I suppose that my life has always
been focused around my next meal, especially considering the diverse diets that
my family has had. Growing up in
southern Indiana, next to the fried chicken capital of the world (Brookville,
IN), of course I have an addiction to fried chicken! It may be the most delectable item to ever be placed on a
menu, but despite my ever-growing love for fried chicken there has always been
a bit of strife in maintaining the epically unhealthy diet I acquired as a
child.
It was nearly ten years ago that my
mother decided that she did not have the heart to eat meat any longer, hence
the beginning of her pescetarian diet (which would come to play a valuable role
last semester when Nico, Keith, Ethan, Kelly, and myself embarked upon a quest
to live a healthier lifestyle).
She claims that she saw a resemblance of a cow in one of our dogs faces
and decided in that moment that she could not eat meat again. As to much of our surprise she has
continued to go strong with the diet despite living with my aunt and myself,
both avid meat eaters.
This
diet was difficult to overcome when preparing dinner, as I had to sacrifice my
beloved fried chicken from time to time.
However, it was these diverse diets that incited my interested in trying
new foods with every opportunity I was given. See, as a child I was stubborn and would not even eat a
piece of pizza if it had anything green on it. Today I have opened by palate to many different cultures foods;
it is just unfortunate that my desire to eat doesn’t transgress into a desire
to learn to prepare anything that is not on a grill. Perhaps this course will fuel that hidden drive that I have
been searching for.
Much
of my cultural heritage, in regards to food, became apparent when discussing what
is native in each of our cultures when in class. My family had a hard time relating to my mothers choice,
given that much of my kin come from a line farmers, but as awareness overcame
each of them the issue became smaller.
At this point, every family gathering has some vegetarian dish or some
fish option all to accommodate me mother.
I suppose that’s pretty awesome.
I can definitely relate to your mother! My family was shocked and irritated when I became a vegetarian a couple years ago. I understand their side that it can be an inconvenience to cook dishes without meat, especially at family gatherings. But now, it has become more of a non-issue (like for your family) and they're sure to point out what vegetarian dishes they've made.
ReplyDeleteThat is pretty awesome that your family adapted to your mother's diet. It's not always easy. I love that your mother became a vegetarian because one of her dogs looked like a cow!
ReplyDeleteIt is funny how a food can have such different meanings to different people. While your mother sees fried chicken in a negative light, I have a much different reaction. My parents have been divorced practically my whole life and I stayed with my mom during the week and my dad on the weekends. My dad is not the best cook, to say the least. However, he did have one thing he knew how to make, fried chicken. Every Sunday I would get to help him fry the chicken. To me, fried chicken gives me a sense of security, a memory of my childhood, and of time well spent with my dad.
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