I Dream About Buffalo Wings

August 28, 2008

Since day one of my pregnancy, I’ve craved protein. First it was hard-boiled eggs for weeks and weeks, then salmon for a few weeks, then avocados… which somehow eventually lead to turkey and chicken.

Now? Well now I crave chicken, specifically buffalo wings, to the point where I dream about eating them and even getting them delivered to the house. That latter part is only weird because the last time Kevin and I had food delivered to our place of residence had to have been in early 2004, shortly after we first moved in together after we got married.

Also, craving buffalo wings might not seem like a big deal, either, but maybe it will if I tell you that I’ve been vegetarian most of my life and vegan for almost 7 years before I became pregnant. Heck, to some of my long-term readers, it might come as a complete shock (and possibly disappointment) that I am not vegan or even vegetarian anymore. I’m hoping that you, my long-term readers especially, won’t think any less of me for “falling off the wagon.”

Truly, it wasn’t an easy a choice. I wrestled with the reassessment of my own ideals, values, and ethics for weeks before really coming to terms with the change in diet. Also, in the early weeks of trying small nibbles of ground turkey and bites of Kevin’s chicken legs, I still felt personal disappointment for “giving up” on being vegan.

After a while, though, all the guilt sorta went away and food became a part of my life, not a part of controlling my life.

See, food and I, we’ve always had a.. well… shall we say… unique relationship. It’s controlled me (I had milk & cheese allergies as a child and now am allergic to milk & wheat) and I’ve controlled it (I was a raw vegan for some time).

Recently, however, our normal dysfunctional and controlling relationship has transformed into one of peace and cooperation. I can now enjoy cheese & yogurt in moderation, certain meats (chicken, turkey and fish) and eggs without the normal guilt center in my brain firing off and belittling me for eating those particular foods.

On one level I feel like that rat, Remy, in Ratatouille, as I am also enjoying the taste, smell and texture of food like I never have before. Whereas I used to view food as pure nurishment to just keep me alive, now, I actually like food and enjoy savoring all that it has to offer.

After many years of proudly wearing my vegan/vegetarianism like a badge of honor, I finally feel as if I am more than just a “label” and have accepted my new found love of poultry as normal growth and change.

If you think about it, though, I haven’t changed all that much. I still eat lots of organic fruits and veggies, which is easy considering the world’s largest Whole Foods is in town. I still enjoy my wheat-free bread and other non-wheat carbs. Actually, I’m still relatively anal-retentive about what I eat, it’s just that what I eat now happens to include a variety of dairy foods (cheese, yogurt, cottage cheese, frozen yogurt), eggs, and poultry meat.

And, before any of you from the “you need meat to live” brigade start in with “Yay! We “cured” a vegan.”, you can just leave me out of your agenda. I want nothing to do with it, because, who knows? Someday, I might dismiss meat and eggs again and return to being labeled a vegan or vegetarian. Then again, I might not. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.

As for now, however, I am enjoying the new (to me) foods that have awakened my palate. Now, let’s see, where did I put that take-out menu?

{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Mrs Pop August 29, 2008 at 10:37 am

Food should be a sensory experience. It should never be about “eating to live” or “living to eat” but more about getting as much enjoyment as possible about what you choose to eat. Food is about indulgence sometimes, but always in moderation, not gluttony.

I’m a carnivore. I’m an herbivore. I guess that makes me an omnivore. 😉 I’ve never understood the concept of denial in terms of food. I’m glad you are not denying yourself.

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katelin August 29, 2008 at 1:57 pm

i think it’s perfectly okay you ‘fell off the wagon’. especially since you’re pregnant, i think you should be allowed to do whatever you want when you’re pregnant 🙂

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Dan Boyle August 31, 2008 at 9:00 pm

Enjoy. Life is short!

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Kiren September 17, 2008 at 4:28 am

Life is not short. We make it short. The human body was built to survive for 200 years if it was perfect but since we cant keep it that way we gotta do stuff to live till atleast 80:)

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judith October 17, 2008 at 4:47 am

I think you can be forgiven in the circumstances for falling off the wagon. We’ve been non meat eaters for over 10 years now, but occasionally succumb to a little ‘treat’, and we’ve no excuse.
Life is all too short and remember, a little of what you fancy does you good.

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Bruce September 18, 2011 at 8:32 pm

I commend you on being open minded with your food choices! Even foods that tend to be higher in calories, fat, etc, can be enjoyed in moderation. As a natural bodybuilder, I tend to limit my meal choices. But, my trainer actually encourages one designated cheat meal each week. It can be pizza, ice cream, cheese cake…or pretty much anything I want. The key is to just have one cheat meal per week, then get back to the regular eating plan for the rest of the week….gotta love it 🙂

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