Questioning or Former Veg*n Support/Chat

[craft_media_hero]

This thread is a place for former veg*ns or veg*ns who are considering moving toward a diet that includes more animal products and also for others with constructive feedback to post.

Please stay positive and supportive on this thread! We are creating a space to discuss our thoughts/feelings/experiences. This thread is a spin-off from http://www.mothering.com/community/forum/thread/1297581/help-a-veg-girl-cross-over#post_16267182

Any chat/discussion relevant to the thread title is welcome.

Let the chat begin!

[craft_media_hero]

Well, I'm Jes, 28 yr old mama to two: ds 6mo and dd 7yr. Ds is just now starting to really dig food but is almost exclusively breastfed still. Dd has been vegetarian along with me since she was about 18mo. We started out vegan for a couple of years, then became lacto/ovo when dh came into our home, maybe three years of that. This last year or so, I've been sushitarian :P (every great once in a while I'd have sushi or occasional salmon). I was primarily vegetarian for my last pregnancy. Dh was never veg but went along with mostly veg at home and I do believe his health has benefitted primarily because we have been on a whole foods diet.

Recently (just this month) I started massively craving meat, totally different from any prior meat cravings, even when pregnant (I might crave a burger then, but I would just eat iron/protein foods, and it would go away). This was unstoppable! Combined with some health issues that I was having and feeling just basically disgusted at my beloved grain/legume foods, I decided that my body was telling me it was time.

I'm looking forward to talking to some other mommas here about experiences that may be specific to us becoming accustomed to animal-based foods again. 

[bodhitree]

Hi Jes! Thanks for starting this thread. I'm Kristin. I'm almost 33 and have a DD who will be 2yo in April. I've been vegetarian for fifteen years, mostly vegan for much of that time. I did start eating more dairy when we were TTC and ate quite a bit during DD's first 18 months, but I never really ate eggs unless they were hidden in something else (like baked goods) that someone else had made. When DD was 18mo, I figured out she had issues with dairy, so we cut that out, and have since cut out gluten, soy, chocolate, and oranges as well in an effort to get all of her problem foods out of our diet (she is still nursing, so her food restrictions also apply to me).

After cutting out all of these foods, I started really thinking about why I eat what I eat, for the first time in a very long time. I had known for a while that I wasn't fitting in very well with my veg friends. They all seem to believe that the way to health for everyone is to eat a high carb, very low fat diet, and that being vegan is the ideal goal for everyone. And if you can eat raw, so much the better! Well, I have learned through experience that I feel like crap on a low fat diet, and when I'm not eating enough fat and protein, I crave sugar. And I don't think it's wrong to use animals for food, as long as it's done in a respectful, humane, grateful manner. For sure I am more of a Michael Pollan fan than an Ingrid Newkirk fan. And I also think that hunting is a positive thing--my dad's a hunter, so I've learned a lot about that from him. So yeah, I haven't really been feeling at home in the veg camp for a while now.

I started reaching my breaking point when we tried avoiding corn and peanut for a couple of weeks. Suddenly I was craving meat, which was the weirdest feeling ever. In the past, if I wanted something vaguely meaty, I would go get veggie Italian sausage or something, but of course all of that stuff is made with gluten and soy, so I can't have it now. I don't know that I'm ready to sit down and eat a piece of meat yet, although I have the feeling that day is coming. For now I compromised by going out and buying eggs (pastured and organic, so I feel okay about it) for the first time in at least 15 years. The eggs are helping with the meat cravings, but I still think DD and I need more variety in our diets. Using beans as my sole major source of protein will not cut it anymore.

So that's my story. I'm not quite sure where I'm headed from here, especially since DH has no interest in changing his diet, so that will complicate things like cooking family meals if/when DD and I eat meat. Sigh. I'll figure it out, right?

