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Getting My Herbivore On
By Jack | January 28, 2013
Ever since I met my friend, “Zdub”, in seventh grade, we were always finding challenges for the two of us to try. We both did P90X together during one winter and we always made each other try new or interesting foods. One time, famously, we had a competition to see who could take the LEAST amount of steps during the day using clip-on pedometers. We aren’t having fun unless we’re trying something different.
So when Zdub and I were eating lunch at Kennedy Commons last Monday I wasn’t surprised when he proposed another challenge for the two of us to try: to go vegetarian for a week.
I know this is a common lifestyle for a lot of people, so it doesn’t seem like a “challenge” per say. However, the two of us may be the furthest things from vegetarians–after lions and velociraptors, I guess. Zdub actually loves chicken so much that he uses the word ‘chicken’ when he means to say ‘meat’, so a week without chicken for him might as well be a week without air.
As for me, I grew up as the son of a man who is possibly the world’s biggest meat fanatic. My dad grills steaks and pork chops using his own rubs, he is an expert barbecuer (he smokes the best ribs and brisket that you can find in these here You-nited States of Amurika), he cures and makes his own bacon, makes his own sausage and beef jerky. The dude’s nuts. He cooks over 350 pounds of meat for our Fourth of July party each year. So yes, I eat a lot of meat.
So was this week hard, you ask? Not really, actually. At first I was expecting to have troubles finding vegetarian dishes at the on-campus dining locations that would actually be enjoyable to eat. But I was wrong.
Below is a list of some of the dishes that I enjoyed the most during my “green week”. If you’re like me (or any other normal person) and think tofu has the consistency of a nasty sponge and would rather eat toe jam, then this list will help you especially:
- Cheese Tortellini: a tasty pasta dish at the RPAC’s Courtside Cafe
- Linguini with Pancetta: also a pasta dish at the RPAC. Both of these are delicious.
- Three Cheese and Tomato Herb Panini: you can find this at the panini station at Marketplace. It’s basically a fancy grilled cheese sandwich.
- Veggie Sub: Mirror Lake Creamery and Grill. They already make such good sandwiches, and this puppy is loaded with so many good vegetables that you will forget that you aren’t eating meat.
- BONUS: for off-campus dining, me and Zdub went to Chipotle and got a vegetarian bowl. It’s Chipotle, people, it’s good with whatever you put on it.
My final impression of being a vegetarian? It’s not as hard as I thought. I come from a house where I may legitimately be disowned if I decide to become a vegetarian. If I can give up meat for a week after eating it every single day of my life, then anyone can. And Ohio State makes it a lot easier on you than most other campuses do, I imagine.
Topics: Food, Jack, nutrition, Personal, Recreation | 7 Comments »
January 31st, 2013 at 10:09 am
Pancetta is meat :) You didn’t quite make the week! I still enjoy reading about it, though.
January 31st, 2013 at 12:15 pm
Darn. I should’ve done my research before I ate it, I guess.
January 31st, 2013 at 2:35 pm
What’s up, I read your blogs regularly. Your writing style is witty, keep it up!
February 1st, 2013 at 10:01 pm
Love it. Hilarious
February 2nd, 2013 at 6:05 am
Thank you! And “they” say it is healthy to skip meat once or twice a week.
February 3rd, 2013 at 11:59 pm
Diseno Web en Dominicana: Thank you, I will!
February 6th, 2013 at 12:36 pm
Wow! Way to go Jack. Yes your father is the grill master.