The 40-Day Vegetarian

I don't consider myself a practicing Catholic anymore. Religion just doesn't fit into my life, at least not right now. I do work for a Catholic school (where being Catholic or even Christian is not a requirement of course, that would be illegal), and I enjoy some of the traditions. Lent being one of them.

I have given up something for Lent for as long as I can remember. I'll never forget the year I gave up candy, sweets, chocolate, and ice cream. I was tiny back then, yet I still lost about 10lbs, which was actually disgusting to think about - losing 10lbs in only 40 days from cutting out sweets? Someone has a sweet tooth. Anyway, that was probably the hardest Lent give-up I've ever done. This year is likely to be harder.

I have decided to give up meat and poultry for Lent. I would never become a vegetarian for good. In fact, I don't think there's any one food group I would ever give up. I believe in everything in moderation. However, I'm trying really hard with food and exercise and not seeing the results I had hoped for yet, so I decided to give this a go.

So starting tomorrow - Wednesday, February 13 - I am abstaining from meat and poultry (beef, pork, and chicken are the only types of meat I eat). I am still going to eat seafood (fish and shellfish), but obviously that will get old if I eat too much of it, so I bought tons of beans, lentils, tofu, nuts, and vegetables over the weekend. Now I need recipes! Please share.

Note: If you're wondering why I am still eating seafood, the reasons are simple. First, I've giving up meat for Lent. For Catholics, who abstain from meat on Fridays during Lent, meat is defined as land animals only. Also, I am not confident enough in my cooking abilities yet to rely solely on legumes and tofu for protein - I feel like I would cave in and eat a cheeseburger if I couldn't have fish. Besides, the fish I eat is very healthy and rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

I had fasting lab work yesterday for my annual physical on Friday. I peed in a cup and had a few vials of blood taken, so I'm sure she'll be looking at my lipids (cholesterol & triglycerides), blood sugar, CBC, thyroid (duh, we know those numbers already), etc. Hopefully my cholesterol is good, but it skyrocketed after I started taking a beta blocker for my rapid heart rate caused by Graves'. I haven't had it checked in two years, so I'm anxious about the results. My diet for the last two months has been quite good, so hopefully that's offsetting the medication's effects. And hopefully I can start weaning off the medication as my exercise intensity increases and my resting heart rate drops.