[askew]

I have been vegetarian for 20 years and was vegan for about 10. Then I started getting more in the idea of traditional foods and added back raw dairy and local eggs. I have a goat farm two doors down, a woman with chickens a block down, and an organic cow dairy at the end of my road. So it came easy. I feed my kids eggs daily. We make kefir and yogurt with the dairy we buy. We also backed away from flour products for a while, but I like to bake. So now I am looking into baking with sprouted grains. 

[simplyc]

I'm so glad I'm not the only one!

Me and Dh have been vegetarian for over 5 years, I don't even remember cooking meat, and Dh never cooked any "raw" meat (just frozen prepared chicken tenders or other yucky stuff).  We became vegan over 2 years ago but mainly because we didn't agree with factory farming.  Since we've matured and been considering having our own farm, we've seen how animals CAN be raised and eaten humanely and I've started to feel animal products are an important component to our diet.

Over a year ago when I was using vegan margarine I asked myself why use fake stuff with a long ingredient label over just butter?!  We decided to start adding some dairy back and I love milk and cheese more now than I ever did before!  Dh also became extremley thin while vegan and finally put on some much needed weight once he regularily ate eggs and dairy.

I've been researching a lot about traditional diets and incorporating lots of fermented foods, soaking our grains and beans, making sourdough...but it's so heavy on meat!  Since eating dairy and loving it I am craving meat MORE than ever before and am really just curious to try it again ( I was an extremley picky eater before going vegan and really want to experiment more!) but Dh doesn't seem to have the desire.

I feel really guilty about eating meat though We are on a very strict budget and the thought of buying even one local organic pasture fed chicken would set us back a lot, I don't even know if we could afford it....but I have no desire to eat meat that was factory farmed, I'd rather stay veggie!  Plus I wouldn't want to waste the meat if we tried it and didn't like eating meat again.

I'm really more and more drawn towards meat...but I can't buy anything cheap, I don't think my consious would let me, and Dh agrees he wouldn't touch it. 

For those of you that have eaten meat, what was the first thing you ate?  I'm afraid I might gag when I try it again after so long!

Maybe I'll start with bone broth or a small amount of bacon....gotta check out trader joe's and see what they have...

[Keeta]

Hi everyone!  I'm Chessa, 32, mama to 2 boys (4 1/2 and 1 year).  I've been mostly vegetarian with stints of veganism for over 12 years - EXCEPT for 7-8 months during DS1's pregnancy.  I totally fell off the wagon then and was eating meat - the cravings were out of control and I just went with it with no regrets.  When he w as 5 months old I went back to vegetarian.  I strongly craved meat during DS2's pregnancy but abstained, because I didn't know how I could eat meat and not let DS1 (who is a very curious and adventurous eater) try it (DH wasn't on board then).  Fast forward to a few months ago - my DH has been having digestive issues and food-related weirdness for over a year and a half (really weird stuff - he'll eat something, it'll make him either a) pee every ten minutes - and I'm not talking a few drops, I'm talking a bladder-full of urine! b)have a scratchy throat and a "buzzy" feeling c)bad headache d) all of the above.)  And the list of offending foods is long and random and hateful (peaches, bananas, citrus, apples, strawberries, wheat [except when eaten with a lot of cheese?! ie fettucine alfredo or sometimes pizza], soy, chili peppers, quinoa, and he's always been allergic to caramel color, caffeine and chocolate).  Since I do all the cooking, I just got seriously fed up with the list of no-nos and told him that I was adding meat back to my diet because I refuse to live on beans and rice.  Sorry.  (I'd have a little more patience if he'd take himself to the dang doctor to investigate the situation).  Anyway!  Dairy really seems to help him out (he sleeps better if he has ice cream before bed - sounds good to me!) 

