How Did I Go From Being A Life-Long Vegetarian To Becoming An Omnivore?

Sunday April 20, 2008


It has been hard. Sampling bits of this and that. Acquiring the taste. Driven by the primal need I first felt for meat (steak) when my diabetes nearly killed me and I sat on IV blowing up like a blimp in spring of 2006. That night I devoured my first NY Strip at the Elf's Den in North Pole, Alaska. You think my long time culinary tortured husband didn't jump at the chance to treat me to a steak!?

It made me feel dirty and disgusting. It did I swear. It was like I had eaten my best friend and liked it. I did Internet research there was all kinds of information about becoming a vegetarian but none for vegetarians becoming meat eaters. I was alone. And struggled. Being Christian I had always harbored ill feelings towards God about animal sacrifice. I couldn't understand why he required it before Jesus. I am not going to get into Biblical debate here I am going to place it in an awkwardly explained nutshell. But after reading the entire Bible through I began to understand His perfect plan. I was also faced with the fact that God created animals for us to steward and also to eat. And after Jesus it was acceptable to eat any food that did not harm your conscience towards God.

My conscience was the hard part. Animals were my best friends. Especially thinking of their social interactions and how they mother their young, and looking into their eyes makes it hard to think of eating them. But I slowly began to understand with much prayer and reading, and self exploration, that God created them for all of that and for nourishment.

On the Dr Bernstein diet I am feeling so healthy, so energized. My head is clearer, my body feels cleanly fueled. I am eating no processed foods except the occasional sugar substitute. The thought of eating a processed food makes me gag now. My diet is fresh meats, low carb vegetables, bran crackers,and low carb flat bread, heavy cream, cheeses,coconut oil, olive oil, seeds, nuts,greens, and berries. I eat much less and my body feels so nourished. That craving,starving feeling I have always lived with has disappeared. It shows in my body tone, energy level, thinking ability, skin, hair and glucose meter.

But I was still, until this weekend nagged with guilt of those beautiful eyes and gentle mother child barnyard scenes. What changed? It was a culmination of all in the past and as I realized after a hard workout I was NEEDING tuna, and wanted to enjoy a tuna wrap but had been fishing recently and could still see those trout eyes in my head....

I prayed to God that I thanked him for giving us these creatures to eat and nourish my body, to heal my diabetes from bad nutrition, that I ask to eat it with joy and thanksgiving to His power and the way He orders the world.

You know what?

I ate the tuna with no problem, and did the same for the lamb stew today and the mahi mahi tonight......

And I have started saying, if those false thought of vegetarianism creep in "Get behind me Satan! My God has provided this for my health and nourishment to do His will effectively"

Because I have proved it to myself, that my body needs meat, in how healthy and happy I feel eating pure foods not processed or junk ones.

Now, am I saying it is wrong to be a vegetarian? No. Nor do I blame my parents for making the best decisions they could about raising us in a healthy manner.If it works for your body that is great! This is what works for mine, and this post is the story of how I came to accept that spiritually.