So about seven years ago...

... I decided to become a vegetarian. Why? Just for the heck of it, a sort of will power game I played with myself. My first step was to not eat meat for three months. It wasn't too difficult, not that I actually clearly remember those months seven (or was it 8?) years ago. I still ate seafood though, after all man I live in the Caribbean!

But then during those three months I began reading up on the health benefits of being vegetarian and I decided to make the choice of giving up meat forever. However, I wasn't secure in my choice those early days so I never referred to myself as a vegetarian. In fact maybe after two years I adopted the title. I just simply used to say that I "was currently not eating meat". Or something like that.

Like I said it wasn't difficult. But then I wasn't doing it right. It wasn't until maybe a year later when I started a new job and met a vegan that I realised I was making a mistake. You see I was still eating stew gravies - yikes! I guess I didn't read the guidebook "Vegetarianism for Dummies". Damn man I gotta give up the sauce too?! Stewed meat chicken, beef, pork, wild meat (game), whatever - is a Caribbean staple. I mean we curry, we bake, we fry, we grill, we bar-b-cue but what really sets us apart is a really good "sweet hand" stew. I was OK to give up the actual meat and quite happy to retain the stew but guess what, even with the excuse (yes) of "currently not eating meat", deep down I really wanted to be a vegetarian.

So out with the sauces.

Years later I decided to cut off seafood as well. Funny story. I loved shrimp, it was one of my favourite seafood. Some people say it's a scavenger so it eats the ocean's shit but I didn't care, I wasn't having shrimp sushi. I loved shrimp until I saw the movie "Shark Tales". There is a scene in a cafe where some sharks are having a conversation and are about to eat shrimp cocktail. This being an animated movie of course, the shrimp were begging for their lives, "please don't eat me, please don't eat me..." I felt so bad. And that was just animation! I decided then and there, no more shrimp for me! Of course I had it a few times after seeing that movie (which I didn't really like by the way, the movie that is). Gosh I remember having shrimp fajitas at TGI Fridays in Port-of-Spain and thinking about those poor shrimp, but those fajitas were just so damn good...!

Anyway, I spent some time going back and forth on the seafood thing over the years but I am proud to say that I am totally done with it. During a bout with Tabanca a few years ago I switched to vegan. Being on a vegan diet in Trinidad and Tobago is so tough, let me tell you. You end up preparing virtually all your meals since it's so difficult to find foods without a trace of animal origins. But let me also admit here that I was counting calories during those dark times so I was also controlling my meal portions.

But it really is difficult to eat out as a vegan. You would have to avoid those cheaper-buffet-type-already-cooked-meals-restaurants/food vendors and head to a pricier restaurant where you can order baked potatoes without the yummy trappings, nice salads, pastas with tomato base sauces, etc. Other than that you'd really have to spend a lot of time preparing and packing your own food. My diet in those days consisted of fruits, Total cereal, soy milk, whole wheat everything, tomato juice, raw and steamed veggies, tofu, tofu dogs, soy cheese, legumes, sugar free jellies, etc. etc. etc. I packed my own snacks and sandwiches when I had shoots. Absolutely nothing was dairy based or animal based. But alas it all ended when a friend of mine re-introduced to me to the world of cakes. I love cakes. Carrot cake is my favourite, followed by cheese cake, followed by chocolate... you see where I'm going with this. I could have baked my own vegan cakes from a googled recipe, or at least tried, but no, a visit to Rituals in Crown point ended all that and it was a return to cheese cakes, cheese platters at More Vino, mac n' cheese, macaroni pie, yadda yadda, yadda.

So I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian, sometimes vegan.

One of the tribulations of this lifestyle is the lack of comprehension from meat eaters, carnivores, animal killas. The big question - why? People have argued with me about my choice, why I do not know. it's difficult for some people to swallow my choice. I find that so galling.

Another is catered food. There is always this over compensation of carbs for vegetarians. Meat eaters don't think we have enough to eat. They think we starve ourselves when we cut out meat, never mind we have three or four "sides" on our plate.

Another tribulation is just simply finding a really good healthy alternative to animal based dishes without always having to resort to rice, cheese sandwiches, creamy pastas and fries (usually the only option at night) and flour based meals like roti (when you're trying to be healthy) and roast/fired bakes, the latter which usually comes with fried options.

The biggest tribulation of them all though is simply living in the Caribbean, at least for the moment, in Trinidad and Tobago. Sometimes it's stressful. Few people care to understand it. And so rather than experience it and keep it to myself, I've decided to write about it, with a bit of inspiration of course from watching the movie "Julie and Julia". I'm going to make it my mission each week to search for the vegetarian options in this twin island state and the wider region when I can get there.

Hmmmmm, does this mean I'm now a foodie? We'll see.