Introducing meat to the 4 year old was a trip - he was both repulsed and terribly excited about it.  I made boneless skinless chicken breast the first time - very easy to transition on.  Now we roast a chicken every week or two.  I LOVE it.  Like psychotically moan with pleasure while eating it.  I have no issues at all.  We buy only organic meat and dairy and eggs.  I try to throw some money to the local producers when we can, but I'm not going to lie - it's just not in the budget that often.  Local (whole) organic chicken is $4.99/lb at the cheapest at the farmer's market!  I can get it for $1.99/lb organic at the local co-op. 

I totally feel the same way, SimplyC, about the butter thing!  We were buying Earth Balance long after we had added other dairy back into our diet.  One day I was like, "Why are we doing this?"  We started buying butter.  I've never been one to really worry too much about soy, but when the baby started eating solids I found myself really avoiding giving it to him.  One day I recognized what I was doing and really questioned myself about it.  I realized that I had no issues giving him animal products (yogurt, eggs, meat) - they're so, well, whole.  No ingredient list for the most part.  So that was another step back toward adding meat to our diet.

It's funny, my DH and both kids are not huge meat fans.  DS1 says he is, but he doesn't inhale the meat or anything.  Me?  It's kind of like I was making up for lost time.  Part of it is that since I'm still nursing the baby (who is 28 freaking pounds at a year) I'm ALWAYS HUNGRY.  And I know it's cliche, but the things that I crave and that are the most satiating are meat and dairy.  Nuts are good, too.  But it's really meat and dairy I want.  And I've just decided that I'm going to listen to my body and respect it.  If I suddenly feel bad, I'll change.  But so far, so good.

I love to cook, and honestly, it's been fun learning how to cook all over again.  DH still refuses to do red meat, so we've stuck with chicken and pork (only done pork once - but I have a tenderloin in the fridge...wish me luck!)  We still eat vegetarian at least 3-4 times a week (for dinner; lunch is leftovers usually or PBJ). 

So glad I'm not the only one!

[bodhitree]

Simplyc, are you, like, my doppelganger or something? I so identify with everything you wrote. We are also on a very limited budget, and I *will not* eat factory farmed or otherwise unethically produced animal products. I've been checking out what options I have locally, and of course they're all expensive. I too am interested in eventually having some animals, maybe just chickens. I think I decided that if we eat eggs happily for a year, then we'll look into getting some backyard chickens.

And I'm also thinking about what meat I would start with. Bacon does sound good, especially alongside the scrambled eggs I just learned how to make. IIRC the last meat I ate, in my freshman year of college lo these many years ago, was pepperoni. Is there such a thing as ethically produced pepperoni? Of course since I can't have dairy right now due to DD's allergies, pepperoni wouldn't be as much fun.

[craft_media_hero]

There's so much I relate to with all of you that I can't even repeat it.

I won't eat factory farm meat either, no way. I'd rather eat beans and rice, too. Luckily I live in an agricultural community, and right now I'm researching the most economical way to purchase local-est and organic-est meat we can afford.

Last year we did a fruit/veggie CSA, and it set us back quite a bit coz we had to pay upfront, but the price per week was like $30 for a ridiculous amount of groceries. Seems to me the best way would be to approach meat similarly, hit up local farms and talk to them about a bulk deal, ie buy so many whole chickens and get a discount per pound. So I have been googling and looking on eatwild and localharvest to find farmers within a short drive from whom we could purchase ethical meat.

The first meat I ate post-veg was chicken, and a big part of why I bought the chicken is because I was massively craving bone broth---I really feel like my body needs it right now. The chicken meat was actually secondary to me for getting that broth, like it's medicinal at this point. Before we used it up, we were all having a hot cup of broth with a little salt and squeeze of lemon in the morning like coffee  I swear it was so energizing like I could feel my body absorbing the nutrition 

Dd was funny abt the whole thing; she was getting all grossed out by the idea, but my girl loves her some broth. When she smelled the broth cooking, that was a deal sealer. She was helping me take the meat off the bone in no time.

