My 8 year veggie-versary was last week sometime. I seem to have missed it.
The veggie thing was easy back home. Heck, other than the cook-it-all-yourself thing, even vegan is pretty easy back home. Here, though?
Without a kitchen I take what I can get. Sometimes that means quesadillas three times a day. Sometimes it means over-paying for Italian food. Sometimes it's eating a bucket of fruit and a bag of chips and hoping there's something available in the next town.
Honestly, it's pretty boring to be a veggie without a kitchen in Mexico. I'll probably last, but I don't know for sure. You wouldn't think it, but eating veggie is much more expensive in Mexico than eating meat. A big bowl of chicken soup is 25 pesos, enough veggies to make a meal cost about the same. A can of beans is 12 pesos, for the same price I'm halfway to a quarter of a chicken plus sides, salsa, and who knows what else.
The real problem, though, is that it all smells *so good*. I think about it. I really really do. I don't know that I could actually get meat to my mouth. It hasn't worked the two or three times I've tried in the last 8 years. The food always stops just short of my mouth as the gagging takes over.
I don't know, though... How long until I just can't face another quesadilla? How long until another boring bowl of beans and rice makes me gag too?
Meanwhile, I'm working on finding a way to feed myself that doesn't involve restaurants every day, or sammiches either. Ate about a dozen in the last week, and while the avocado, cheese, tomato, onion and mustard is a good sammich, it too gets dull after a while. Ideas?
Happy Veggie-versary!
ReplyDeletePlease don't go back to the meat eating - just think of how you'll feel after you've eaten it (both mentally and physically). What are some of the reasons you went veg originally? Perhaps reminding yourself of that will help.
I've never been to Mexico, so I don't have specific suggestions, but a lot of food in Mexican restaurants seems to be the same ingredients with just different sauces or spices. Could you try purchasing some bottled sauces or spices? You could add these to burritos, beans and rice, etc.,
Also, just eating the same ingredients in different ways could add some variety. For example instead of avocados make guacamole. Instead of black beans mash them up and make a black bean dip.
I hope that some of this helps....
Rose Red- Thank you. It's tough when I don't have kitchen access. Last time I went through a "I may end up eating it out of desperation" phase (2 or 3 years ago?) I think I actually managed to hold bacon in my hand. It never made it to my mouth, though--gagging took over well before then.
ReplyDeleteWith restaurants I've learned "don't ask, don't tell" gets me "mostly" veggie food, and without mushrooms, which makes life easier. There's actually a veggie place here, and being a "hippie" town there's a lot of veggie food on offer. The "chicken lady" makes pozole friday and saturdays, and told us last night that she was making three batches- one chicken, one pork, one "vegetarian"... probably with chicken broth. I might have to ask, and I *hate* asking. Dunno why.
Pleh, even just the huge amount of cheese I find myself eating makes me feel heavy and slow. Which is crazy, 'cause I'm losing weight again. Ah, travel.
I'll try those ideas, though. I think it'll get easier when I get to Guatemala, too. They don't have anywhere near as much meat or cheese in their diet, so I should have fewer problems avoiding it. Kinda like BFE Africa.