The Fish Dilemma

Week 2 definitely proved to be a little tougher than the first one. When I first decided to do this diet I was debating about how best to quantify how many meat meals I was able to have.  At dinner with Ana and Gabrielle, friends from Nielsen, we decided that determining a # of meals per week and sticking to that would be the best, vs. only weekends (which is mostly eating out) or certain days of the week.  I did it that way because I thought that eating out would be easier than cooking vegetarian because I could eat seafood or fish.  The unexpected twist in all of this is that the Sustainable Fish list that I am going by is very specific about where the fish needs to be from or how it is caught, and I am too shy at this point to ask at restaurants "is your salmon Alaskan wild or Atlantic farmed".  Not to mention, I think asking that might limit who is willing to go out to dinner with me :-)


So, with that said, here's the tally:

• # of non vegetarian meals for the week: 3 - one was a work lunch where it was pasta or fish (and I definitely wasn't testing asking the question at a work lunch), so I opted for the fish, the second was dinner brought in at home and we had roasted chicken ( I can't remember the last time I had poultry - I think it was in 2010) and the third was Rathbones and you can't go there and not get the wings and turkey burger.  I did have one meal at a restaurant where I ordered the striped bass, but since you can eat farmed or wild, I figured it was safe no matter where it was from.
• Interesting recipe of the week: Potato Leek Soup - was really yummy!  here's the recipe:

3 tablespoons butter
3 leeks, thinly sliced
1 medium or large onion, chopped
6 – 8 russet potatoes, thinly sliced (skin optional)
4 cups chicken broth (or enough to barely cover potatoes)
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste

1) Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat then add onions and leeks. Cook, stirring, until onions are limp and just slightly brown.

2) Add sliced potatoes to saucepan then pour in enough chicken broth to just barely cover the potatoes. Continue cooking over medium heat until potatoes are tender. Using an emulsion blender, blend the potatoes until desired consistency is reached (I went pretty chunky, probably would have gone a bit smoother next time). 

3) Add milk and salt and black pepper to taste. Cook 15 minutes more over low heat, stirring frequently, then remove from heat and serve.  Garnish with scallions.

I have plenty of leftovers if anyone wants to swing by for some soup and crusty bread!!  

Oh, and # of fights with Blaine about food: Zero!!  But this week I have to do some serious thinking about how to limit the carbs cause pasta, bread and pizza have become my staples...so, expect the fight tally to go up in week 3!


P.S. The base of this recipe came from another blog called PinchMySalt.com, with a few variations from me

The Diet of the Moment

According to Bon Appetite magazine, I am definitely in the moment!
http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/badaily/2011/01/are-you-a-flexitarian.html

Thanks Michelle for passing it along!  Some good recipe ideas too.

Week 1 Verdict

The verdict on week 1 is in, and all in all it was pretty successful.  Here are the stats:

• # of non-vegetarian meals for the week: 2, both of which were sushi, so no meals with meat
• Interesting recipe of the week: Well, it was really the gluten-free, dairy-free cake I made for my mom's birthday, but since that has absolutely nothing to do with this diet, I'd have to say baked potatoes with veggies, salsa and cheese topping.  Which means, not a very interesting recipe week to kick off the diet.
• # of fights with Blaine about meals: 1 - not bad for the first week.  And this also had to do with croutons that I made, which has nothing to do with this diet either.

Today I made a unique twist on eggplant Parmesan, which is on the list of things that Blaine won't eat.  But, since he does eat zucchini I traded the eggplant for zucchini and made zucchini Parmesan.  And Jodie was brave enough to come over and try the experiment with us.  It was actually pretty good!  Try it next time you are going to make eggplant!  But, we did have it with pasta, which is not diffusing my theory about overloading on carbs on this type of diet.  I need some non-carb heavy recipe ideas!

Nothing will kick start a flexitarian diet like a trip to Argentina…

So yes, the trip was great!  And, we ate lots and lots of meat, as judged by the following pictures.  And some things that I would call animal by-products that I promise I will never eat again (like cow intestines…I shiver just to think that they went in my mouth, and quickly out). 

