Lately, I've been thinking about reducing meat consumption in my diet. I was never a big beef fan, although growing up, I didn't mind if my mom cooked chicken for dinner every night! As for pork, I don't mind it either but still preferring it over beef. In terms of seafood, I LOVE it! Will I be able to give up chicken and seafood?

Anyway, I have suggested to my mom that we could try having a vegetarian day once a week. Surprisingly, my mom agreed (although she seems to have forgotten about that already, as she's cooked meat every night!). However, even though I also love vegetables and fruits, this conversion to a vegetarian diet might be much more difficult than simply not eating meat-- or, at least for as long as I'm still living at home with my parents. My mom is the main cook in our house and almost always cooks Chinese food, including the all-important healthful soups. Chinese soups are not only consumed for sustanance but they're also used for healthful, even medicinal, purposes. I love these soups but the problem is, these soups almost always require meat and meat bones to give flavour and to balance out the medicinal properties of the particular soup. My mom places great importance on these soups and is very diligent in cooking them. I can't simply not have these soups-- not only would it be a great insult to my mom but she not approve of such an "unhealthy" habit.

So why this sudden interest in adapting a vegetarian-based diet? Well, there are actually a few reasons. The first is because of a social conscience. With all this awareness about global warming and going "green", having a vegetable-based diet fits into this effort of being environmentally-friendly. According to veg.ca, "We can also play a powerful role for positive change by adjusting what we eat. Global climate change is directly related to agriculture through the loss of wilderness to farmland, methane released from animals, and energy-intensive fertilizers, pesticides, food processing and transportation."

The second and third reasons are interrelated: health and vanity. :) Animal meat, no matter how lean, will always contain fat. I don't want my arteries to be clogged with fat nor do I want to gain anymore unwanted weight. In addition, I'm prone to bloatedness and my digestion hasw always been a bit problematic ever since I was a child. By eating lots of vegetables, the high fibre content will help my digestion, as well as upping my metabolism. A great side effect of this is weight loss (this the vain reason for becoming vegetarian!).

However, that being said, I think it will take some time for me to completely convert to vegetarianism. So far, I'm trying to have at least one vegetarian meal a day (other than breakfast, which is almost always meat-less). So, if I have any meat for lunch, then at dinner, I will try to have no meat, and vice versa. However, I must admit, I had meat for both lunch and dinner today (I skipped the spare ribs and opted for the bok choy and fish only at dinner). I also don't think I can ever become vegan-- I love dairy products and eggs too much!

Anyway, I will continue this goal of part-vegetarian diet and see what happens-- summer is here, which means the season of the barbeque! How am I going to ever give up BBQ wings and other grilled meats??