Three-Letter Acronyms & Four-Letter Words

For a month.

I am not sure exactly when it hit me, but I have decided that I will go vegetarian for one month this year. The month will be the month of May.

In discussing it with Jeremy, May seemed like a good month and he also has agreed to join in. It gives us the month of April to prepare, find recipes and what not.

Now, I am a die hard Omnivore. I love vegetables, particularly fresh mixed greens salads with fruit slices. I love chicken, I love pork, and last night I had pretty darn good rib eye steak.

However, I like to make fun of vegetarians. Let me restate that, I like to make fun of my sister who is a vegetarian. I also like to make fun of Hippies, who more often than not are vegetarians.

And when I was growing up the idea that you should walk a mile in a mans shoes before poking fun or passing judgment.

I am going to eat no meat, fish or dairy for a month.

I am sure that it will be a healthy experience for me, I might even drop a few pounds.

But ultimately, the idea for me is to be able to better understand from a first hand experience, then when I poke fun at my sister I can do so with the full knowledge of what it is she goes through all the time. Course, who knows, maybe I won't make fun of my Hippie sister so much after going vegan for a month.

I told my sister about this. I explained to her that I was not going to eat dairy or fish either. To which her reply was "Wow, that's hardcore vegan."

She has recently added fish into her diet.

I am not sure that this will be overly hard for me to do. Gina believe I will find it very hard, as she was once went completely veggie. Her thought about it is that I will have a hard time finding food that doesn't have some sort of animal byproduct.

My first thought about the coming month of May, is that my diet will consist of pasta, vegetables, and nuts. Sounds easy, right?

I mean I love pasta, put a little olive oil on it and add in some diced or grilled tomatoes and there you go.

In terms of vegetables, I love just about everything. The only veggies I hate are squash, zucchini, and eggplant.

Grilled, steamed or just fresh I can eat veggies anytime.

Now, protein will be a concern. Since most vegetables are full of carbs and vitamins, where will I get my fat and protein. I haven't done any extensive research, but I know that peanut butter is a good source of protein. I also love Edamame (soy beans) they are a good source of protein. I have had them mixed in with pasta before, but just eating them steamed in the husk is pretty good too (no you don't eat the husk).

So I believe that the month of May will be a good thing and will likely lead to healthier eating habits for me on a long term basis. However, I can guarantee you that I will be chowing down on some beef, pork and chicken come July.

Laterz.

PS. Jeremy has registered www.veganforamonth.com, nothing up there yet. But I believe we will be chronicling the month of May.