i might become a vegetarian

in fact, only a part time vegetarian. i think i could never entirely live without meat (and i don't plan to do so), but over the last few years i voluntarily and somewhat accidentally narrowed down my intake of beeves.

i have a friend who claims that he's a vegetarian but sometimes, about once a month at least, he eats meat - when he's at a party and they have really great meat on the buffet or when his girlfriend cooks a really delicious meat dish and he just can't resist to try.

i always bug him that i think it's pretty phoney to call himself a vegetarian because i think he only does it for image-reasons. he likes to draw attention to the fact that he is taking good care of himself. and being a vegetarian totally proves his point there. i always tell him that's really lame and he should try to buy organic food instead.

i never brag about the fact that like 75% of my groceries are organic and from local producers. sure, you can not always buy locally grown stuff, but i really like to pay attention to where my nourishments comes from. it's a really big deal for me and i probably should wear a shirt that says "buy organic food, dammit!" to raise awareness about this issue that has become more and more important to me.

but back to becoming a vegetarian. i often go without meat for several weeks (very often totally unnoticed) and i 've asked myself why i do that. i think i am generally leaning towards a more balanced nutrition and wholefood these days. i simply became more aware of how my diet influences my general wellbeing. and ever since i ordered my first farm box i've discovered so many beautiful new flavours that the taste of plain meat just is not enough anymore.

lamb?
can't stand the taste (and the smell). i never could, and that probably won't change.
beef?
can't even remember if i ever bought beef and prepared it in my own kitchen. maybe some mixed minced meat for burgers every now and then, but that is about it.
pork?
the food of my childhood was all about pork, we had schnitzel or pork roast every sunday. i think i've had enough :)
seafood?
i hardly ever buy seafood. only if a recipe specifically requires shrips, for example. but scallops? nope, never had scallops. the very thought of slurping oysters gives me the creeps. and i can not imagine eating caviar either. how can you eat something destined for procreation? gosh, don't even get me started on the weird (and not seafood at all) rocky mountain oysters ...
fish?
i eat it less often than i wish i would. maybe once a month, and then often as a quick take out of the local nordsee. as a child i was addicted to fishsticks but i think i've never even ate fishsticks since i had my own place. (damn, now i am craving them!)
poultry?
it looks like turkey and chicken are about the only meat i buy and prepare myself. even if i buy processed meat, saussage and stuff i am always choosing poultry over beef or pork.

let's face it. a viennese schnitzel plus potato salad just doesn't do it for me anymore. it's good every now and then, but let's be honest, it is also pretty dull. in fact, at times i don't even crave the odd wurstbrot. i much rather grab a piece of fruit or vegetable.

not eating meat at all is always just a phase, a phase i usually have during summer. but the only meat i had so far this year was the szegedin goulash. it seems that i even try to make my goulash vegetarian these days :) !

it really is time to include some more animal products in my diet, or i might start calling myself a vegetarian for no reason too, just like my sassy old friend :)


so i'll have some lovely green beans and shrimp with a light sauce. nothing special really, just my monthly dose of fish/seafood.