Btw, they do make "ethical pepperoni" ;) and salami and such. Let me find a link, they are a local company to me . . . well at least here is bison summer sausage, which is pretty similar right? http://www.elkusa.com/Rich's%20Bargain%20Barn.htm It's even on sale   

My big step was deciding in my mind that I was going to do this. I went to the hfs and kept repeating my meat mantra to myself "I'm going to buy a chicken; I'm going to buy a chicken"  and I circled around and got my produce and perused forever over what chicken to buy, but I did it! I want the process to be my own, so I'm initiating all the steps and not relying on dh (the meat eater) to buy, wash, cook, etc.

And honestly, learning to cook again is fun! I'm just totally open right now. I don't want to limit myself at all so I'm kind of forcing myself to spread out and try the stuff that maybe intellectually sounds bad to me personally (like bacon or lamb, tho I can see why those might be good "first meats" for other post-veges), and I'm going to seek them out and at least give it a chance, trying not to carry any of my former food preferences into this. So maybe that means game meat which always sounded yucky, maybe I'll even try organ meat (tho I can't wrap my mind around that right now).

If I could describe how I feel right now about accepting this change, it would be "RELIEF" I just feel this huge release and like a weight has lifted off of me, though at the same time I do feel like it's an identity change? just coz being veg really was a big part of my life.

Anyway, I'm really glad that you are all here. Thanks for showing up on this thread 

[Keeta]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero 
If I could describe how I feel right now about accepting this change, it would be "RELIEF" I just feel this huge release and like a weight has lifted off of me, though at the same time I do feel like it's an identity change? just coz being veg really was a big part of my life.

Anyway, I'm really glad that you are all here. Thanks for showing up on this thread 

I totally feel the same way!  Super big relief but also a weird identity crisis.  Being vegetarian for so long, it's understandable that it became such an integral part of my identity.  So it's weird to take a step back from that.  Doors closing, doors opening.  It's all good.
 

[simplyc]

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero 

If I could describe how I feel right now about accepting this change, it would be "RELIEF" I just feel this huge release and like a weight has lifted off of me, though at the same time I do feel like it's an identity change? just coz being veg really was a big part of my life.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keeta 

I totally feel the same way!  Super big relief but also a weird identity crisis.  Being vegetarian for so long, it's understandable that it became such an integral part of my identity.  So it's weird to take a step back from that.  Doors closing, doors opening.  It's all good.
 

YES!!  I feel like with this one decision I am changing a big part of who I was...my family is going to kill me for all the years I wouldn't even eat non vegan birthday cake

When I did eat meat I ate it very infrequently and usually only chicken, so I feel that would be the easiest to try.  I never consumed real bone broth and I find I'm craving it too!  

Definitely a turn for me in our vegetarianism was all the soy we were eating- probably 2-3 servings a day.  I've always strived for a whole food diet, and soy milk, tofu, and earth balance don't seem "whole foods" next to butter, whole milk, and organic chicken.

I turned veggie at 18 so I never purchased and cooked raw meat myself, I had no idea how expensive it would be after eating beans for so long!  I definitely want to purchase organic, but local seems out of my range - $25-30 for a chicken?  We usually spend under $200 a month on our groceries!  If and when we do start eating meat, it will be very infrequently!

[bodhitree]

I kind of know what you guys mean when you say you feel relief, but I'm not quite there yet myself. I'm still working on coming to terms with this enormous change, and I'm a bit worried about "coming out" to others. I expect to lose a few friends over it, which is sad, but these are the friends I haven't been fitting in with well anyway, I guess.

Here is a very interesting, very thoughtful blog post from a former vegan that I thought you all might be interested in. I'm also reading this book called the Vegetarian Myth, which I don't like quite as well (since the author pretty clearly hates humans) but is also thought-provoking.

