October 2, 2010

Hey Average American-- You're fat, You eat too much meat, and it's killing you



I'm going to throw this out there-- I'm NOT a vegetarian. But I grew up eating lots of vegetarian and vegan meals without knowing it. It was just healthy, delicious food, and it was what we were having for dinner. I've maintained those healthy eating habits, and eat like a vegetarian most days out of the month.

The Average American has meat with EVERY meal. (Especially in Ohio, it seems)

That sort of diet drastically increases your chances of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, etc.

If you're in a family that has meat at every meal, try convincing your family to let you make a delicious, healthy, vegetarian dinner a few days out of the week. If you don't mention that it's vegetarian, you might even be able to trick them into eating a delicious, healthy meal without them even knowing or caring that it was meatless.

Stuck when trying to figure out vegetarian options for meals? Go ethnic!
Most people on this planet eat meals with no meat at all for the majority of their meals. And they get by just fine, with plenty of different options for every meal-- and never EVER buy expensive texturized vegetable protein meat-substitutes. Say sianora to tofu dogs, and say hello to a world of options:

Many Thai food options are either vegetarian or vegan.
There are a host of vegetarian meals from Northern India.
Authentic mexican food has plenty of vegetarian foods to choose from.
Arab foods are heavy on flavor, and more often than not, free of meat.
And much much much much much much more.

Explore the world's vegetarian options, and don't settle for boring food ever again!

8 comments:

  1. Most Arab cuisine isn't vegetarian.

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  2. When I was living in Cleveland, I lived in a section of town called "Little Arabia." I had my choice of Lebonese, Persian, and Saudi Arabian food 7 days a week, and 24 hours a day during Ramadan.

    And it was almost entirely vegan, because meat and dairy spoils when you don't have refrigeration. Yes, there were cured meats and Kibbeh and Kiefer available as well. But the majority of what I had access to was veggie friendly.

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  3. Being a vegetarian is a healthier choice. However, vegetarian doesn't equal skinny. I don't eat meat and I'm fat.

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  4. Why you gotta pick on us? :<

    But you're totally right, almost everyone here has at least one piece in meat in every meal. It's just how we were raised. I admittedly find it hard not to have meat just cuz I'm so used to it.

    Good points though, vegetarian is definitely healthier.

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  5. I'm only picking on Ohio because I've lived in Columbus and Cleveland, and I used to date a girl from Toledo. I feel like I know Ohio pretty well both from first and second hand experience.

    It's true that being vegetarian doesn't mean that you will be skinny.

    There are three factors in weight:
    1) Input (what you eat)
    2) Output (how much you move around)
    3) Genetics

    My friend Chaz eats a vegan diet of oreos and Dr Pepper. Certainly not ideal or healthy.

    He also never slept and avoided any mechanical mode of transport that wasn't powered by him. When we were living in Cleveland, he rode his bike everywhere, no matter how many miles it was.

    There is also body type. Some people are just bigger than others, and these folks will never look like the distortions in the fashion magazines.

    There is certainly a difference between being healthy and being skinny. There is also a difference between your genetic baseline and obesity.

    I guess the point is, just be reasonable. I even point out that I'm NOT a vegetarian. I also don't eat meat with every meal. That would be unhealthy.

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  6. I assumed you'd be one of those crazy hippies who hates meat.

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  7. @ProgressiveAudio aw hell no. There's a farm near my house that raises organic, grass-fed, free-range beef. It's delicious. And expensive. So I eat it infrequently. But I do eat it. And it's tasty.

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  8. Oh, well good. I plan to start buying my food from my local farmers market eventually myself. I need to make my diet healthier and more environmentally friendly, if only to make myself not seem like a hypocrite.

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