Food for Thought – easing away from a meat-based diet

January has come to an end and I’m seriously trying not to fall into the 90% category of people who break their resolutions by the end of the first month. Since my main goal this year is to be healthier, part of that includes finding a healthy way of eating that my husband and I are comfortable with. I want a plan that will work for me while cooking for a husband who likes his meat and doesn’t have a history with vegetables and fruits. There are some weeks I work really crazy hours and have a commute of a minimum of an hour each way so following a strict plan that includes a lot of cooking time is impractical. On those days maybe I give in too easily because I find that if it’s too much of a struggle, I will give up. Then it’s even harder to get back to a strict plan.

One of my goals is to reduce the amount of meat that we eat and increase the vegetables and fruit. I’ve just found a new cookbook that has tons of vegetarian or nearly meatless recipes and I can’t wait to try a number of them. While this might not be an earth-shattering change for some, it’s a big step for my husband who thought the Atkins diet was developed just for him. And I grew up on a farm in the US mid-west where my father was the butcher for the whole of the community so we had meat, meat and more meat as the center of every meal. I also have a strong Germanic heritage (meaning strong, sturdy stock), and am built like my mother who was quite a large woman. She believed that a meal wasn’t complete without potatoes, noodles or dumplings plus freshly baked bread. Desserts were a necessity in my family. It was always homemade, either a pie, cake or other sugar-laden treat that was topped with cream or ice cream.

Once I moved away from the farm, I discovered a whole new way of eating and realized that vegetables didn’t have to be cooked to mush or have bacon added to them. When I was younger, sweet potatoes were reserved for holidays and always covered in marshmallows. I found them disgusting. When on my own I found out that if I steamed them or cooked them as other potatoes and with a little bit of butter that they are delicious. Now, they are a new trendy food served anytime, not just at Thanksgiving.

Now that my body is “getting older” and my metabolism is slowing, I need to focus on healthy eating and getting my daily exercise. I know that the body goes through age cycles but does it have to do it so quickly? It means that even though I watch what I eat, work out every day at the gym and do weights, I’ll never be a size 2 again. I can accept that I have my limits and as long as I am able to be healthy and fit, I’m OK. I keep challenging myself with cardio and weights because I know that it’s helping my heart, blood pressure and cholesterol. I just have to accept that my body is never going to be like the airbrushed models in the magazines that I like to read but some days I look in the mirror and I wonder who kidnapped that 30 something woman that I used to see first thing every morning.

I’m continuing my number one goal for 2012 by taking control of my health. I’m paying attention to my body and dealing with my blood pressure and cholesterol. “Go Red” day is coming the end of this week – the 3rd of Feb. and I’ll be considering how I can celebrate and support this day through a healthy diet. Join me in Go Red for Women and let’s have a healthy year in 2012 and many more to come!

Feeling healthy and feeling good about yourself is not a luxury - it's an absolute necessity.

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