Is it wrong that I'm hoping DH will be persuaded to join me in changing our diet? He is really inconsistent about which animal products he thinks are okay to eat and which aren't. Like, cheesy Cheetos are fine, eggs are disgusting. Milk and (normal, non junky) cheese are kind of gross, but gummy candy with animal gelatin is fine. It doesn't even make any sense.

I bought some Niman Ranch bacon this morning. I'm not sure how long it will take me to get up the courage to eat it. But the store smelled like bacon when we were doing the shopping, and my mouth was watering.

[Keeta]

Bodhitree, that VoraciousEats blog post is what started me thinking about the whole prospect of adding meat back to our diets.  Between reading about all her issues with her health (and other former vegans saying similar things) I started to wonder if DH's stomach issues could be helped with adding animal protein.  That was my initial entry point. 

The more I've read, the more convinced I am that you can be healthy or unhealthy whatever diet you choose.  You can be a junkfood vegan or an incredibly healthy traditional foods eating omnivore and everywhere in between.  So I guess I really just made peace with that notion.  And I also realized that meat consumption doesn't HAVE to necessarily be the bane of all environmentalism.  I can be both an ethical eater and an environmentalist.  Sure, it takes more effort.  What worthwhile thing doesn't?

[craft_media_hero]

$25-30 for a chicken! Ridiculous! Have you checked out the localharvest and eatwild links? That's where I've been browsing, and my local farmers have chicken for about $3 a pound. My local hfs has organic chicken really out of my price range (like $20, and that would really only be about two dinners and a snack/lunch which I guess is not too bad compared to eating out costs), so I settled for local, "natural" (though I'm not sure what that means) free range, antibiotic and hormone free. I wonder what is the big difference between that and organic? Anyway, the chicken was about $7. I figure I can offset a lot of the cost by combining meat with other foods (like chicken quesadilla or chile w/ a little bit of ground beef instead of a giant steak, kwim?).

I hear you on a meat diet being so much more expensive than vegetarian . . . it's crazy! I've become really accustomed to our low grocery costs, and I'm kind of appalled at how much we would be spending if we ate meat frequently. Right now, I'm thinking seafood once a week (I just scored 10lbs of wild-caught salmon for $4/lb! and it's in the deep freeze) and then either beef/bison/red meat or chicken, alternating weekly. I'm pretty sure we can afford that, especially if we are able to buy in bulk by getting another family to split the cost with us, but that I'm still figuring out. Ideally, my hub would hunt and score us some quail instead of chicken, elk instead of beef. He's interested in hunting, but it takes a while to get good at it, so I won't be counting on that for food anytime soon.

bodhitree, I think it's totally natural that you'd want your dh to come along with you as you try new foods. I can't imagine what it must've been like for my dh to deal with a veg*n kitchen for years, he is apparently infinitely patient. Had he been negative or pressured me, I don't think I would have gotten to this place or felt very positive about having meat in our house. I guess just start small and really enjoy the food that you're cooking . . . I imagine that at some point, he will smell smth delicious and want to take a bite!

As far as "coming out" . . . yeah, I feel that, too. I guess I just am finding it hard because my family members gave me such a hard time for so long about being veg, and now they're going to give me a hard time for flip-flopping. I'm certain that people have pointedly not invited me to dinner because they couldn't fathom making a meatless meal, which still ticks me off! And also, I'm afraid that if I tell people, they're going to think that I'll just eat any old hot dog or Walmart meat, which is totally disgusting, and I'll still have to refuse at which point I'm still the family food snob. Sigh. Can't win! Just gotta do my own thing as usual. I think I'm going to keep it on the down low for a while esp. with certain people and then explain that I am an aspiring ethical locavore and that I can't eat factory meat. Blech!

[bodhitree]

Originally Posted by Keeta 

Bodhitree, that VoraciousEats blog post is what started me thinking about the whole prospect of adding meat back to our diets.  Between reading about all her issues with her health (and other former vegans saying similar things) I started to wonder if DH's stomach issues could be helped with adding animal protein.  That was my initial entry point. 

