A Crisis of Conscious (& Content)

It has been a few months since I posted last – partly because of all the busyness of a beautiful

summer and a fantastically long and warm stretch in to fall - and partly because the blog is at a crossroads. 

You see at the end of June, after over 20 years of vegetarianism, the Husband announced that the time had come once again to. eat. meat.

Whoaaa. My mind reeled a bit. What about this? What about that? What about the blog???

Now I remind you that I have always been an omnivore, and have embraced vegetarianism at home 90% of the time, and when eating out when I could (I’ll address why that’s hard in a moment).  However I am definitely, solidly, the still the ‘gluten-free’ portion of the equation.

So why give up over 2 DECADES of meat-free living, with the occasional foray into full-on veganism? In a word: travel.

For four years or so the Husband as endured many, many flights crisscrossing the great Pacific Northwest and the country. He has logged over 100 segments so far this year alone. So how does that push a vegetarian into the land of bacon? In another word: carbs. Or more specifically, refined, empty white carbs.

You see, quite often vegetarian meals are not vegetable heavy. No, they are what I like to refer to as some version of a cheese sandwich. Pizza, tortellini, quesadilla – all heavily reliant on white flour and cheese. Even the token veggie burger is likely grain-heavy or made of gluten.

“So have a salad,” you are saying. Well, that too can be difficult to muster. Many are meat- or seafood-centric (this vegetarian does not eat fish – and if you do you are not a vegetarian so please stop confusing people). And while the PNW can be great for subbing the steak in a steak cobb salad for a veggie patty, hold the bacon,[i] room service in Salt Lake City at 11 pm because that’s all you can get for dinner? That’s another story.

So, sick of often having only one option on the dinner menu, and that option being some permutation of a cheese sandwich (see how the gluten-free girl get’s left out here?) it was not without much debate and forethought that JJ decided to “go to the dark side” as he called it. Just like becoming a vegetarian over 20 years ago was a health decision, so too he has decided to include meat again so that he can eat healthier on the road.

“Meat? Healthy?” you ask. Well loaded bacon double cheese burgers aside, when you consider a chicken caesar salad versus cheese ravioli, the former has more nutritive value and protein than the latter. Baked salmon and green beans vs. lasagna? No contest. Really, it’s more about the simple things. Now he can order soup and salad with impunity, whereas before it involved numerous questions and trips to the kitchen to inquire about the stock (many vegetable soups have a chicken stock base) and no option to add protein to the salad.

So what is a vegetarian gluten-free blogger to do? The bulk of my trial-by-fire cooking education has occurred while married (to a vegetarian), as such I can put a mean sear on some tofu, but am less confident about searing a steak. So in cooking meat I am sort of back to square one, albeit with a better cooking intuition for lack of a better term. And I've learned to stop guessing and use the thermometer. So if I do post meat recipes, you will still get a glimpse into the world of recipe testing, just as you do with my regular VGF features and flops.

One thing to note, the gluten-free portion definitely stays – with me eating that way by necessity, and the Husband eating that way most of the time (at least at home) to satisfy his low-carb desires. And I like cooking and eating well-thought out vegetarian dishes, so I'm not looking to jettison them wholesale.

So dear readers, I know that there are more of you who peruse the blog than there are those of you who are signed up for Google (and thus can leave comments below). I want to put it to you – what are you looking for?

Are you diehard gluten-free vegetarians who like the confidence that you could consume the results of any of the recipes I post? Are you busy parents who are looking for ideas on how to feed your vegetarian-might-be-a-phase teenager alongside the chicken-crazed tween? Are you a considerate host and entertainer who likes to have a well-though out menu for the vegetarian, vegan and/or gluten-free guests at your table but normally have more omnivorous tastes? Do you really need another chicken recipe, or are you more interested in putting out something delectable for Meatless Monday? 

Comment below, email me your thoughts on the subject to foodforgoodnesssake@hotmail.com, or leave me a comment on facebook. I’d love to hear from you.

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[i] You’d be surprised how many times that they get the veggie burger part right but they throw on the bacon! Do they think it’s not really meat but a condiment? JJ likes to joke something to the effect of “I checked, and bacon isn’t a vegetable” or “I tried growing bacon in the garden once and it was a dismal failure”.