Eliminating a Food Group

Decision time is upon me. I have known it for a long time. I have heard the bad reports about what I love...what I rely on....what I seem to grab at every snack at home:

LUNCH MEAT

Lunch meat, sandwich meat, sliced goo...whatever your term - I am giving it up. Not only is it packed FULL of sodium, the processing that takes place unto this carnivore delight is just not healthy. Period. But, I love it. I have also been known to sneak some bologna once per month and on a daring day, I will open a can of SPAM...(but I really miss the twist key on that thing...that was half the fun and I think it may have burned up some fat calories on the crank...)

My favorite "brand" of lunch meat is the store brand "Our Family" shaved deli ham. I adore it. I eat it on nearly everything. Hormel has a good version too, but strangely the store brand for this particular item is much better. It is shaved so completely thin, you CAN read a newspaper through it and I love one slice on a piece of toast or in my Egg Beater omelet. (No, I am not getting paid for this post....)

In my quest to ingest the things that are more better, than more worse...I see lunch meat as a do-able elimination. In fact - I could be a veg. girl very easy, because beyond the lunch meat thing - I have no desire for alot of "meat" per se anymore.

I never meant to take this post in this direction, but since I am here... I was asked today at my job if I would be willing to "clerk" the auction at the fair. This is actually an illustration of how ignorant I really am:

me: "Of course - so they sell animals to each other?"
work: "No. Pigs will be sold to auction and then slaughtered."
me: "Oh. So - do I have to actually ...touch them...or do anything to the animals?"
work: "Well - no, you just need to take their information.."
me in my head: so, I gotta look in their little eyes and send them off to die.
me out loud: Okay.

We have bought fair pigs for our freezer and as I speak I probably have half a Wilbur in the basement freezer. I have eaten meat my entire life. I grew up on a farm. I absolutely support farms and absolutely believe we truly do and should feed the world. I would never be on a march to end eating MEAT. "THIS" post is not about "THAT".

But, as time marches on for "me"...I am coming to realize that I am a vegetarian in waiting you might say. The more and more I eat meat, I cannot seem to get beyond the face in my plate.

I also know I am a hypocrite. I love my shaved ham because it is not a meat product, it comes in a neat little box with no face and I plan on finishing it off before I go, Cold Turkey! ;)

Dang...I forgot about turkey....I love that, too. Giving up the face in my lunch meat will be way harder than a good steak or a good hunk of turkey. I am gonna try though.

So back off Oscar Meyer....I know what weekend it is!