I was a vegetarian for many years. I did it for a number of reasons. The first was because I found it creepy to eat meat. I wasn’t like a fanatical PETA person or anything, I just didn’t like the idea. Second, my mom isn’t a very good cook (no offense mom) and meat was definitely not her strength. And lastly, I didn’t like the idea of PREPARING meat. I had no idea HOW or what to do with a slab or steak or chicken.
The problem with the way I was a vegetarian, however, is that I didn’t add other forms of protein to my diet. I was just lacking protein! That’s incredibly stupid. In my quest to get healthy, I realized this and realized that my body was lethargic and tired because I wasn’t eating protein!
I decided to start eating meat again about 3/4 of the way to my goal of 100 pounds. I was working out A LOT. Something strange started happening: I WAS CRAVING MEAT. ALL THE TIME! I was so confused! I tried to trick my body by eating those Morningstar veggie burgers and it just wasn’t the same. I needed to eat real meat.
So slowly I began adding meat to my diet. I had always eaten fish, so I was okay there. I had a George Forman grill and I started grilling chicken breasts. I’d cut up the chicken and put it on my salads and call that dinner. It was pretty good!
That meat craving has never left me. I’m now a full-fledged meat eater and I love it. I eat steak, I love beef fajitas. I eat chicken and (gasp) even bratwursts!! Eating meat has definitely improved my health too. I have more energy. When I eat meat, my calories are lower for the day. It’s been a win-win situation.
The one thing I’ve never gotten over is the desire to NEVER touch uncooked meat. It still creeps me out!
The last time Michael and I were in Vegas, he surprised me by taking me out to dinner at Craftsteak! I’m a HUGE “Top Chef” fan and the restaurant is owned by the one and only Tom Colicchio.
Not only was it super cool to go to the restaurant, the food was probably the best I’ve ever eaten in my entire life. No joke. Sometimes I dream about that dinner and wake up drooling. I wish the photo of the steak turned out better!
We got the Grilled Kobe Skirt Steak and it literally melted in my mouth. It was juicy and delicious! The side dishes were grilled asparagus and fingerling potatoes. The bread that comes with the meal is something in a dream. Words cannot describe the fluffy, buttery, salty wonderfulness of those rolls.
Man….if you haven’t noticed, I’m daydreaming about going back to Vegas and getting another steak! 🙂
julie
I was veggie in high school, now I’m meat-light. I blame the gym, if I don’t regularly eat high quality protein, I start to crave burgers. Strong craving which will not be ignored. Burgers are okay, but not the healthiest choice. I love fish, tolerate some beef, poultry. I really like bacon and ham and all the processed nitrate stuff, but not so healthy.
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