But, to be honest, I was craving some vegetarianism by the end!  And a lot of the comments I’ve gotten from people when I explain my New Year’s Resolution is “that’s easy – I could do that” or “5 meals , that’s a lot”.  And, after 48 hours of kick starting the diet, I tend to agree.  I have successfully not eaten one meal with meat for 2 days and the only true struggle was finding the vegetarian soup option at lunch today.  

But I do have 2 concerns with this diet.  The first is Blaine and the second is gaining weight.

Let’s start with Blaine.  I’m sure you have all had dinner with us at some point and played what I fondly refer to as the “Blaine is a weird eater” game.  It goes something like this:

·         Blaine orders dinner

·         People at dinner realize that he makes lots of crazy requests

·         People at dinner go through random list of foods asking if Blaine eats them

·         Blaine respond yes or no

·         People at dinner laugh and try to figure out how to get Blaine to eat one of the items on his “no” list

I’m thinking a post sometime soon is going to be that list so we can just direct people to this site to see what he does or does not eat.  But, the real point is that he is super picky and basically doesn’t eat protein other than meat – no beans, no avocado, no eggs, no fish, no tofu, no meat substitutes (although we are definitely going to try this, so send me suggestions of good ones if you have any)…you get the point.  And, the point of this is not for me to either make him meat when I’m not eating it or for him to get take out when I make dinner that he doesn’t like. 

The second concern is gaining weight.  The soup option that was vegetarian at lunch today had heavy cream in it – not something I would have opted for if I was eating meat.  And, the meals I’ve come up with so far are heavy on the pasta and cheese. 

So, those are my challenges. Suggestions to combat both are welcome!

Here's the deal...

If you’re asking yourself “what is a flexitarian?”, that is a very good question (although not sure how you stumbled across this if I haven’t already given you my very unscientific definition).  I first read about in Time Magazine, so here is their article about it.  

So after that, you’re next question is definitely “why are you doing this?”, and as a true carnivore, I can confidently tell you its pure environmental reasons.  I consider myself to be somewhat of an environmentalist – turning the water off as I brush my teeth or in between scrubbing dishes, using the minimal amount of paper towels necessary, always bringing bags with me to the grocery store and most other shopping, not gift wrapping gifts (okay, yes, out of pure laziness as well, but the environment is my vocal excuse), turning the car engine off whenever standing idle, taking public transportation (when it’s an easy alternative and doesn’t break the bank), thinking before printing, buying local when available, buying organic, even if it means breaking the bank, and constantly yelling at my husband to file suit.  However, at the end of the day, I don’t really go out of my way nor do anything that is considered inconvenient in my quest to save the planet.  So, this is my inconvenience. 

And with that, here is the rule:

I can only eat meat 5 meals per week

And now here come the questions…so, here are a few FAQs so you can follow along:

1. What defines a week?  A week starts on Sunday and ends on Saturday
2. What defines a meal?  There are 21 meals in a week (plus snacks, which do count), so I am restricting myself to less than 25% of my food intake will be in conjunction with meat
3. What defines meat?  Meat is the actual animal - poultry, red meat and fish (more to come on that in a bit).  Meat is not the by-product of an animal, so I can eat eggs and cheese and they won’t be included in the count, however I will continue to buy organic and local as much as possible.
4. What about grass-fed beef or sustainable fish?  Grass-fed beef is considered in the count (which leads to the rationale for my start date not being on Jan 1), sustainable fish is not.  Here is a site that has guidelines of sustainable fish, I will be following the Northeast version, so I can eat these fish and it won’t be included in the 5 meals.

Any other questions I haven’t answered, ask away and I’ll include it in the FAQs.

So, I mentioned earlier that the start date is not January 1^st and that’s because Blaine and I are going to Argentina on vacation (or if you’re reading this we already went), and given the propensity and reputation of the beef there, and my desire to actually keep this resolution and not let it go to the waste side within the first 2 weeks, I’m starting when we return on January 18^th.

Check back then and I will give you an update on how the first week goes…