

Clearly recognizing my need for a reminder, I came home to put "MEATLESS MONTH BEGINS" on my calendar for March 1st. To my surprise, I found I had scheduled lunch with my friend Angela on Tuesday. March 1st. At McAlister's Deli. Which I had chosen expressely for their Basil Pesto Chicken Panini. So much for that "panini" idea. But what gives me great pause is the fact that I had McAlister's deli (and when I say "McAlister's Deli" I really mean "Basil Pesto Chicken Panini") already on my calendar for the FIRST DAY of Meatless March! What does this say about my committment? Actually, I think it says more about my ADD than it does about my committment, but in any case, it says something about my need for accountability.

With that, I am supremely grateful for my brave comrades who have committed to join me in this journey. And hopeful that I'll find something delicious and meatless at McAlister's Deli which will make me forget all about the Basil Pesto Chicken Panini.

New and Improved for 2011

For those of you just tuning in, I gave my brother a unique Christmas present two years ago by going vegetarian for a month. Last year, since I hadn't come up with a better idea, I decided to do it again. This year, you know what Chip and his totally adorable, totally awesome girlfriend gave me for Christmas? A new vegetarian cookbook! Which, by the way, I've since tried and it's excellent. And, by the way, this was the first time I'd ever MET Chip's girlfriend and she IS adorable and awesome. But anyhow, back to my story.

Seeing as how they gave me a vegetarian cookbook for Christmas, I knew there was no chance they'd feign surprise if I decided to go veggie again this year. I do, however, still have a few tricks up my sleeve so this year my gift involved giving Chip the choice to decide my fate - two months (non-consecutive) as a vegetarian, or one month as a vegetarian with one day each week completely vegan. The choice was truly his, but I couldn't help myself from gently reminding him how difficult it is to be a vegan in the midwest. I'm not sure if I'm relieved or stressed by the fact that he chose the two month option because really, it's not easy being a vegetarian in the midwest either. I actually gave Chip the opportunity to pick the two months I'd take the challenge, but reneged that deal when he rubbed his hand over his chin and said "I'm thinking November because that would the hardest on you with Thanksgiving and all." Nice sentiment, bro.

In addition to the extra meatless month this year, I have another little (unplanned) surprise for my meatless brother. A few weeks ago, after a long run with my running group, we were treated to breakfast at the home of a fellow runner who happens to be "mostly" vegetarian. During the meal, another runner happened to mention that she had decided to go vegetarian for the entire YEAR (show off) but had now decided to just go through January and then reevaluate (wimp). This got us talking about my meatless month(s) and she pledged to join me as a veg-head during March. Another runner happened to be listening and said, excitedly, "I'll do it too!" Let this be a warning to you, endorphins will do crazy things to your sensibilities. Never commit to ANYTHING (other than a shower) after running more than five miles without first discussing it with someone less vulnerable.

So, in short, 2011 brings at least two New Yorkers (and several farm animals), extra reasons to rejoice. An extra meatless month for me, and two extra members of the "Veggie for a Month Club."