For almost a year, I’ve been gradually removing meat from my diet, and eating vegetarian.
I noticed something amazing: after snacking on a bunch of raw green vegetables (peas, green beans, broccoli, whatever), I’m not hungry anymore. I feel completely full. This surprised me. I always thought that meat was the only “real” food that could fill me up and make me feel like I’ve eaten, and I’m notorious for being able to gorge on carbs (bread! huge plates of pasta! crackers! bread!!). But after only a little bit of peas/beans/etc, I’m done, I’ve eaten.
Another nice thing is that I don’t have to cook much anymore. Unlike meat or grains or fish, vegetables don’t actually have to be prepared in order for humans to digest them. They are safe to eat raw. So I do. This saves a lot of time.
Finally, I still love wild-caught fish, and whenever I buy, cook, and eat it, I do so enthuiastically. And when I get the rare opportunity to have a burger or some chicken or steak, I take it. Pizza with pepperoni is goood. So I’m not a purist by any stretch. But for the first time in my life, I can actually imagine living off of lentils, rice, and green veggies.
