Ray A wrote:
I've flirted with vegetarianism. Not vegan, that's too strict. But I find it nearly impossible to avoid the occasional juicy hamburger with onions, lettuce, beetroot (Aussie style), tomato and "ketchup", which we call tomato sauce. But I do prefer sweet chilli sauce, or even hot chilli sauce.
I've been trying to eat a vegetarian diet for many years now but kept falling off the wagon.
After teaching a Word of Wisdom lesson around 8? years ago, I had felt inspired to change my diet, and really tried to cut down on how much meat I bought. But this website bringing attention to
factory farming was the real impetus for my conversion and renewed commitment. My daughter who is an animal lover, has been a very strict vegetarian since around age 3, flirting with Veganism. She won't eat anything with eyes.
I hadn't eaten hamburger in well over a year and had one at a family get together. (I usually will eat meat if I'm a guest at someone's home-don't want to waste the animal's sacrifice or offend the host- but won't buy it)
Because it had been so long since I had eaten it, I felt very sick after.
I could actually taste in the burger that awful smell of those cow concentration camps I've driven by in California. It was making me gag with each bite and I couldn't finish it. I was one of those who used to crave "In n out Burger" and a McDonald's cheeseburger, so that's a pretty dramatic change.
When I go out to eat now, I will have them substitute the hamburger with grilled veggie meat, and I hardly notice the difference. The trick is to load it up with all your favorite sides and sauces that you normally would use. My favorite homemade one is teryaki veggie burger with mushrooms, grilled red onion, microgreens, and swiss cheese. I prefer the Bocca burger patties. Another good one is the Whiskey burger from Red Robin. (fried onion straws all the toppings and a spicy sweet barbecue sauce)
I'm still working on eliminating chicken, some seafood, and the holiday turkey from my diet, but have significantly cut down my meat consumption. I can actually say I eat meat "sparingly" in the temple recommend interview now.