Somewhere in the world, if not down the street, one person is enjoying a juicy burger and another (not in the same restaurant) is enjoying a veggie-burger. Both are satisfied with their meal, yet put them next to each other and all war could brake loose. This battle of the dish seems to be raging on, but in civilized silence until I myself took on both roles to see what is better.

On my father’s side, his ancestry come from Scotland and Ireland, so the old ‘eating meat and potatoes’ was a part of my childhood. I didn’t care much for vegetables; in fact I detested them with a passion. I remember my Uncle Leo (my father’s brother) made me sit at a table for almost an hour because I refused pickled onions and asparagus. It became my mission to hate vegetables…at least until I grew up a little. A little over a year ago or so, I decided to be adventurous and try vegetarianism with my eldest sister. It was easy after reading ‘Skinny Bitch’ by Rory Freedmon and Kim Barnouin. All the information about meat digestion and the slaughtering of animals scared me into kicking meat for good…until I got sick. I wasn’t getting enough protein and I have a fragile system, pretty much can’t take any kinds of pills or I’ll get sick (except aspirin). All I wanted to do was sleep and ate a lot of cheese.

Needless to say, I jumped into it too quickly; at least that’s what I thought. Nine months after I started the adventure (What I call my ‘food baby’) I quite, having my meat eating boyfriend cook up some juicy steak tips. After I took a bath, like I was reborn or being baptized or something. A few weeks later, I felt energy enter my body again and a new perspective on life:

1.     Don’t do it because it’s trendy at the time, do it because you can’t fathom the thought of eating another living creature.

2.     If you still feel guilty, cut back and eat from farms that conduct humanly and are FDA approved.

3.     Eat vegetables and stop being a giblet head. Also try new things that don’t have eyes, you might be surprised on what you like.

4.     My body isn’t built for such an adjustment and I won’t force it on myself again.

5.     It’s a life style change and you need to plan what to eat at restaurants (my first time at Texas Roadhouse, I ate a Caesar salad and mashed potatoes while everyone else had prime rib and filet), I use to fight with my boyfriend on where to go because he had to make sure I wasn’t offended by his favorite (my old favs) places. (Also my sister lasted only a couple of months, thanksgiving did her in!)

6.     Vegi-burgers are actually pretty good so maybe you can become a ‘part time vegetarian’- just don’t let vegans or meat eaters influence your decision because it’s YOUR life.

7.     Don’t eat excessive amount of meat, you could have bathroom issues and that’s just embarrassing.

8.     Research things for yourself and help other people be aware of the issues of slaughterhouses and the mistreatment of animals.

9.     If you choose the vegan or vegetarian life, don’t stop cold-turkey (weird saying that in this context), you WILL get sick, like anything when you stop doing something.

10.  Do things for the right reasons, don’t stop eating meat because you want to loose weight because sometimes it can have the opposite effect.

Though I no longer call myself a vegetarian, I have more respect for people who are because I know how difficult it can be and how rude people are because you choose to eat something else. In saying that, I’m not swayed by people who try to force the vegan style on me, because I am my own person I’m built to eat meat & potatoes AND vegetables.

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