Vegan? Vegetarian? Paleo? Is that a good question? Well it is a question many people are pondering today. Should they become Vegan? Should they continue as Vegan? Should they shift to Vegetarian? Should they switch back to meat and become Paleo?
THE HISTORY OF CHEF MARIAN
I started as a healthy Chef after traveling the world and developing my palate, taking training from Michelin Star Chefs or their staff. While I was able to learns the ways of eating everything, I found myself not interested in learning how to cook a steak properly or even eat a steak.
And years priorI did things like serving Lobster and Filet Mignon to a dozen friends one New Year’s Eve. I probably did cook it… but I have no memory of it. As time went on, I felt myself becoming bored with chicken and repulsed by the radioactive spill from Japan that poisoned all our fish. Information like “Shrimp and Lobster are Bottom dwellers” letting me know those aren’t the healthiest thing to be eating, shaped my thoughts about eating fish, chicken and meat.
What about the Paleo Diet? An article presented by National Public Radio quoting US News says what many of us think:
“Many nutrition scientists give the paleo-diet a thumbs-down. They worry about its dearth of carbohydrates, its cost, its impracticality, and the fact that its boasts for good health are medically unproven.
Our ancestors began to eat meat in large quantities around 2 million years ago, when the first Homo forms began regular use of stone tool technology. Before that, the diet of australopithecines and their relatives was overwhelmingly plant-based, judging from clues in teeth and bones. I could argue that the more genuine “paleo” diet was vegetarian”.
So, Paleo wasn’t going to work for me.
More than a couple of years ago my daughter got married. Prior to that I saw the movie Forks Over Knives and also watched and listened to a Summit online, that introduced all the key players in the Vegan world. I actually had the flu for 3 days, and watched that program 3 days straight. At my daughters wedding the thought occurred to me: “I want to be around to see my grandkids get married”.
So I went Vegan or Plant Based. Again, that was years ago. My cholesterol dropped significantly and I did go down a dress size. I became more mindful in my eating and enjoyed creating new recipes. It seemed easier to be Vegan. And at times, boring… eating the same thing 3 days in a row, just for time and safety sake. Now they say after 21 days, you’ve created a new habit. And one of the things I noticed is that habit was eating more sugar, more pasta, more bread.
Later, when I realized that every recipe had rice or pasta I realized that in order to slim down I needed to portion control the pasta and rice. Way less satisfying but of course healthier because my body had less rice and pasta to convert into sugar.
From the beginning I knew it completely went against my grain to be part of the militant vegan groups that claim you are not vegan if you eat honey, eat French Fries from a fryer that may have fried chicken or eat anything made in a plant that processed milk. It’s WAY TOO specific and has nothing to do with saving the lives of animals or lessening the demand for meat. It’s just politically correct in their world. And I just wasn’t going along with their program.
I dropped the close association, to be able to hear my own voice again, loud and clear. My goal was to get healthier. If that means eating plant based most of the time and occasionally satisfying cravings in small portions, then that’s what will work for me. I tell you all this because as a Chef I am wanting you to know that we all have the same questions, the same problems, the same ups and downs. You are not alone.
And I feel pressured by peers, pressured groups, pressured by my own concerns about being as healthy as possible. I am aware that our bodies do not process what we call milk and cheese in America. So I don’t drink milk, use cream or eat cheese in general. But there are times I will flavor a dish with parmesan cheese or use vegan cheese, by boosting the flavor in that way, in very small amounts. I still prefer Hemp, Cashew and Almond milk. So I now say I am 90% Plant Based. I’m cutting out sugar and anything that quickly reduces to sugar like bread, sugar, white rice or anything packaged. We’ll have to see how it goes! lol
Healthy Happy Eating,