The more I've read, the more convinced I am that you can be healthy or unhealthy whatever diet you choose.  You can be a junkfood vegan or an incredibly healthy traditional foods eating omnivore and everywhere in between.  So I guess I really just made peace with that notion.  And I also realized that meat consumption doesn't HAVE to necessarily be the bane of all environmentalism.  I can be both an ethical eater and an environmentalist.  Sure, it takes more effort.  What worthwhile thing doesn't?

Yeah, I think she makes an extremely persuasive case that for some people, it is necessary to eat animal products in order to be healthy. It completely goes against the veg*n party line, of course, but I'm persuaded that it's true. And there's the whole B12 issue, which tends to get swept under the rug with the idea that you can just take supplements. But in fact, supplements are poorly utilized in the body, and B12 is really important for optimal health. I just found a study that said that poor maternal B12 intake doubles the risk of congenital heart defects in babies, and actually my DD does have a CHD (minor, but still requiring monitoring by a ped cardiologist). So I just can't go along with the idea that if we would only all be vegans, we would be incredibly healthy. A vegan diet works well for some people, but it doesn't for others. And as you pointed out, there are lots of junkfood vegans, and that just is not a healthy diet.

Originally Posted by craft_media_hero 

$25-30 for a chicken! Ridiculous! Have you checked out the localharvest and eatwild links? That's where I've been browsing, and my local farmers have chicken for about $3 a pound. My local hfs has organic chicken really out of my price range (like $20, and that would really only be about two dinners and a snack/lunch which I guess is not too bad compared to eating out costs), so I settled for local, "natural" (though I'm not sure what that means) free range, antibiotic and hormone free. I wonder what is the big difference between that and organic? Anyway, the chicken was about $7. I figure I can offset a lot of the cost by combining meat with other foods (like chicken quesadilla or chile w/ a little bit of ground beef instead of a giant steak, kwim?).

I hear you on a meat diet being so much more expensive than vegetarian . . . it's crazy! I've become really accustomed to our low grocery costs, and I'm kind of appalled at how much we would be spending if we ate meat frequently. Right now, I'm thinking seafood once a week (I just scored 10lbs of wild-caught salmon for $4/lb! and it's in the deep freeze) and then either beef/bison/red meat or chicken, alternating weekly. I'm pretty sure we can afford that, especially if we are able to buy in bulk by getting another family to split the cost with us, but that I'm still figuring out. Ideally, my hub would hunt and score us some quail instead of chicken, elk instead of beef. He's interested in hunting, but it takes a while to get good at it, so I won't be counting on that for food anytime soon.

bodhitree, I think it's totally natural that you'd want your dh to come along with you as you try new foods. I can't imagine what it must've been like for my dh to deal with a veg*n kitchen for years, he is apparently infinitely patient. Had he been negative or pressured me, I don't think I would have gotten to this place or felt very positive about having meat in our house. I guess just start small and really enjoy the food that you're cooking . . . I imagine that at some point, he will smell smth delicious and want to take a bite!

As far as "coming out" . . . yeah, I feel that, too. I guess I just am finding it hard because my family members gave me such a hard time for so long about being veg, and now they're going to give me a hard time for flip-flopping. I'm certain that people have pointedly not invited me to dinner because they couldn't fathom making a meatless meal, which still ticks me off! And also, I'm afraid that if I tell people, they're going to think that I'll just eat any old hot dog or Walmart meat, which is totally disgusting, and I'll still have to refuse at which point I'm still the family food snob. Sigh. Can't win! Just gotta do my own thing as usual. I think I'm going to keep it on the down low for a while esp. with certain people and then explain that I am an aspiring ethical locavore and that I can't eat factory meat. Blech!

I'm also at $25-30 for a chicken. There is a CSA here that sells organic pastured chickens for like $15 a piece. And one of the natural food stores has chicken (I think it is organic and local-ish) for $2/lb. But I know there are some areas of the country where things just cost more.

