Go Veg For 30 Days

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Katie MolinaroPosted January 2, 2009 | 10:10 AM Vegan Living: New Year's

Resolution - Go Veg For 30 Days

 

Read More: New Year's Resolution, New Year's Resolutions, Peta, Vegan, Vegan

Living, Vegetarian, Vegetarian Resource Group, Vegetarianism, Living News

 

I've rarely kept a New Year's resolution. The closest I got was when I pledged

to stop biting my fingernails, and I still nibble from time to time. It's

overwhelming to think of sticking with something for 365 days. Habits are easier

to form with small steps each day, which is why this year I'm making new month's

resolutions. Right now I'm focusing on getting back to the gym on a regular

schedule for the month of January. Once January is over, I'll aim to continue

the schedule for February and for now that's as far ahead as I'm thinking.

 

It's difficult to change any habit or behavior for an entire year, and it's even

more difficult to change a lifetime habit - like eating meat. But one of the

best New Year's resolutions you can make for your health, the planet and for

animals is to stop eating meat.

 

The easiest way to become a vegetarian is to stop eating meat cold Tofurky, but

don't get discouraged if it takes a few tries. I had a couple of false starts

when I became a vegetarian. The morning after I decided to try vegetarianism, I

ate bacon for breakfast. A few days after getting back on my vegetarian plan, I

ate chicken ramen. But I had promised myself I was going to stop eating meat,

and I stuck with it until I went one week without meat, which turned into two

weeks, then a month and then years.

 

Start by challenging yourself to go meatless for two weeks. The criteria is

pretty simple: eat what you like but don't eat meat. This is not to say you

should subsist on grilled cheese sandwiches and Oreos alone. Your body requires

more care than that, so incorporate into your daily meals beans, whole grains

and even those intimidating but super healthy vegetables like spinach, kale and

collard greens. The months after the holidays can be a letdown - there are no

more parties or presents or gingerbread cookies - so make things interesting by

experimenting with foods you always overlooked at the grocery store. Try meat

substitutes like seitan and tofu. Treat yourself to a vegetarian cookbook. Look

through your favorite recipes and figure out how to make them vegetarian. Eat at

that vegetarian restaurant next to your office. Buy a spaghetti squash and

figure out how to cook it. (That's actually a goal on my 2009 list.)

 

It's easy to fall back into what you're used to, especially when you get home

from work or school and you just want to eat something. Map out each week's menu

ahead of time. What are you going to have for dinner on Tuesday night? What

ingredients do you need to buy? Do you have a green vegetable included in each

of your meals? (that's my mom talking) It also helps to make food on Sunday - a

big pot of minestrone or a few servings of rice and beans, for example - that

you can take for lunch or eat for dinner one night if you get home late.

 

The two weeks will fly by, so challenge yourself to go another two weeks without

meat. It will only get easier the longer you do it. PeTA also has a petition you

can sign, pledging to go vegetarian for 30 days. They will send you tips and

resources to help you go veg and will also donate money to the Fruit Tree

Planting Foundation, which helps hungry people around the world. You can also

find vegetarian recipes, nutrition information, restaurant guides and links to

more veg sites at the Vegetarian Resource Group.

 

Take each day meal by meal. Soon you'll have more energy and a better awareness

of what's going into your body. Before you know it, 365 days will have passed

and it will be time to make a new resolution. Like not biting your fingernails.

 

 

 

 

 

 

" Will we ever get to the point that we realize that we will be more secure when

the rest of the world isn't living in poverty just so we can have nice running

shoes? "