MEATLESS DIET... TOO HARD TO SWALLOW
agreeing to a challenge where I would go without it for a month! Reluctantly, I agreed because I figured that if I needed to face my “addiction” head-on, this would be my starting point.
WHAT CHEATING?
Simply put, my first meat-free week did not go according to plan. I was not ready for the amount of discipline required, especially when you don’t live alone. I started my journey by saying goodbye with a dreadful green salad and boiled eggs as my protein of choice. Have you ever lived with a five-year-old child who went quiet for a while, only to catch them getting up to no good? That is how apologetic my plate looked. And so my month-long self-inflicted torture began. On the second day, my body was in so much shock that I cheated with some dry biltong. Somehow, I also managed to convince myself that my favourite sausage in the world – peri-peri chorizo – did not really count as meat. But, in the second week, I was determined to change my ways and get back on track.
THE PENNY DROPS
Picture this scenario: you’re sitting at your desk working, and an e-mail from your editor pops up, asking if you would like to go to Cape Town for a few days on a media tour. The minute I replied “of, course!”, the penny dropped. Was I going to survive a few days in the Mother City, staying at a luxury hotel well-equipped with professional chefs without eating any meat? Also, have you noticed just how everything tastes better when prepared by someone else? The cook in me was tired. My first night kick-started with a fancy three-course meal prepared by extremely skilled chefs. I decided to behave and instead, eat crab. Firstly, seafood has never counted as meat in my head, no matter what the world says. Secondly, I’ve never even been a fan of it, so this was going to be yet another test. But, I swear the lamb chops kept calling my name so seductively that I ended up giving in. I went back to my room feeling bloated, maybe as punishment for not being able to resist the temptation. This made me realise just how hard this was going to be, and that I lacked the discipline to follow through. But, never being one to back away from a challenge, I said a short prayer and recommitted myself once again.
ALMOST DOES COUNT
I finally started eating meals without any meat, and actually enjoyed them. Seafood became a good accompaniment to most of my dishes. This was disappointing because as much as the challenge was going well, I didn’t anticipate ever enjoying meatfree meals. On a Sunday, I went out for lunch, and then cheated with some pork belly. This turned out to be a bad decision because I ended up not enjoying it – the meat didn’t taste good at all. I left that eatery disappointed and worried that my love for meat was vanishing right before my eyes.
VICTORY AT LAST
The last two weeks saw me going without meat for longer periods. This might have been motivated by the fact that my sister’s lobola negotiations weekend was coming up, and I wasn’t going to be able to resist mala mogodu (tripe), tšhotlo (shredded meat) and stew back home. Also, I swear that my mother’s cooking is where the heart is [chuckles]. But, I ended up missing it because of the 21-day lockdown imposed on the country due to the COVID-19 outbreak. The meat-free victory was short-lived because the lockdown came with working from home. Most people desire to do this, but you don’t anticipate the overeating that comes with it. I needed a lot of discipline to stay on the challenge, but hard as this is for me to admit, I failed — dismally so. How do you go without meat for a month after eating it for so many years?
GOING FORWARD
Will I stop eating meat? No. But, I will be incorporating meat-free days into my diet for health purposes. I’ll also be incorporating more veggies and to my surprise, fish, because I actually enjoyed it. This challenge was hard, and I don’t see myself ever trying out something similar again. Or rather, I will come up with a better plan next time because going cold turkey did not exactly work for me. Drumstick, anyone?