Going Vegetarian

Although not an advocate of the raw food diet, I have been subsisting largely on fruits and uncooked vegetables during the past few months. I have given up meat and eggs but consume milk, cheese, and, less often, Icelandic yogurt, so if I had to describe myself, I would say that I have become a lacto vegetarian.

Last autumn and during the winter, I was experiencing terrible indigestion after I had eaten meat and eggs. I usually had to chew two Rolaids before getting ready to bed. I was swallowing a Pepcid AC before going to sleep, and sometimes I was waking up after a few hours and needing to chew one or two more Rolaids. When I visited my doctor, I was given a sonogram, which didn’t reveal any abnormalities regarding my digestive system. The only thing that helped was changing my diet. I am at the point now where I don’t need any over-the-counter medications for indigestion.

I started experimenting with my new diet in December when my wife was in the hospital in Topeka. When I got back from seeing her in the evenings, I only ate fresh vegetables because it was the easiest thing. I didn’t want the hassle of preparing a meat of some kind for myself. Prior to her hospitalization, we were largely eating vegetables and a grilled meat like chicken in the evening for dinner. I simply cut out the meat when I was eating by myself. Once I started eating meat again, I noticed how difficult it was to digest and eventually decided to give it up.

My dinner meal now consists almost entirely of raw vegetables—celery, carrots, spinach, red, yellow, or orange pepper, tomato without the skin and, when it is soft enough to eat, avocado, all of which are eaten without any salad dressing. I also add a piece of toasted wheat bread with peanut butter. Lunch consists of peanuts, raisins, an apple, and an orange. Sometimes, when the grocery store is having a sale, we buy strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries and pair them with a sliced orange or slices of banana for lunch. For breakfast, I am eating two dates, a banana, and a slice of toasted wheat bread with peanut butter and fruit spread, a kind of jam without sugar.

Although I used to eat dark chocolate in the mornings, I have given that up as well and don’t eat chocolate at any other time. Peanut butter cookie Lara bars are my one vice unless I count the spoonful of honey added to my tea in the mornings.

This diet of mine might seem repetitive. I think of it as healthy and tasty, despite the sameness, and don’t miss eating meat or eggs.

When we ate at the Genghis Khan Mongolian Restaurant on Bell Street in Kansas City on my birthday, I chose only vegetables and tofu and had everything cooked with water. Recognizing my choices, the cook was kind enough to ask whether I wanted him to use a separate utensil, one that had not touched meat, for my meal. “No. Everything is fine,” I told him.

Eating anywhere else is not that easy because of the limited selections. My wife, as I have probably said before, is willing to eat lunch at Panera Bread when we are in Kansas City. My order consists of a whole grain bagel with cream cheese and, sometimes, a banana. After we recently celebrated the end of the semester by seeing the movie Rampage, we decided to eat at a gourmet pizza restaurant. My pizza included only spinach, mushrooms, tomatoes, and goat cheese. Although the crust was a little burned, I still managed to digest the meal without any problems.

I was a vegetarian of sorts when I was a sophomore in college. My evening meals consisted of a rice concoction--that is, brown rice, potatoes, cheese, and eggs. Later, one summer as an upperclassman, I remember only eating salads, but for some reason I stopped once the fall semester got underway. When my wife first met me, a few years later, I was eating a grilled cheese sandwich nightly, one consisting of two or three layers of cheddar cheese on coarse whole wheat bread before it was baked in the oven in a cast iron frying pan. I usually paired my sandwich with a cooked vegetable or fruit. My wife attributes my good health at that time to the amount of walking that I was doing.

Going vegetarian is something that I have experimented with over the years. One person once said that eating a vegetarian meal simply consisted of eating enough bananas until one felt satiated. Such a practice will, of course, result in vitamin deficiency. if that practice is continued.

I am not eating vegetarian because I want to lose weight. I have lost a few pounds and find that my pants fit looser than they once did. Although I could afford to lose about ten more pounds, I am not that concerned about losing weight. I can say that I don't feel as bogged down after a meal, or as lethargic, in other words, as I once did.

Eventually, I may try some of the recipes in a vegetarian cookbook. For now, I am extremely satisfied with my simple diet.  I especially look forward to the heirloom tomatoes that will be available at the local farmer’s market later this summer.