Viewpoints Goes Vegetarian: Allison

Post date: Apr 03, 2017 2:41:57 PM

This article was meant to be published in issue CXI.9 of the print Chatterbox, however, due to an error, a duplicate article appeared in its place.

Published 4/1/17

By Allison Meier, '19

Vegetarians look for alternate sources of protein besides meat. These can include tofu, assorted nuts, yogurt and more.

I’ll start out by saying that I did not at all look forward to a week of eating vegetarian. Nowhere in my idea of fun is seven days of finding alternate protein sources, meal prepping and tofu. The few times I’ve thought of possibly going vegetarian, I’ve crushed that notion with an order of the number four, please - and yes, I’d like extra bacon on that.

My week started out on a negative note, as I accidentally got chicken for lunch and took a bite before even realizing the problem. Left with ten minutes to get back to the cafeteria, buy a new lunch and still have time to eat before class, I ate it. Was I guilty afterward? For the sake of this experiment, I’ll also say yes. After that, I was more careful, and didn’t mess up the rest of the week, surprisingly. Old habits die hard.

Halfway through the week, I had eaten more eggs within those days than I had ever before -- and hopefully ever will again. Usually on the days I eat breakfast, I’ll have an egg with bacon or sausage. Instead, to replace these wonderful porcine delicacies, I was stuck eating multiple eggs each day to fill the emptiness in both my heart and my stomach. For my lunches, I was also unable to pack my usual non-vegetarian items, so cooking an egg for five minutes was a quick, simple solution. While this was bearable for a week, I don’t know if I could survive a lifetime of vegetarianism.

The week was not all bad, however. One night we had vegetarian chili on tofu-dogs (I know) for dinner, and they tasted so similar to the real thing that I thought my family was playing a prank on me. Another night, I went to a party where dinner was tacos. Right away, I was worried about offending the hostess, so I replaced the meat with guacamole. I can confirm that this is far cleaner, tastier and healthier than a regular taco, and I am not ashamed to say that I went back for seconds.

So, was the week a success? Overall, yes. It helped to really see how difficult it could be to find alternate meals in a limited setting. Personally, I’m content with my diet as it is, and I thoroughly enjoyed my celebratory meal at the end of the week - pasta, with extra meatballs.