Yep, I took a leap of faith with hopes of improving my quality of life... I can't live this way. Food literally feels as though it is stuck and won't budge-- namely meat products. Ergo, my decision to become a veg-head was not only by choice but by force, I can't keep that up in the name of a sirloin...just can't. LOL
So, my journey to veggie-dom is a three-tiered process; mental, emotional, and physical... I will elaborate:
1. Mental. I have to mentally remind myself that although meat seems like a great idea because it's something I have eaten off and on for nearly three decades, the repercussions belie the truth, which is meat isn't helping me feel better.
2. Emotional. Sometimes I hate meat. Sometimes I love meat. I am human! I can appreciate a tender Argentine, Brazilian, or Japanese steak, but the way in which those animals are bred, fed, and "dead" is totally incomparable to their North American relatives, so the taste, texture, and aftermath all lead to different paths... It hurts, but again, can't keep meat-eatin' up in the name of a good steak.
3. Physically. I just need to physically remind myself. For instance, today, I wrote "NO MEAT" on my hand with a smiley face (Please see picture I posted on Instagram and attached to this post)... that is a physical way to remind myself-- much more efficient than a ribbon or rubber band on the finger, OR having a friend pop me on the arm when I go to press my lips up against a meat product.
I make light of the situation, but I really had to tie in vegetarianism with my studies. It was in early Portuguese letters from the New World (in this instance Brazil) to Iberia that the indigenous people were observed as healthier even though they did not raise cattle or consume the same food as the Europeans. Their diets, largely of fruit and manioc (aka cassava or yuca) and other plants, was foreign to the Portuguese, and although they did not have immune systems to withstand European disease, they were otherwise the healthier beings. I didn't make it up, check out Azurara and/or Caminha "Early Portuguese Expansionism" and their writings will divulge such truths. At any rate, reading this for class ironically reaffirmed my decision to go back the basics... now determining which facet of vegetarianism to identify as, that is an entirely different story... we shall see, details later!
In the meantime, I will leave you with this recipe for a dish with manioc so near and dear to me. I found the recipe here : http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/saladssidedishes/r/farofa.htm It is called farofa, a popular Brazilian accompaniment to feijoada, black bean "stew" if you will... I'm always up to try new things, I hope you all give it a shot!
** If you aren't chef material I recommend making friends with a Brazilian or enthusiastic Brazilianist asking for an invite to dinner!**
Tchau
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