Getting Vegucated: My Week as a Vegetarian

Since I started school here at MNSU, I have found myself surrounded by inspiring people that are so passionate about the world around them and act to make a change about the issues we see every day. For the past four years, I have learned about myself and discovered my identity as a feminist, a social justice warrior, and an animal lover… but recently I have become more aware of the cruelty of animals that takes place in the process of providing meat for sale. I’ve been on the fence about making the transition to vegetarianism for a long time… My good friend Catherine opened my eyes to vegetarianism for the first time when I was 18 years old, but she lived in Louisiana and then went to school in London, so her influence lost a lot of its hold when I didn’t see her as much. Which is how I convinced myself that giving up meat isn’t for everyone – that I loved bacon way too much to give up my carnivorous lifestyle. I also hid behind the fact that I was anemic (iron deficient) and that becoming a vegetarian would be bad for my health.

Then I met my best friend Leah Rost, a long term vegetarian, and when we would hang out and I would order food with meats on meats and somehow she still showed little desire for my meals. This past semester, some good friends of mine resurrected the animal rights group on campus, Protecting Animal Rights Committee, and I was immediately interested. At first I felt awkward being the only non vegetarian/vegan in the group, but no one thought less of me for it. They were just happy I was open to hearing more about the lifestyle, and I was quickly voted onto the executive board as the Public Relations Director. The more I got involved and did my research, the clearer it became to me that this was a way of life that I wanted to claim for myself. Not because they “brainwashed” or “pressured” me into it; but because I saw that if you cared enough to make a change that it was possible to do so… no matter how much you appreciate a good burger.  

After I decided I was going to make the transition, I found myself internally battling when I would start. “Well I’m having dinner with this person on this day… and we always go to that really good wing place… so I should start after that… but then so and so’s birthday is coming up and we’re going to that place with the really good burgers…” You see where I’m going with this? So that was ultimately what led me to writing this article, because I didn’t trust myself to make this change without a deadline. I was determined to stay dedicated to my vegetarianism, but I knew that it would be a challenge with my busy schedule to prepare every meal. Some days I had the time to cook a whole meal, but there were other days when I depended on the help of the local food options here in Mankato. Here are just some of the meals that helped me make it through the week:

Made at Home:

• Protein Shake

• Greek yogurt

• Kale & Spinach Salad

• Porcini Mushroom Tortellini  

• Brown Rice and Couscous

• Tomato and Basil Soup

• Greek Salad Wrap

• Asparagus Pomodori with sundried tomato (Ready to Bake from Sam’s Club)

Eating Out:

• Pita Pit: Spicy Black Bean and Falafel pitas are my go to.

• Noodles & Company: You can eat any of the pastas, just substitute the meat for tofu!

• China Star: Sesame Tofu and Orange Tofu. SO GOOD.

• Tokyo: Vegetable Rolls

• Chipotle: SOFRITAS.

Just because there are so many alternatives to eating meat doesn’t make it exactly easy. I struggled watching my friends order Spicy Tuna and Yellowtail at Tokyo, and while tofu can be delicious when cooked properly… it’s definitely not the same as some thai chili flavored chicken wings. Luckily, I made sure not to just make vegetarian meals a part of my diet but I also made sure to watch several documentaries along the way. It was definitely a factor in my ability to keep with it while I got used to my new diet. It reminded me that I wasn’t making this change because it would my life more comfortable, but that I was making a sacrifice that I found worth making.

After a week of being a vegetarian, I decided to make the transition permanent. I loved the way the plant based diet made me feel, the energy I had, and after I had learned about the cruelty behind raising animals for meat… let’s just say I couldn’t look at a burger the same way. Normally, I think making this transition would be extremely difficult; but I’m fortunate enough to have friends showing me the ropes and PARC to give me support through recipes and the relief of hearing their own transition stories. I’m excited to continue this journey to becoming a committed vegetarian.

~Elise Pawlak

p.s. If you’re interested in learning more about supporting animal rights or a plant based diet, don’t hesitate to email us at parcmnsu@gmail.com for more information.

p.p.s Now that you’ve heard from a newbie veggie, maybe you want to hear from someone that has been a vegetarian for most of her life? My friend Leah has taken the time to also share her experience. Make sure to keep scrolling down and check it out!

A Letter from the Long Term Vegetarian

I remember being a small child, rejecting meat and feeling very uncomfortable eating animals. Being a child, I didn’t have much of a choice in my diet. I avoided most meat and cheese but naturally, it remained a part of my diet. When I was 14 I started to eliminate certain foods, I was a pescatarian but I wasn’t a true vegetarian yet. I’d been doing lots of research and finding videos of slaughterhouses on the internet that made me feel much more strongly about committing to vegetarianism. By the time I was 16 I had the ability to stop eating meat completely. My Mom was very supportive. She had been a vegetarian from the age of 15 until she became pregnant with me at the age of 30. My Mom provided me with different options and always kept fresh fruits and vegetables in the home. I was very strict about my vegetarian diet. Unfortunately, I had been using vegetarianism as a guise. I was underweight and diagnosed with Anorexia shortly after my 20th birthday. While I was in treatment for Anorexia I was paired with a wonderful dietician who asked me to organize my food into “safe food” and “fear food”. I was obsessed with no fat, no cal, no sugar, ‘diet’/‘safe’ food. She challenged me to try my fear foods. I was resistant. For the next year I reintroduced foods that I had forbidden myself from eating. I enjoyed pepperoni, orange chicken and chicken wings for a few months. When my weight finally stabilized I made the decision to eliminate meat from my diet once again. Using the knowledge I gained from working with my dietician, I finally knew how to eat a vegetarian diet properly and how to maintain dietary balance in a healthy way.

Today, I am 23. I eat a diverse, colorful and nutritious diet. I am at a healthy weight. I no longer fear food for irrational reasons. I am able to live fully and enjoy meals without reservations. I now eat a vegetarian diet for primarily environmental reasons but for health reasons as well. I strongly believe in plant based diets but I’m not opposed to a big, greasy piece of veggie pizza once in awhile! My relationship to food is very different from most people’s and I will readily acknowledge that fact. Fear of food drove me to sickness and understanding food has brought me back to health. I am reluctant to share this story but always will when I know that my story could help someone else.

I always promote vegetarianism to people because I believe in it for ethical reasons and for health reasons. When Elise first told me that she was interested in transitioning to a vegetarian diet I told her that I would absolutely help and support her in any way that I could. She talked about it but wasn’t until she decided to write an article about her experience that she was really ready to commit. We made a trip to SAM’s Club to stock up on delicious plant based foods. Earlier today I asked her if she was going to continue and she enthusiastically replied, yes! I have several friends who are all over the map in diet, from meat eater to vegetarianism or veganism. All of us have found what works the best for our lives. I don’t like to tell people what to do or how to eat but I am always here to engage in dialogue about food politics because food is central in all of our lives.

~Leah Rost

• plant based diet
• vegetarian