I'm also thinking we (DD and I) will eat meat or fish a couple times a week, although fish will probably not be too frequent because we are not anywhere near the ocean. But I guess I could relearn how to catch my own fish! Anyway, I do think the expense will be too much to handle if we eat it any more often than that.

Thanks for reminding me to think about the DH thing from the other side of it. I definitely don't want to be negative or pressure him. But I'm also not going to tolerate any kind of an attitude from him about it, either. I already got an "Ew!" response from him several times, and if he keeps giving me that response he will get an earful. Not that he isn't allowed to have an opinion, but he really isn't allowed to act morally superior to me for eating meat when he knowingly eats animal gelatin, which is the same thing but in candy form.

I'm also worried about people expecting me to eat Walmart meat or hotdogs or whatever. But I guess I'll burn that bridge when I get to it. I "came out" to my dad this morning, and he was awesome about it. He just reassured me that I would figure it out just fine. He is a hunter, so I'm hoping that sometime maybe I can get some venison from him or maybe even go hunting with him.

BTW I did eat the bacon. It was weird but okay. I'm still not used to this whole idea, but I'm getting there. I think next I might try fish.

[northerngirl]

Hello ladies! I'm Heidi (34) and I was a vegetarian (although I hate that label) for uh...10ish years. When I met dh in 98' he was veg and slowly I became one too. I was young and would say that I ate a lot of bread and pasta. We still ate dairy and eggs. I wouldn't say we ate a lot of veggies at all. I was living far away from my hometown and this was my first time being out on my own. I didn't have a lot of cash and ended up eating a lot at my waitress jobs. We did have a small group of veg friends and we lived in a moderately big college city, so there were a lot of veg heads around and veg options at restaurants. Then we were introduced to the idea of organics and thought it fit with our thinking. Then a change came and we were engaged and we moved back to my hometown, a small city. We fell into a habit of eating a lot of soy, soymilk, tofu, and fake meat. When I was pregnant with dd1, now almost 5, I had dreams of eating meat. My midwife said that I should listen to those dreams but I didn't and just added more protein with nuts, dairy, eggs. It wasn't until after she was born that the dreams came back and I thought I need to do this, I need to eat some meat. Dh was supportive and I ended up buying a marinated chicken breast from our local health food store deli. The first bite was definitely strange, the texture was nothing that I could remember. I ate a couple of bites over the week. AND I was fine. I did not have the sort of rxn that I had been thinking about....vomiting, stomachache, constipation....(although TMI my poo smelled different). It did just feel right.

So I ended up getting a chicken breast this way every other week or so. But no other meat. I did think about fish but dh is allergic so....yeah. So that went on for less than a year and I gradually just stopped eating it for some reason I cannot remember. Then in 2008 I decided to do something about the way I was feeling healthwise. I was SO tired all the time. I had lots of nausea and dizziness. What the hell was wrong with me. After getting thyroid and adrenal tests from the doctor and those ending up normal I went to a natropath that suggested an IgG test for foods. There were only a few foods that were listed that I reacted to: wheat, gluten, radishes, oysters and cranberries. Granted the wheat and gluten were low the natropath suggested that I remove that and see how I feel. This was going to be HARD as that was pretty much what I was eating. Also at this time we were TTC dd2. I took out the gluten and I definitely felt better. And just after a week of not eating gluten I ate pizza or something and totally noticed a few hours later that I was SO fricken tired and wanted to take a nap. So I decided to cut back on the gluten but not entirely. By this time I was pregnant. After the first trimester ickys passed I started eating chicken again.  Dh would cook it for me as I was freaked out that I was going to get salmonella from touching the raw chicken. I was eating a lot of eggs and a lot of dairy during this pregnancy trying to stay away from wheat, while getting enough protein from not eating tons of meat.

