The Unbeefening

Monday, May 26, 2008
10:46 am

Yesterday, like every Sunday, I was down at the market again. I had first stopped at the hardware store to get light bulbs and then at the 'toubab'(white-person) boutique to get some canned mushrooms, coconut milk, biscuits, yogurt and apples. I hadn't planned on buying much. Just some fruits and then my last stop would be at the butcher's to buy half a kilo of beef to make some beef stroganoff I'd been planning for quite a while.

When I got there though, my gag reflex kicked in and I couldn't go through with it. It wasn't because of the flies that were all over the cow's bloody carcass (I knew I'd be cooking it so I didn't mind that), it was the butchered remains of the cow's head right on the counter where I could make out it's glassy eyes and little teeth quite clearly. Now I've eaten and loved a lot of things that would probably make others gag just as easily. Like 'chicharon' (pork skin) or 'lechon' (roasted pork) which also usually includes the head and even 'isaw'(intestines) and 'dinuguan'(from 'dugo' which means blood). But somehow I think this puts me off cooking meat (I'll still eat it though) for a while.

I wish I were vegetarian right now. I really do.

Unfortunately, my not eating meat doesn't mean I'm eating healthier. I'm eating a lot of junkfood which tastes so good because it's bad for you. I try to have my own 'balanced diet' though. I tried balancing half a can of Pringles with some yogurt or fruit or some greasy but yummy and crispy fries with a whole carrot.

The balancing act is tough but it makes me less guilty about not eating healthy. It makes me think about some of my friends who don't eat fish or vegetables at all. I don't think they'd last very long.