Yes, the title has changed but the cast of characters remains the same…

Let’s see, since Part 2 in this series we’ve debated and settled the burning technical question of whether or not our decision to include seafood in our otherwise vegetarian diet entitled us to wear the mantle of “vegetarian.” You’ll recall that some in the vegetarian community were pretty sensitive about who used the title and, upon learning that we were eating fish, promptly informed us that we didn’t qualify. It was much the same response we’d received from the vegan community who told us we didn’t fit the required profile for membership because we hadn’t shunned leather shoes and car seats, and weren’t wearing hemp clothing.

But thanks to a more forgiving arm of vegetarianism, we accepted the distinction of “pescevegetarians” - otherwise vegetarians that, like us, eat fish and other seafood. And before you point out that the word isn’t in the dictionary, remember that our conversion was aimed at adopting a more healthy diet, not making a political, spiritual or ecological statement. A “title”, at least for us, serves merely to facilitate discussion and simplify ordering in restaurants.

So here we are, nearly two months into our epicurean adventure into pescevegetarianism (impressive non-word, isn’t it?) and an update seems in order. Are we still on program? Yes, pretty much so. Do we miss cheese, dairy, meat? Not terribly. Are we still contributing to methane in the atmosphere? Sometimes, and we haven’t quite nailed down which foods, or combinations of foods, cause us to, uh, contribute. But it’s infrequent, so we’re taking that as a sign our bodies are adjusting.

We’ve also become more adept at choosing recipes, having picked up a couple of vegetarian cookbooks — Eat, Drink and Be Vegan, and Ani’s Raw Food Kitchen — and we’ve accumulated more of the, well, unusual ingredients folks use to emulate things we no longer eat, like dairy and eggs. We’ve also adjusted somewhat to the increased prep time for many recipes owing to more slicing and dicing of fresh vegetables, fruits and nuts than we were used to. But the offsetting benefit of using more fresh ingredients is that we’re consuming fewer of the unpronounceable “stuff” usually added to packaged foods for preservation, color and flavor. So we’re not only enjoying delicious meals, we’re eating healthy, natural foods.

In contrast, dining in restaurants has proven much easier than we’d anticipated. There’s usually something on the menu that suits our palate and restaurant kitchens have been more than willing to accommodate minor adjustments. We’ve even surmounted the imaginary mountain of dining at friends’ homes! For example, we had dinner Saturday with friends Michael and Sisko — I’ve mentioned Sisko’s impressive culinary skills before — and while she had at first been mildly apprehensive about what she could cook for us given our new “program,” she served a magnificent dinner for six without at all “coloring outside the lines!” Dawn and I brought a couple of paired wines —  Willamette Valley and Alexander Valley Pinot Noirs — and I enjoyed one of Michael’s fine after dinner cigars, capping a perfect evening with friends that left us feeling as though we hadn’t sacrificed a thing!

An unexpected benefit of our new food choices, due possibly to the foods we’re eating or perhaps to our initial adjustment to preparing them, is that we’ve both dropped a few pounds — about eight in my case! So, all in all, I guess you might say we’re thoroughly enjoying our epicurean adventure into veganism vegetarianism pescevegetarianism. We’re still adjusting, mind you, but so far we don’t feel as though we’re sacrificing anything. And we’re having fun along the way!

Finally, I mentioned to Dawn that some of you have asked for some recommended recipes and she’s agreed to provide some as time allows. Perhaps one will be included in my next update. She’s also hinting at wanting a solar oven after meeting James Ehrlich, The Hippy Gourmet, at Border’s Books weekend before last. I’ll let you know how that goes…

By the way, the included Dilbert cartoon strip was provided by subscriber Jeff who says he’s carried it in his wallet for years since becoming a “real” vegetarian (the kind that doesn’t eat fish, he points out). Also worth noting (with tongue in cheek), no animals were killed or injured in the publishing of this post.