vegetarian lifestyle through the ages

although with all honesty, i have decided to eat fish when the opportunity presents. mostly when i can't avoid it without being rude...as in somebody ordered a shrimp appetizer the other day at lunch and it would have been worse to refuse to eat it than to push the vegetarian issue. plus i like shrimp. GOOD shrimp. frozen shrimp is disgusting.

but so here's the thing: at the shrimp-appetizer lunch, we were celebrating. i was in the office now for four weeks and we had something worth celebrating, so we all went out to lunch to celebrate (was that vague enough for you?). but before we left, my preceptor took me aside and asked if i had eaten at that restaurant and could i eat salads? I reassured her yes (while thinking to myself that most salad dressing have eggs in them). so off we went. and thus the shrimp appetizer...she asked me at the restaurant if i ate fish, so i gave in. it was delicious shrimp. so i'm contemplating just saying i'm a pescatarian (which does not come up in the spell checker with a better spelling!) but that's an interesting proposition.

i know my generation knows the differences in vegetarians and vegans and i could probably even get away with some of the jokier sounding ones--fruitatarian etc. there's whole lists of them, including the specific ovo-lacto vegetarians and onwards. there's even something called a flexitarian--someone who is flexible about eating meat. I am not kidding, i borrow the better homes and garden's 365 Vegetarian Meals from a friend and there is a whole page describing these differences.

but i digress. to most people i can say "I'm a vegetarian" and nobody pushes the issue. especially in younger people. to my mother's generation, which is also my preceptor's generation, it's more of a thing. it's hard to quantify but i really have the feeling that neither one of these women really think i eat anything of great nutritional value. no one is denying the health benefits of not eating meat and eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, but that they feel that that isn't enough. My grandfather also would fit into this category. It's an interesting little point i've noticed. i wonder if it is truly generational, coming from people who are used to cooking and planning meals for their families. the vegetables are the side dish. not the center of the dish because there's no substance.

either way, i eat plenty. i'm not always full, but that's when i snack. it's easier to count calories when you consider a salad for lunch versus a sandwich. so i can snack. :)

in other news, I'm off on vacation at the end of the week...to the shore (beach for those of you who don't know any better)! thus the likelihood of being pescatarian...there's nothing like fresh seafood. It prompted me thinking this because i was having a conversation with my mother about whether or not I had to go off the island to buy groceries or if i would be okay on the island's small grocery store. we will see.

and for breakfast, i finally perfected the perfect banana milkshake. break up a banana, add to the blender. add a proportionate amount of ice. at this point I add ensure/instant breakfast powder so i get my nutrients, but you can skip that. add some heavy cream/half-and-half to give it a little richness--i almost cover the bananas, and then I add milk to the top of the ice. blend until smooth. delicious. i have a mini-blender which is the perfect size to make this in and then drink it straight from the blender cup (my blender top has a slot so I really can drink straight from the cup!).

to be eaten with blueberry scones. and in another bit of news, i may have to add blueberries to the list of allergens. i haven't really been a big blueberry eater ever, but when you cut out other fruits that i do it, i try some things. and that's a whole 'nother ball game, not wanting to try foods because i might be allergic. but we'll see, there's many more scones to be eaten to try out this theory.