Un-veggie

I think that the day has come. In fact, it has been and gone but I kept quiet about it. I'm really pleased with how the great veggie experiment has gone, but I think that it's time to move on. I've achieved my objectives, which were mainly to break out of a food rut and discover new things, and now it's time to move into new phase in my eating.

It's kind of like how some people approach weight loss. You might start on a relatively restricted diet, but as you get into maintenance, you can sometimes be a bit more relaxed. The basics stay the same, but you might allow yourself a slice of cake once in a while. For me, that means that while I'll probably still eat predominantly vegetarian food (I do, after all, prefer it), and while I'll still enjoy the wider range of veggies that I've been forced to try, it might be time to try some other things too. For me, being veggie has always been about health rather than ethics, so this isn't leading to any moral panic, it's just a natural progression. More than anything, it's a question of having a bit more option when I eat out, rather than any change to what I'll eat if I cook for myself. I don't want to put other people out by demanding that we go somewhere that's suitable for me.

I've talked about the possibility before, but I think that Friday is the day. I'm going out for lunch to a posh restaurant with a work contact, and I've looked at the menu online. There are veggie options on there, don't get me wrong, but I'm not that excited by them. One of them includes mushrooms, and the other isn't anything stunning. So I looked at the fish options, and there's a really nice sounding tuna dish. I've heard it's a relatively gentle introduction to fish eating, so I'm thinking that I might try it. I'm sure the world won't collapse around me if I do (although if it does it will be from the shock of me eating fish rather than the fact I'm not veggie). I know that it will be cooked nicely (nothing worse than trying something for the first time and being put off by a poorly executed version), and it's pretty healthy.

Strangely I think that being veggie for the past year has made me more tempted to eat fish than I would have been had I never given up meat. That sounds like a bit of a contradiction, but let me explain. Since I started being veggie I've tried all sorts of things that I thought I didn't like, or had never tried before. None of them killed me, and I really liked most of them. So why can't I apply the same theory to fish? I've never really eaten it before, but I hadn't really eaten cauliflower or broccoli a few years ago, and I enjoy them now. So I'm less scared to try something new, whether it's vegetables or fish. I know it's unlikely to kill me.

Interestingly the one thing this theory still doesn't apply to is mushrooms. I keep on trying to persuade myself to give them a go, but I have a sort of mental block about it. So much so that I'm opting for fish instead of mushrooms.

Oh, and what I said about the day already being come and gone - in Gran Canaria I had some prawns in a courgette dish I ordered. Sssshhhh. I've also been having strange cravings for fish and chips recently, but I'm not convinced that I can justify that one on the basis that it's good for me in any way other than in the sense that it's slightly better than deep fried mars bars...