Meal of the Mind

I often watch Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel during my lunch break. Between his pessimistic cynicism and odd antics can be seen a motif often presented by chefs and travellers around the world: you can tell a lot about someone by what they cook, eat, and serve.

This past fall, I and a friend left our comfort zone in the hopes of writing a creative nonfiction immersion piece for our writing workshop class. Of course, being young college students, we had to find a way to leave our comfort zone without venturing far from home.

So one day when watching "No Reservations" we got our motivation: if what you eat is a part of who you are and a part of your culture, as so many knowledgeable people seem to agree, then wouldn't eating differently be not only an experiment for the stomach, but also for the soul?

This was our question as we set out on a month-long venture in the lives of vegetarians. For one whole month, two Midwestern, meat and potato eating, small-town girls attempted to not only walk in the shoes of, but also eat from the plates of vegetarians. From grocery shopping to restaurant eating, we had to follow the rules of vegetarian living. Our quest: to find out the answer--does what you eat change how you think and how you live?

Amazingly enough, the answer was yes. Living a vegetarian lifestyle truly required us to pay close attention to what we ate. Even grocery shopping became a hunt in the beginning as we realized the amount of products that contained non-vegetarian friendly ingredients.

But as the days progressed, we soon grew accustomed to the new rules. Not only that, but by the end of the month I'd avoid walking into a restaurant because the smell of mean cooking actually was unappetizing to me. Seem believable? It did to me, too. Although I'd never been a person who had to eat meat every day, it was a surprise to not even miss eating meat by the end of the month.

Our plan when we had completed our vegetarian month was to have our first non vegetarian meal include meat--my choice chicken (something not so overtly meaty). When it came to eating our first non vegetarian meal, I actually had to force myself to eat the half piece of chicken breast on my plate. Plus, I felt guilty for it, like I was breaking a rule.

It took another couple of weeks before I could eat meat again.

So what does this have to do with my blog? Most people are so set in their lifestyles that it's hard to change any of their ways. But when you take yourself out of your comfort zone--even through something as simple as a meal--you'd be amazed what you find in yourself. You just might find a new and better activity or object to make a part of your life.

The fact is, TV isn't the only way to experience a new lifestyle, but it can prompt ideas that could change your future. So, keep your eyes, ears, and mouths open to every new opportunity that passes your way. It may prove to be more entertaining than 70 channel package you buy every month on cable TV!