It’s okay to be vegetarian.
After finishing my first year of college I was so proud of myself for not gaining the infamous freshman fifteen pounds. I felt like I had defied many odds, and was on the right path to living a healthy life. I became obsessed with staying fit and in shape, and over the summer I found myself eating less, and caring even less. I knew it was serious when I noticed my favorite jeans fit a little too loose on my waist.
That’s when I realized that eating disorders are an actual thing, and I was suffering through one. That, coupled with pandemic depression led me to realize I had an unhealthy relationship with food.
Growing up in an African American household I wasn’t taught to have any kind of relationship with food. It was common knowledge that we eat when we’re hungry, and we eat what’s prepared for us. I didn’t get to choose what I had for dinner, partially because we were poor, but also because in the house I grew up in, food was just plain food.
There wasn’t any kind of psychological tie to getting full off of a good meal, and I believed that too until I started starving myself out of fear of becoming overweight. This mindset that I developed shed light on the fact that I wasn’t raised to have a relationship with food at all.
As I recovered from my stents of starvation I discovered that vegetarianism is attainable as a college student, and I became a vegetarian at 19 years old.
When I made my decision to abandon meat I had to think to myself about how committed I actually was to the idea. Given that I wasn’t raised to make big decisions about my diet.
I got a lot of encouragement from my friend, who has been a vegetarian for many years, and I decided to cut meat out of my diet. It was hard for the first week, as my go-to breakfast was turkey bacon, but I felt like I could make it happen.
I made my first EVER trip to Trader Joe’s and bought a lot of meat-free foods. There’s no Trader Joe’s where I live in Georgia, so this was an exciting experience. I got foods like chickpeas, vegetable gyoza, cauliflower, pesto, and tortellini; things that hadn’t even been in my diet until I met my vegetarian friend.
After learning that what I eat affects my mental health I became more aware of what I consumed and took being vegetarian more seriously. I felt like the change in my diet made me more accepting of trying new things, and also healthier.
Now, you may be thinking it’s too expensive or difficult to be a vegetarian while in college, but it’s actually easier than it’s made out to be.
Many restaurants have veggie-based foods on their menu, and if not you just have to get comfortable with asking for substitutions. My go-to question when eating out is “can I replace the meat with extra veggies?”. It’s not as stress-inducing as it may seem.
When shopping for foods to make meals at home it’s important to have a few recipes in mind and to be open to trying other cultures’ foods. A lot of Asian meals are light and lack the inclusion of meat in their original recipes, so always be open to shopping at Asian markets to make some recipes happen.
TikTok is also a great cookbook. Every day there’s someone sharing their favorite meals on the app, so be sure to check there.
Lastly, and most importantly, you have to remember that eating as a vegetarian doesn’t have to be boring sauteed bell peppers every night, and it can be just as filling as a meat-packed meal.
Finding life habits that make you feel good are essential to living with purpose, and for me, it improved my way of living drastically. Before giving up on yourself, think of making a change to your diet, it might help.