FOOD POST: What Am I?

Alright, so let's talk about food for a second. In my in introductory post I said I'm a pescetarian, but I feel like I should talk about this a bit more. So, here we go:

Until April of 2008, I ate everything! I couldn't ever imagine giving up meat, even though my boyfriend B is a (very easy-going and meat tolerant) vegetarian. Then one of my best friends decided to give up meat, and I though: if she can do it, so can I!

So, what were my original reasons? I have to admit, my initial reason was pretty superficial: I wanted to lose weight. I'm not overweight, but ever since moving to the States from Germany, my diet had changed in a way that made me put on weight a lot faster. Well, since I cut out meat, I discovered that this alone is not gonna make you lose weight, haha! But it had the awesome side effect that I pretty much stopped eating fast food. I also feel a lot better, and I pay more attention to what I eat. I'm surprised how easy it was to give up meat; I don't crave it at all. Having said that, I don't know that I could ever give up seafood. I love all of it, no exceptions! I don't have it often, just once or twice a week, usually in the form of salmon or shrimp.

Here's another thing: I'm not vegan, but vegan cooking fascinates me to no end! When I look for fun new recipes, I do so mostly on vegan blogs. I think it's because I really appreciate the creativity that goes into cooking when you're vegan. Some vegetarians I know are pretty happy with eating just grains and vegetables, but I love cooking (and eating!) way too much). Plus, I'm a big fan of making my own seitan!

I think ultimately, I'd like to think I'm on the (rather slow) path to considering self-sufficiency and sustainability more and more. Yes, I eat eggs, but at this point we get them from B's co-worker who has a little chicken farm. I try to shop at the co-op as much as I can. I realize that some people complain about how eating more consciously might be more expensive, but I'm lucky enough to have places to get affordable food in bulk (and that is often locally produced). So actually, I think I spend less money on food now than I did before, especially since I recently started making my own bread and growing my own sprouts.

I don't have a garden, which makes me sad. But on day, hopefully, that will change. When we move to the new house in a few weeks, I'll have a little porch, and I might try to grow some veggies on the little front porch. It's not gonna be much, but it's a start!