Vegetarian Fail

Rotten Tomatos

By Mike Shea

Toward the end of September I decided that I would attempt to become a vegetarian for the following month of October. I had tried this once before, while at home for the summer, because my mom is a vegetarian and said that it would make me feel healthier than ever. I agreed to try this new diet because I knew that she would cook meals for me, which is always a plus. One exception that I added was that I would still be able to eat fish. There would be no way for me to survive off of vegetables and cheese alone.

So upon deciding to try it out again, I realized that I had some serious challenges in the month ahead. The challenges were:

1. I wasn’t at home and would need to do my own cooking.

2. I would need to do my own shopping as well, and being a college student, this would require a budget.

3. My roommate would fill the month with excessive taunting, because he is a serious meat eater and had no problem showing off his delicious steak dinners throughout October.

I started the month off strong, eating delicious vegetarian meals and feeling really great about myself. The meals that I was cooking included cheese quesadillas, tofu stir-fry and tofu parmesan. The Tofu parmesan was especially delicious, as I cooked it with broccoli and pasta, which overtook the bland taste of the tofu. The other good thing about this dish is that it’s extremely cheap. The tofu and pasta were only 99 cents, frozen broccoli was about the same and the pasta sauce was about $3.49 for a jar that would last me more than a few dinners.

My kitchen was full of delicious vegetables like acorn squash (also cheap) and my freezer was full of microwavable pizzas and pasta dishes for work. Everything was looking good, but the momentum I had gained would eventually come to a sudden halt.

I didn’t see it coming. A long time love of mine had ended my vegetarian streak and I wouldn’t turn back. The date was October 25, 2009. My vegetables were gone and past their prime, my microwavable pizzas had been devoured and I was tired of the pasta and tofu combination. I needed something more, something that I had been craving since the contest began: buffalo wings.

Not just any buffalo wings, but Hooters wings. I had avoided the tasty wings earlier in the month during a trip to Buffalo Wild Wings with a few friends. I managed to fight the temptation by ordering buffalo popcorn shrimp, which was good, but barely helped my craving for wings.

So on the afternoon of Sunday October 25, my roommate asked me to go to Hooters to watch ALCS Game 6 between the Yankees and Angels. I couldn’t say no.

Once we arrived at Hooters, I knew that I had been defeated. I didn’t even care about the waitresses prancing around. All I wanted were those delicious Buffalo wings. It’s impossible to go to Hooters and order anything but wings, especially after craving them for so long. I had failed with only six days left, a valiant effort, but a major fail nonetheless.

Looking back, I realize the problems were shopping for the perfect items and a lack of knowledge of vegetarian recipes. My regular menu only required grilling up a piece of chicken and boiling some frozen veggies, but as a vegetarian there is a little more to it than that. You need to know what tastes good with what, and it helps to have a lot of fresh vegetables around at all times, which is something that I was unable to do.

Maybe someday I’ll try again and be prepared for the challenges, but for now, you can catch me in Hooters devouring buffalo wings.

Photo Credit: malias