Does This Discourage You from Eating Chicken?

I came across this article:

http://www.salon.com/2013/09/16/chicken_is_killing_the_planet/

American-killed chickens can now be sent to China for processing to then be sent back to the US for people to eat.

Because that makes sense, right? Kill the chicken here, send it all the way over there (taking how many days, I wonder, but unless they are flash frozen, greater chance of developping bacteria), get it processed there so that it can be sent back to where it started from.

Um... My brain is really from the "logic." I have no more to say about that part!

That's just about the processed chicken. Which we all should know we shouldn't be eating anyhow. But if you read about the living conditions of chickens in general in the US (and while I've seen things from here in Canada that don't paint such a bleak picture, it's still not a pretty one), does it make you wince? It makes me wince. It makes me want to try to plan the menus for the week without any chicken--or any meat--at all. That won't go over so well for the other members of my family, but surely I can figure out meals that will allow me to eat chicken-free while they can eat the chicken as they wish? (Oooh, this gives me an idea for a recipe book--recipes or meal ideas where you can easily have both vegetarians and omnivores happy!)


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Books for those of you also wanting to go vegetarian or vegan in a healthy way:

I Have No Business Eating Meat, So Why Do I?

I went to the farmer's market today. As always, busy, busy, full of people and all kinds of neat things to look at. And as always, I saw the packages of meat. And I physically and emotionally reacted. I don't know why it doesn't always affect me that way in the store, or when I'm cooking meat, but at the farmer's market, each and every time, I can feel my facial expression change and my stomach churn. It's even worse when I go by the booth where they put pictures of the animals up to show the different kind of meat they have. There is absolutely no possible way I could buy meat from there for that expressed reason! "Oh, hey, want some elk? Look how lovely they are when they are alive!"

I have no business eating meat. I know this. I somehow put little blinders on and keep doing what I've almost always done, but maybe I need to go to the farmer's market more often to remind myself that I have no business eating meat.

Now, this has nothing to do with the general ethics of eating meat. This is not, "We have no business eating meat." It really is I have no business eating meat. Frankly, I'm just not the kind of person to go around trying to convince others of why they should stop eating meat. It's not my place. And I frankly don't care. lol. That sounds mean, but it's really a matter of I'm not going to spend my time deciding how others should eat. It's got nothing to do with me. Except what my children eat. And I won't even expect them to become vegetarian just because I want them to.

I have wanted to be meat-free since I was 16. That's a long time, given I'm in my late 30s. I keep talking about it in here; anybody reading is probably tired of hearing me go on and on about wanting to be vegetarian and not doing it. I don't know what's stopping me, so that's why I keep talking about it. And the more I connect with the part of me that wants to stop eating animals, the better chance I have of succeeding!

Can you bear with me a bit? I have no business eating meat, I know that in my deepest self. It saddens me, bothers me when I think about it, so why do I eat meat? No, let me be completely truthful to myself here: Why do I keep eating dead animals? There is absolutely no way that I would ever pick up some dead chicken or cow, watch it be prepped for eating, then cook it and eat it. I am clearly mentally disconnected with what I'm cooking and what's going into my mouth and the reality of the situation. It's almost like because I can't figure out what I can eat instead, I'm just going to blindly continue what I've been doing. Bah.

That said, I have made progress around here: more veg suppers are being served, I'm more likely to choose veg options when we go out. I guess part of me would like to be able to just say, "Fine, I'm done!" and that'll be the end of it. Maybe I'm just being unrealistic and keep flip-flopping from one end to the other instead of finding a middle ground. I suppose on thing that's different now than in the past is that I know I will eventually be vegetarian. Before, it was all-or-nothing. Now, no, I'm on a path towards vegetarianism. It'll happen. Someday. But I'll still have this nagging little voice in me asking, "I have no business eating meat, so why do I?"

Did you struggle with a switch to veg*ism? Please share your story in the comments section!

Day 3 and another 28 to go

I'm now on Day 3 of Tommy Europe's 10-Pound Shred book. My muscles aren't as sore as they were yesterday, so that's good, although I had a hard time after the session on the treadmill to get myself to the floor to stretch.

Today was a cardio day (he alternates between cardio days and "resistance" days). I could not do the level of intensity he suggested, so I had to cut it back a bit. It's still so much better than I did last year when I tried to follow the program. Like yesterday, despite getting up earlier, I didn't have the time to complete it exactly as indicated, so I'm going to have to get myself up quicker after my alarm goes off or set my alarm for even earlier. Ugh. I'm going to have to start getting to bed earlier, but that might be hard since my 14yo, husband and I have a routine of watching an episode of X-Files on Netflix every evening, starting at 9:30, when our 11yo is in bed. Maybe the trick will be to be completely ready for bed when it starts, then I will just have to pop myself into bed when it's done. (Although, let's be honest here: how often is one's mind going to be calm and ready to sleep right after watching X-Files??)

Like I've said before, I'm not following his food plan, but I think I still did well yesterday. Here's what I ate (dairy-free as usual and yesterday turned out to be vegetarian:

*1/2 cup of oats with almond milk
*1 whole grain piece of toast with dairy-free margarine (I should probably learn to cut that out) and peanut butter (unfortunately, not the "just peanuts" kind--I should get some more of the just peanuts kind) and honey
*watermelon slices (not sure how many)
*Monkey Minestrone (see yesterday's post!) for lunch--lots of veggies, only some noodles
*a banana
*some hummus and baby carrots (didn't count how many, but it wasn't many)
*Monkey Minestrone for supper with a slice of white (eek) toast with margarine (ach) and garlic on it
*some dairy-free yogurt with some Nature's Path granola

I'm probably still low on the fruit and veggie consumption, but the above has so much fewer grains than what I normally consume, so that's good! And there aren't any chocolate chips, tortilla chips with Daiya cheese, Ritz crackers or anything like that in there. :D

I thought I might go crazy not giving into little junk items, but I didn't even crave them yesterday.

With the workout done, I just have to stay on track with the food! I'd really like to go for a nap though! lol