Just seafood for me!

Today marks my one-year anniversary of becoming a pescatarian, which basically means I haven't eaten any meat from land dwelling animals. Why make this choice? It started out as sort of a challenge from my little sister, Sarah, who is one. So I thought I would try it out for a month and it just stuck. It wasn't a very difficult decision for me. I was moving in that direction anyway. Since becoming a US-2 two years ago, I had backed off from purchasing meat for financial reasons. On a limited income and living alone, it wasn't a priority. When I started to really practice pescatarianism, the whole process of "fasting from meat" became a spiritual discipline. I fully expect to eventually adopt a total vegetarian diet, but this pescatarian diet has given me a chance to gradually make that commitment while still participating in the local coastal food culture- a must when you live in the heart of Cajun country.

I've labeled this post as "life changes" and that's really what becoming a pescatarian has been about for me. I've learned a lot over the last year about what constitutes a healthy diet. About a month after committing to the pescatarian diet I began to cut out my caffeine intake too. No more Coca-Colas a real difficult task for a Georgia girl. : ) But I've succeeded and actually have had two cans of Coke in my fridge that I haven't touched since giving it up all together. Now my only caffeine comes from a coffee every week or so. After eliminating soft drinks, fast food wasn't far behind. Let's face it there is really not much on the menu that fits into my new diet. One pretty great benefit has been the relative ease I've had in controlling my weight. It really hasn't even been an issue. Of course picking up a fairly regular exercise routine has helped too.

By far the best thing about being a pescatarian has been finding out that I really enjoy fruits and vegetables. Raw, stewed, steamed, baked, and every once and a while fried. I've even experimented a little with tofu. I'm hoping to continue to grow my recipe repertoire in the next year. Hey, I'll have lots of new food experiences to add to my list I'm sure since I'll be living in a different country.

Just, Margaret