I'm a Vegetarian: Day 3

By Abaries Farhad

Created:
01/21/09 8:47am

Last updated:
01/21/09 8:50am

2 comments

Just to keep everyone updated, my food diary entries for today include:

Banana
Peach yogurt with peach pieces
Milk
Toast
Peanut butter and Jelly sandwich
Fettuccine alfredo
Edamame lo mein with carrots and red peppers
Brown rice
Veggie patty on a bun
Rice Dream vanilla rice milk
Spinach mushroom pesto calzone
Passion orange guava juice

Today I discovered the gem of on-campus vegetarian dining: Shaw Hall’s Captain Pea Pod’s Veggie-torium. Odd name, but great food. Captain Pea Pod’s offers a variety of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free culinary delights. There are even cook-to-order options such as vegetarian stir fry. While I first stumbled upon the existence of this Shaw Hall dining option halfway through last semester, I never thought to try the food it offered. I’m glad I did today. If you want to check out the times when Captain Pea Pod’s is open and get a sneak peek of this week’s menu, go to http://www.hfs.msu.edu/uh/campus/dining/shaw/ .

Today I ate food I had never tried before. I loaded my tray with edamame lo mein, brown rice, a veggie burger and rice milk, and was amazed by how good everything tasted and how full I felt after eating it all. I cheated on my best food friend, white rice, with its exotic cousin, brown rice. I even tried rice milk for the first time and loved it. Today was a day of firsts for me.

Being partially of Middle Eastern descent, I have grown up eating white rice on a daily basis. While I’ve eaten brown rice before and enjoyed it, I should add a disclaimer: Brown rice shouldn’t be considered a substitute for white rice in terms of taste. Brown rice tastes distinctly nuttier, richer and earthier compared to its pale counterpart. Brown rice is not a requirement for a vegetarian diet, but if you’d like to try it for its higher nutrient content (in comparison to white rice), some recipes can be found at www.vegweb.com.

I was also skeptical of rice milk, a drink made from, you guessed it, rice. Yet I discovered rice milk is not only delicious, but it’s enriched with vitamins A, D, B12 and calcium with the bonus of being vegan-friendly (dairy-free), gluten-free (for those with gluten allergies) and lactose-free. When eating a plant-based diet, it’s essential to take in as many nutrients as possible form varied sources, and rice milk can be one of those sources.

The moral of today’s blog is that there are hidden vegetarian treasures on campus that take persistence and a dose of curiosity to find. Don’t be afraid to ask the food service personnel; they’re happy to help you. I would never have found Captain Pea Pod’s without asking. In my opinion, every dining hall on campus should have a separate vegetarian-friendly dining option like Shaw Hall, but until that happens, it’s up to you to find the prize.

Commentary

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Amanda

(01/21/09 1:24pm)
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Hi Abaries,

I want to congratulate you on trying a vegetarian diet.
Vegetarian diets have been demonstrated to reduce the risk
of many diseases including heart disease, diabetes, cancer,
etc. You are young so you may not be concerned with these
diseases now but when we get into our 40s, 50s, and 60s,
these diseases become more common.

People go vegetarian for various reasons, some do it for animal rights and some do it for health. I’m a dietitian that places
patients on healthy plant diets to help them with their diseases.
I wanted to say that foods like fettucine alfredo and pizza
are not healthy in the least bit. Both foods are high in saturated
fat which increases cholesterol in the body and raises heart
disease risk.

Most people are unaware of this but cheese and dairy are the
largest sources of saturated fat in the diets of Americans.
Try to focus on good fats such as avocado, nuts, olive oil,
etc. Also, focus on whole grain foods such as whole wheat
pasta or whole wheat bread.

Amanda

(01/21/09 1:32pm)
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Abaries,

Also wanted to mention that your explanation of complex and simple proteins was not correct. Not sure where you got the this idea but perhaps you are confusing complex and simple carbohydrates.

You probably meant to say complete and incomplete protein. Vegetable proteins are limited in one or more amino acids but this is not really an issue because people combine plant foods. One need not combine the foods in the same meal though although in 1970s, the scientific community thought we had to. As long as you are eating a varied diet during the week, you will get all the essential amino acids.

I found it surprising that you were not full while consuming cheesy calzones, pizza, and the most fattening food on the planet, fettucine alfredo. Also, some of the healthy foods you consumed such as peanut butter and jelly are very filling. Its probably psychological for you since you have spent your whole life eating meat.

Most people think it is weird and not a real meal when I eat hummus, whole wheat pita and tomato slices for lunch…but this meal is around 800 calories and delicious :)

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