Day 6

"Did you know that more than 50% of the corn grown in the U.S. is eaten by animals? Roughly 8% of corn grown is for human food use. 60 million acres of the U.S. are devoted to growing hay primarily for livestock, while we use only 13 million acres to grow fruits & vegetables. While 1.2 billion people do not have enough to eat every day, we're bending over backward to make damn sure the 20 billion cows, pigs, and chickens are getting fatter and fatter by the minute." The Kind Diet

The quote above really got me. If you know me, you know it causes me great pain to throw food away. I hate wasting it. I joke that I must have lived through The Great Depression in another life because I don't know many other people like me. I am actually proud I don't like to waste food---I think it says that I am grateful that I even have food. I can understand how all of this information may be overwhelming. It just keeps coming and coming and there is no end in site. Who knew that we devote almost 5x as much land to feeding animals that feed people, than feeding people! And, the most frustrating part to me is the fact that cows are supposed to eat grass!!! Instead they are being fed corn and grain and all kinds of things they are not built to digest because there isn't enough grass to feed the obscene amount of animals we raise and kill every second. We do whatever we can to feed 20 billion animals an unnatural (but cheaper) diet to plump them up and produce as much meat as possible (filled with antibiotics and hormones among other things) but don't do a whole lot to feed the hungry people in the world? Learning about all of this really makes you think about our priorities as a society. Greed has taken over and it's out of control. Where is our government in all of this? How is this happening? I keep asking myself these questions and feel like there is nothing I can do. But then I sign the petitions, try to tell other people what's going on, and make the difference I am able to make right now.

Yup, cows are supposed to eat grass...

We woke up this morning and Andy decided to try out the potato ricer we bought a few weeks ago for hash browns. Fried potatoes, what could be healthier for a girl trying to overhaul her diet? Well, I haven't had meat all week and barely consumed any calories for 3 days so I decided to indulge. They were fun to make and really good! I made french toast (with egg whites) to go with the hash browns and had some pineapple too.
We headed back to Andy's mom's house to get the rest of our crap--it looks like we just moved in, again! Jeff & Mom Roth ordered cheesesteaks and I have to admit, they looked and smelled really good. I wish I didn't like this stuff. I wish I didn't like the way steak sandwiches and chicken parm and buffalo chicken fingers tasted, like I don't care for cheese (unless it's melted on something) and chocolate. It would make the whole no meat thing even easier. Andy's mom asked if I'd like some of her cheesesteak and Andy informed her of my "not eating meat thing." I'm sure she's thinking "here she goes again" because I've been on the wagon, off the wagon with healthy eating for years. One minute I'm telling them I don't eat meat, the next I'm eating chicken nuggets off the kids' plates. I did say "no thank you" and tried not to look or smell what was on the table.
It's just the way it has been for me. I'm trying to be different this time. Right now I committed to no meat for 4 weeks and I think that's a big reason why I've been doing so well with this challenge. I didn't say I'm never eating meat again, but I wanted to prove to myself I could do it for a month. I wanted to see what changes I might notice. I wanted to take in all of this information and start to think about how the facts I'm quoting everyday make me feel. Do they agree with what's in my heart and how I feel about animals and people and the environment? I am comfortable saying that if I decide to eat meat again (and I'm pretty sure I will at some point), it will be an exception and not the norm when it comes to my overall diet. I think allowing myself to have meat once or twice a month will be what works for me. It will make me appreciate those dishes I love when I choose to eat them and will result in me honoring what I've learned and how I feel about it all most of the time. I think that's a pretty good start. We'll see where I end up.
We came home and had the leftover pizza from last night for lunch. We spent the afternoon cleaning up the house and then I sat outside and read for a little while. We took a nice walk around town and came home to make dinner. Andy had grilled filet mignon, a baked potato and carrots. I made basmati rice with stir-fried veggies and a homemade teriyaki sauce. It was sooooo good! I have a feeling stir-frys will be one of my go-to meals. This was the first meal I've truly enjoyed in almost a week. Yay!
Tomorrow afternoon it will be one week since I've had meat. First time in my life since eating solid foods I can say that.

What I Ate Today:
1 piece of french toast w/syrup (made with egg whites)
1 medium potato- hash browns
1/2 cup canned pineapple
1/2 can diet coke
3 pieces of Tony A's Tomato Pie (small square pieces)
iced tea (homemade)
1 cup basmati rice w/2 cups stir-fried veggies and cashews in teriyaki sauce

I didn't weigh myself today.