Remnants of My Vegetarian/Vegan Challenge Still Exist

February 15, 2013

Mickey mouse shaped waffle served in the hotel food court at Walt Disney WorldI’m gonna fess up from the get-go here that I’m still a ravenous meat-eater who out-dairies all of you. (Not that I ever keep that secret.)

But, I didn’t realize how much my diet has changed until I saw my dad in Orlando.

While I still eat meat, I’ve certainly cut down on it. There was a place where you could make your own salads. As I was getting mine, my dad asked, “You’re not getting any chicken on it?”

It didn’t even dawn on me that that was out of the ordinary until he said something. I don’t even really like chicken (unless it’s friend and from KFC…or maybe slathered in buffalo sauce at Champps). While on the challenge it dawned on me, “Why do you ever voluntarily eat chicken?

It comes on so many things, y’all! Okay, maybe just a lot of different salads. I think places feel like they can’t just offer you vegetables. (Psst, but hey, restaurants, you can. It’s really okay. Chicken’s not that great.)

I also noticed my eating habits had changed when I didn’t opt for sausage or bacon in certain breakfast options. Again, my dad said something. Again, it hadn’t dawned on me before he mentioned it. And yet again, those meats don’t taste all that super. I like bacon on occasion, but I think I’m more aware of it now. I’m definitely more aware of sausage. It just feels fattier (and a bit ickier (even though I don’t mean to speak ill of sausage)) for some reason now.

But the biggest difference I saw in myself (and my dad noticed) was that I butter fewer things now. “Don’t you want butter on your pancakes, sweetheart?”

“No thanks. I can’t really taste it, anyway. And it’s not good for me.”

I don’t butter pancakes or toast now… They both already get toppings! I don’t need toppings to top other toppings. (But I also can’t really smell, so I don’t have a very discerning sense of taste. Perhaps other people can taste a big difference when they put butter on stuff. But I can’t, so I just don’t put it on there.)

It was interesting to be around someone who’s seen me eat for many years (basically my entire life). Even though there hasn’t been a humongous shift in my eating habits, there was still a noticeable one – well, not noticeable enough to see on my own. But I saw it when my dad was there.

I'd love to hear from you! So whaddya say?