Then dd2 was born and about a week after her birth she started having mucus in her poop. Well she had juice and mucus, no curds of a breastfed baby. I took out dairy, wheat, nuts, corn, soy. At this point things changed drastically I knew that without dairy and wheat and soy products  I needed to eat more meat. Dh was on board and said that he would eat it with me too. I was relieved as this meant we didn't have to do so many different meals. Although we do still some times.

Since then dd2 is now almost 1 and I eat chicken many times a week. Dd1 has just in the past couple of months started to eat chicken too. Her first was in wild rice soup and the chicken was all shredded and she didn't even know. Then one time there was a larger chunk and she asked what it was and I told her chicken and she said oh it's good. Now just last week she tried a chicken strip we made gf. She loved it. I did take her a while to get to this point, us asking "you want to try a bite" and her replying "I don't like chicken, I'm going to eat it when I'm 7". So cute.

I do want to eat other types of meat. I think. I really want fish, but I guess I stick with canned tuna for now. I've tried turkey a couple of times and I didn't feel so well afterwards. Bacon kinda had the same effect. Then there is beef. Don't know if I could do it...right now.

This has gotten very long and I've lost my steam...time for bed.
I look forward to chatting more.

**I needed to edit midway bc I lost my train of thought and was getting things/events mixed up

Edited by northerngirl - 2/20/11 at 4:00pm

[bodhitree]

Heidi, that's been my experience too, that having to cut out a bunch of foods due to intolerances is making it next to impossible for me to remain veg. DD has issues with dairy and gluten among other things, and it turns out I can't handle corn. I just don't think we're getting a wide enough variety of foods in our diet. And eating the same foods all the time is going to lead to more intolerances anyway.

For those who are eating meat already, how long did it take for you to get used to it? It is still just so weird to me.

[Adaline'sMama]

I am 27 and Ive been vegetarian on and off since I was 11. I had an aversion to dairy products when I was 10 because I drank some sour cows milk. I started substitution soy milk and from there just kind of stopped eating meat too. I broke my veg at 18 and ate white meat until I was 20. I have been vegetarian since I was 20, with a few pieces of fish here and there while I was pregnant. I was vegan once for three days. -I love my cheese :) I live in a rural community where the local food movement is becoming huge. My next door neighbor raises beef cattle and uncaged veal. I have a lot of wonderful, sustainable, farmers around me that sell my husband local meat, and Ive eaten it a few times! It was so delicious and I felt great afterwards. Im ready to say that Im no longer a vegetarian, but I still only eat local, hormone free meat.

[Anna06]

Subbing...............a subject near and dear to my heart. 

[Koalamom]

Interesting Northern Girl. I had a dream when I was pregnant with my dd and it was pretty profound. I had been a veg*n for almost 8 years and I was weak and sickly by the time I was trying to get pregnant. I felt sickly all the time and had fertility issues. I them M/Ced and when I got pregnant with my dd shortly after, I didn't even know I was pregnant and I had an angelic being come to me in a dream that took me to a fork in the road and said I had to pick a road and said "If you want your child to survive, you must start eating meat." It was very profound and I woke up and took a pregnancy test and it was positive. I slowly introduced meat and it was hard but now I am so glad I did as I had the morning sickness only go away after eating meat everyday.

[northerngirl]

Wow that's crazy. I can't remember right now but I did have "eating meat" dreams probably once a week. At that time too I was thinking more about eating real food instead of "fake" meat products, soy products and packaged foods in general. And while I knew that my body was craving the meat I also knew that I was going to be VERY picky about what meat I was going to eat ie not factory farmed. It was hard "coming" out to my parents and other family because I knew they would give me a hard time about it. And in most instances at family functions I will still be veggie because I know that the quality of the meat is...(this sounds bad)....not up to my standards. But I am that way with other foods too. I want to know where it's from, what's in it, how it will help/hurt my body and my children's body. Dd waking....