Vegging...

I've started going vegetarian, mainly for health reasons. Well, not really 'vegetarian' at this point. I'm still in the low-meat phase. I still eat it once every week or two. I've realized how hard it is to find quality vegetarian food at Gustavus. The veggie burgers are usually cardboard-esque and the veggie curry has the consistency of soup. But I'm looking forward to this summer, when I'll start to cook for myself; at that point my goal is to go vegetarian entirely.

Going vegetarian doesn't only consist of stopping eating meat. In fact, that can be very dangerous. This week I'm going to talk with the dietician on campus about what I have to do to complement a vegetarian diet. There are some deficiencies I've heard of associated with it: iron, protein (essential amino acids), zinc and calcium, and vitamin B2/12. Got all that? There'll be a quiz later. =)

Luckily, amino acids, vitamin B, and calcium are present in dairy products and eggs -- which I'm not giving up. Those are the vegans. Vitamin C aids in zinc uptake, so according to my online source increasing citrus takes care of that worry. Orange juice for me! That leaves iron, which legumes contain -- green beans, alfalfa, soy.

I'll see what the dietician says.