How are People Vegetarians When Meat is so Delicious?

Recently, I was reading an article in Runner’s World about taking one day a week to not eat any meat. ‘Meatless Monday’ they called it. Their claim is that the average American eats 8 oz of meat daily, which is about 45 percent more than the USDA recommends. Going meatless for one day a week will cut down on that a little, and you can cut back on your saturated fat while incorporating other proteins into your diet. So, being a runner, and always on the lookout to be a little healthier (while not cutting down on my treats that I love), I decided to join the Meatless Monday Movement. And since Husband is a (former) vegetarian, he’s the perfect guy to help me with this. It’s not that he’s morally against meat or anything, its just that he finds it healthier to not eat meat. But sadly, since we met and married, he’s started eating meat again since I do. Sorry, Husband.

Anyway, so last night was our first go at it. We decided to have veggie burgers, which I’ve had before – just the kind you get at the store. They’re not too bad, actually, they don’t really taste like meat, but they were pretty tasty. Husband decided (pretty last minute, actually) that he’d be making veggie burgers from scratch, with black beans. I was really really hesitant to try these, but I was going into this with a really open mind. So I parked myself into a seat, and watched Husband put them together. The whole time, I kept thinking, this is totally not something I would eat. He mashed all the beans, added green peppers, onions, garlic, mushrooms, some other ingredients and smushed them all together. Then he made little patties and cooked them. (I wish I had thought to take a picture last night of the burger, but of course, I didn’t) Of course, to make them taste ok, I added cheese, lettuce, all the regular things. So I put together my burger, and take my first bite.

It was so weird! It just tasted like a bean sandwich. Which maybe some people like, but I’m not all that into beans, so I was like, weird. I finished my burger, of course, because Husband worked so hard on it, and because I was going to do this Meatless Monday – no matter what. By the time I was finished, the taste had sort of grown on me, so I was used to it. And I’m not saying I’ll never eat a veggie burger again, I just think that the next time, I’ll make sure the beans are smoother…the stuff is mixed together more, and maybe mix something else into it, so that its just a little more delicious. Or I’ll buy the pre-made ones at the store. To celebrate my healthiness, and that I finished the whole burger, I ate a caramel apple covered in Butterfingers. So essentially I converted all my healthy points of eating that burger into eating the caramel apple. Delicious!

This is my thought on vegetarianism:

Because I sure didn’t.