Figuring Out Food

I have a confession.

I'm fake.
Okay, okay I guess it's not me that's fake, it's what I eat sometimes that's fake.

I'll admit it. I don't eat perfectly natural foods all of the time. If it's offered to me, I'll take a diet soda. I like sugar free versions of things. I'll eat things that aren't "natural", and I don't buy organic. I am what many health food bloggers despise.

However, at the same time I eat a lot of good for you foods. I eat fruits and veggies, I tend to eat things fairly close to their natural state as well, with a few things that are definitely not.

If you're thinking I was recently influenced by some health related study thing, you'd be right! Today I actually finished both a book and a movie based on dietary habits. I read The Butcher and the Vegetarian, and then watched Forks Over Knives.

The book was about a vegetarian girl trying to eat some meat in her diet for dietary reasons. She had been raised vegetarian, so it certainly was an adventure. It was alright, kept me entertained. She jumps around a lot with her thoughts though.

With Forks Over Knives, it talked about how a plant based diet is a better plan than a diet consisting of meat products. Funny thing is, I checked out the book The China Study before I saw this, and I couldn't finish it. It was too much of a research paper for me. This documentary? Pretty much the movie version of the book.

Both the book and the movie discussed the points of if we really need meat. Obviously there was talk about the humanity of slaughtering animals for our food, and how certain risks for diseases go do if we don't eat meat based proteins.
Ironically, during both the documentary and the book there were times when I was craving a burger.

See, I think that's one of the problems I've always had with people telling me that eating meat is wrong. Usually, it comes off as a "I'm better than you, so you should do this" type of vibe. It's the same type of thought that comes with telling a smoker that smoking is killing them. Yes, they know that, same with how I know that many plant based diets are a lot better than ones that include meat. But you know what? I like my meat. I hate being limited on what I can try, and that's a big part of vegetarianism. Oh I know that there's plenty you can eat. I've read the stories, "you're not limited at all". Can you try that venison burger? No, you cannot. I'm fine with vegetarian meals, but I like trying meat too. Having limits on what you can eat is what made me so mad about being allergic to shrimp and crab. I mean, during Spring Break my mom was terrified of me trying a sea bass and corn chowder because she thought it was shrimp. (it was delicious by the way).

One of the bigger pictures to get is to cut down on the processed foods and eat more veggies. I at least try to do that I suppose. And I have to admit, part of the appeal of baking bread is feeling like it's "fresher" and "healthier" even if it's not as healthy as I think. At least I know what is in it then. (I also like it because I can slice my slices any way I want, but that's a different story).

Oh I thought I was doing alright since I eat eggs so much, but apparently that's bad too. Any animal based thing. I guess their ideas in Forks Over Knives were more vegan than vegetarian.

I said that the reason why I like being an omnivore is because I don't want to miss out on things, right? So why not veggie it up at home? Some people go vegetarian because it's cheaper, and I know that meat tends to be my priciest grocery. I like to argue that meat makes me feel fuller. I dunno, maybe that's just a mind game I play with myself. Eh.

Do I have a point to all of this? Hmm. Maybe eat what you like, but try to eat as natural as possible? Then again, it's okay to have some unnatural things? Ah, I dunno. All I know is that I want to be able to eat anything, and that includes meat. So I will.
Oh, as for the non-organic? I don't eat organic only because it's cheaper not to. I would if it wasn't, but I'm a frugal college kid.

Guh... I don't want to work on my Annotated Bibliography. Bah. Lazy lazy.

What affects the way you eat? What's one thing about your diet that isn't up to par with the "perfect" diet?