I'm a part time vegetarian!

When most people think of "Vegetarian" they automatically think either/or. You either are or you are not a vegetarian. When I heard the phrase "part time vegetarian" I immediately thought "Hey this is me!" I have been in the process of refining my diet (moving away from mainly meat to more vegetables, whole grains and legumes) for at least 6 years. I now eat 3-4 dinner meals a week that are vegetarian. It has taken me 6 years of steady progress to get to this point and I am a chef! Of course, I have not put a lot of energy into it, and only try about one new vegetarian dish a week. But after all this time I have a whole reprotoire of dishes, new foods, and recipes to appreciate.

In a time when "change" is a huge buzzword and pretty much anything we want is practically at our fingertips, I would like to point out two observations that most people seem to overlook: 1) Change is a Process! and 2) Lasting change only happens when you change the cause behind the effects.

Millions and perhaps billions have been made on the "diet craze" because people buy into the assumption that change happens with little or no work! Good Health and Dis-ease are both Habits! Getting from point A to point K then to point X has many steps along the way. Each of those steps takes work.
Knowledge is good but it is useless until it is put into action.
Change is a Process.
At the core of change are habits; habits of thinking and doing and being.
To change we must replace old habits with new habits.
We have to put in the work to make new habits then be vigilant so we don't fall back into old bad habits..

The good news is that if we accept that change is a process and then go about addressing the causes instead of the effects, we can empower ourselves to make real change, relax into the process, and feel confident in reaching our goals!

I will probably never stop eating Meat. I Love a nice juicy Hamburger! I Love all kinds of Fish! I Love slow roasted BBQ pork, a perfectly cooked T-Bone steak, a tender roast chicken cooked over root vegetables, garlic and apples! And the list goes on......
But, now, fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts are the mainstay of my diet and I Love eating this way!
I feel better, I have more energy, and my diet is lowering the impact I have on my planet.

It is Easy to start the Process!
1) Eat more vegetables or fruit today
2) Eat less meat (have a 6 oz. burger instead of an 8 oz. one)
3) Try something new one day a week (a new fruit, vegetable, or whole grain)
Start the Process!
Take the first step today!
Before you know it You too may be a "Part Time Vegetarian"!

Remember: You are what you eat!

Vegetarianism is the practice of a diet that excludes meat (including game and slaughter by-products), fish (including shellfish and other sea animals) and poultry. There are several variants of the diet, some of which also exclude eggs and/or some products produced from animal labour such as dairy products and honey.

The vegan diet is a form of vegetarianism which excludes all animal products from the diet, such as meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, eggs, and honey. Those who practice veganism for ethical reasons often exclude animal products from their diet as part of a larger practice of abstaining from the use of animals for any purpose (e.g. leather, fur, etc.), often out of support for animal rights.

Most vegetarians consume dairy products, and many eat eggs.
* Lacto-vegetarianism includes dairy products but excludes eggs, ovo-vegetarianism includes eggs but not dairy, and lacto-ovo vegetarianism includes both eggs and dairy products.
If you are not confused enough yet here are a few more definitions for you:
* Semi-vegetarianism-A diet that excludes certain meats, particularly red meat, but allows the consumption of others.
* Pescetarianism-A diet that excludes all meat except fish, shellfish, and crustacea.
* Pollotarianism-A diet that excludes all meat except poultry and fowl.
* Flexitarianism-A diet that consists primarily of vegetarian food, but that allows occasional exceptions.

So, with all the labels for many specific types of vegetarianism (and there are many more which I have not listed), why do I want to be called a part time vegetarian? Actually, I am an "anti-label" kind of guy and also try to avoid words like can't, don't, shouldn't and "bad for you" especially as it relates to diet.

Part time vegetarianism is, for me, a lifestyle that lets me say YES to everything edible!
Of course, I still abide by a bit of wisdom from my dear grandfather of "Everything in moderation".
Let's Eat!
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Most Americans do not have a context in which to place their individual health and tend to view statistics that report approximately 1.5 - 2.0 million Americans die every year of heart attacks, cancer, strokes, etc., as facts that don't apply to them.

What is remarkable about this health crisis is that neither a famine nor starvation caused it since America is the breadbasket of the world. Nor is the health emergency due to a contagious plague, lack of medication, sanitation, or medical treatments, for we are the most technologically advanced nation on the face of the earth. The chief cause of this health crisis is poor and imbalanced diets.

