Not me anytime soon! Having been a pescetarian (fish/seafood eating vegetarian) since 1999, biting the bullet or bull in this case, to bring some red meat back into my diet was not an easy choice. With all ethical considerations aside, I never really enjoyed red meat, so it wasn't such a hard thing to give up. Over the last year, with the assistance or shall I say cooking of my husband, I had started adding chicken more regularly into my diet...when he cooked it, one or twice a week. Left to my own devices, I'm a vegetarian eater/cook, so when he wasn't around that's what I stuck with. So, with the thought of living in Hawaii and access to awesome fresh seafood, I figured I was good as gold on getting adequate amounts of protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.
Fast forward to last month. My husband was visiting and we had an appointment with my oncologist, who tells me that things are progressing but slower than we'd hoped for. It was December 12th and my levels were good but I knew that in order for me to "get the heck out of Dodge" I had to do something to up my game, because clearly my current course of action wasn't helping enough. So we did some research on nutrition and it seemed pretty clear that maybe it was time for me to give red meat another chance. While I had resisted it for this long, it seemed like a better time than ever to give it a shot and to see if there was any positive effect. Well, this made my husband supremely excited, being the meat lover that he is.
Fast forward to last month. My husband was visiting and we had an appointment with my oncologist, who tells me that things are progressing but slower than we'd hoped for. It was December 12th and my levels were good but I knew that in order for me to "get the heck out of Dodge" I had to do something to up my game, because clearly my current course of action wasn't helping enough. So we did some research on nutrition and it seemed pretty clear that maybe it was time for me to give red meat another chance. While I had resisted it for this long, it seemed like a better time than ever to give it a shot and to see if there was any positive effect. Well, this made my husband supremely excited, being the meat lover that he is.
Pho documentation. My first endeavor into meat-eating was Pho, the very next day. To understand, I LOVE Pho and vietnamese cuisine in general but have never had the real deal with beef. So for me, it was a nice little introductory step into eating beef by having some very thin slices of flank steak that were well cooked. And let me tell you, it was different, delicious but different. When you don't eat red meat and then start to have some, it's a hard thing to describe...well, for me at least. I guess the best way I could describe the taste is by saying it was a bit chewy and earthy, but manageable with all of the other spices and flavors I like adding to my soup. It was a good way to start off and not one that caused me major digestive problems. I already have issues with nausea from my course of medications, so can't say that there was anything different that I felt afterwards. My second attempt at meat was certainly delicious, as A (my husband) made a flavorful slow simmering meat sauce for spaghetti and some meatballs for dinner, the day after having Pho. I only had a taste of the meatball (wonderfully seasoned) but did have the meat sauce over my pasta. It was really very good. So, my conclusion at that point was that if it's made by A (and it's well-cooked), it's probably going to be completely delicious so I'll at least try it. Since then, I've let my parents in on the change, much to their happiness since I'm the only veg-head in the family, and have enjoyed my Mom's beef chili. While my beef-eating acumen at this point is very limited, I am well aware that the easiest way of eating and actually enjoy it for me, involves seasoning and disguising the meat in some manner-whether that be in sauce, amidst other foods, or cooking it down.
So how am I handling the idea of eating meat? Well, it's mixed. While I really want to do it right and only eat more locally sourced products from farms with high animal welfare standards (this concept has my Dad thinking I'm a hippie), I know that it's not always possible. So when I can, I follow that ideal and when it's just a meal over which I don't have control...eh, I might just eat it anyways, if it looks good to me.
So how am I handling the idea of eating meat? Well, it's mixed. While I really want to do it right and only eat more locally sourced products from farms with high animal welfare standards (this concept has my Dad thinking I'm a hippie), I know that it's not always possible. So when I can, I follow that ideal and when it's just a meal over which I don't have control...eh, I might just eat it anyways, if it looks good to me.
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