In June 2009 I made a decision to "try" being Vegetarian. SURPRISE! I have several friends who are Vegetarian and I got interested decided to try it out. As my friends found out that I was not eating meat anymore, they asked various questions. They asked "Are you fasting meat?" "Did your doctor recommend you stop eating meat?" "Is this forever?" And the best one was: "I hope this is not all because of a man o!" No, No, Maybe and Noooooo.
After people got over the initial shock of finding out that I am now Vegetarian, they wanted to know what type. Even I did not know the classification I fell into. More research. I eat eggs and dairy products (cheese and yogurt mostly) and that makes me "Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian". You can read more about Vegetarianism here. The things I eat have not really changed. I have added some new things to my diet like chick-peas, lentils, quinoa, couscous (like the picture below on the left), squash, almond nuts and lots and lots of mushrooms. Mushrooms are basically the "meat" of the vegetable family.
I have noticed that I am not bloated anymore, I don't get headaches as much, I pay closer attention to what I eat and what nutritional value each ingredient provides. My grocery budget is pretty much the same as it was when I was eating meat. I have not seen any tremendous change in my hair. I still use the same hair products and hair routines. It feels the same and looks the same to me. A few friends have said my hair has grown much longer in a short period - but I am not sure.
There are 2 nutrients I have to ensure I am getting enough of and they are calcium and iron. I have increased my intake of broccoli,
cheese and yogurt for calcium. I take more egg noodles, spinach and chick peas for iron. Some Vegetarians take iron and calcium supplements to boost their intake.
So far, this has been interesting with a lot of learning for me. Like anything new, you have to go through a learning curve. I look at it as learning a new skill and do a lot of reading so that I get as much information as I can. You have to also be observant to how your body responds to these changes. If your body is responding negatively, stop what you are doing and re-assess. The same applies to your natural hair and life in general. You have to pay attention to what is going on in your body and life.
I was at an event and the stewed meat smelled and looked delicious so I tried some. BIG MISTAKE! I spent the next day bloated and in the bathroom. So I may be off meat for a looooong time. It is a good idea to involve your doctor if you plan to try vegetarianism. You want to be sure you are not putting yourself at risk.
Happy eating and living!
Omozo
3 comments:
arrrgghh woman, if you have been off meat you just cant EAT it whenever you have the urge to or smell it as your body doesnt know what to do with it, you mess up the enzymes in your gut because you have not eaten meat in a while, the enzymes that break up the meat forget what to do (in lay man terms :) ) and your body is not used to breaking down a lot of sulphur and heavy proteins as it used to do when you gave it beef or meaty products hence the "bloatedness" and maybe just maybe cramping and diarrhea.
If you want to eat meat you have to start in very small doses very very very very tiny doses even a tiny bit of meat may get you in trouble so yeah talk to your doc if you want to start eating beef and beef products again
Pele boo :)
Hi,
great blog, thank you much.
I know this is a very old blog, but I just want to find out where you get quinoa in Lagos? and also brocoli? I am new to Lagos. Also, I attended the NN meet up on saturday, you mentioned someone that sells Jojoba oil. can you give me directions? guide on how to get to the market?
@Sahara: I have not eaten brocoli or quinoa since I moved back to Lagos in Dec. 2010. However, I eat more of the local vegetables like spinach, Ugu, garden egg and these can be purchased in the local markets. Also you can check Park & Shop and any SPAR outlet as they have a good selection of different vegetables. And your local chinese or indian store may have some of the vegetables you are looking for. Let me know how it goes please. Thanks for commenting!
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