This spiral downward in American's health is even more pronounced because there appears no hope of reversing the trend, in spite of the fact that the U.S. spends $1.4 trillion dollars per year on health, being the richest and most powerful country on the face of the earth.

America spends more money than any other nation on health. Yet America ranks the lowest of all the major industrial nations of the world in terms of its citizen's life expectancy. According to the most recent World Health Organization report, the United States ranks 24th with a life expectancy of 70.0 years out of 191 nations.

Japan ranks number 1 with a life expectancy of 74.5 years. The rest of the top 10 nations with high life expectancies are as follows: 2. Australia, 3. France, 4. Sweden, 5. Spain, 6. Italy, 7. Greece, 8. Switzerland, 9. Monaco, and 10. Andorra.

The National Center for Health statistics has been tracking America's obesity problem for over four decades. The following statistics support the growing concern regarding the obesity problem in America.

-- Between 1962 and the year 2000, the number of obese Americans grew from 13% to an alarming 31% of the population.
-- 63% of Americans are overweight with a Body Mass Index (BMI) in excess of 25.0.
-- 31% are obese with a BMI in excess of 30.0.
-- Childhood obesity in the United States has more than tripled in the past two decades.

The rise of soft drinks in America may be a leading cause for obesity in children and adults. Americans drink 56 gallons per person per year of sodas up from 46 gallons per person per year in 2003. Your risk for becoming obese increases by 60 percent for each can of soda you drink a day.

The former Surgeon General Dr. C. Everett Koop stated in 1988 in his Surgeon General Report that the American Diet was the "cause" of approximately two-thirds of the deaths due to disease in America. He goes on to say that Americans are not starving from lack of food as people are in many foreign countries, but they are malnourished by simply not eating the proper food. Americans are eating food full of empty calories that make them fat.

If the "Cause of approximately two-thirds of the deaths due to disease in America is the American Diet", what is the "cause" we have to change to make the effect of "Good Health"?
Correct! We have to change our diet!

Is your health important to you?
Is there anything more important to your long-term happiness than your health?
What good is fame, money, or even Love if you are not healthy enough to enjoy it?

Change is a process you can start NOW!
There are only three rules to start on the road to a better, healthier diet and a more energetic, happier you!

1) Eat more fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes every day.
2) Cut out as much processed food, sugar, and if possible caffeine as you can every day
3) Trade bad fats for good ones
Bad = saturated fats, cholesterol, trans fats.
Good fats = Olive Oil, Butter (in moderation), canola oil, fish oil.

Remember! Change is a process! The goal is to do a little every day!

You say you do not cook?
The Good News is that most fruits and vegetables are great raw and are even More Healthy for you that way.
Eat an extra apple, orange, tangerine, banana, mango, pear, or nectarine.
Eat some carrot, bell pepper, cucumber, celery or jicama sticks, sugar peas, a tomato, or broccoli (with ranch dressing!)

I hope that you have started the process, started the journey. For me, one of the greatest joys of Life is learning and experiencing something new. Learning a new recipe, tasting a new food and finding that I like it, sharing my discoveries with friends and family are some of the every day simple joys of Life.

"Every day you may make progress. Every step may be fruitful. Yet there will stretch out before you an ever-lengthening, ever-ascending, ever-improving path. You know you will never get to the end of the journey. But this, so far from discouraging, only adds to the joy and glory of the climb." ~ Winston Churchill

"A warrior chooses a path with heart, any path with heart, and follows it; and then he rejoices and laughs. He knows because he sees that his life will be over altogether too soon. He sees that nothing is more important than anything else."
~ Carlos Castaneda from "A Separate Reality"

"To finish the moment, to find the journey's end in every step of the road, to live the greatest number of good hours, is wisdom" ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

FAST TRACK HINTS:
1) Join a C.S.A. (Community Supported Agriculture) http://www.localharvest.org/csa/

Many farms offer produce subscriptions, where buyers receive a weekly basket of produce, flowers, fruits, eggs, milk, meats, or any sort of different farm products. I did this about 8 months ago and it made me eat more vegetables because I had to finish what I got before it went bad or the next one came. The one I subscribe to also has a 1 page news letter with information about the farms the organic produce came from and some recipes using the fresh ingredients. This also has the added benefit of helping you learn what is available locally and what is in season.
2) Use the internet to get information and recipes

Here is a link to my favorite Food website. It has 1000's of tested recipes: Look in your refrigerator, type in several ingredients you find there and search for a recipe.
Remember: you can probably create something similar to a recipe you find and even if you do not have all the ingredients it will still taste great!