In Veggie Mode Once Again

 
    Dust off the bamboo steamer, I am in veggie mode once again.
   A few years ago, when I was experimenting with the vegan diet, my wife and daughter bought me a bamboo steamer that works wonders on vegetables. You stack two bamboo trays on a wok, fill the wok with a few inches of water, stuff the trays with corn, broccoli, squash, whatever, and voila, healthy and yummy vegetables.
    The vegan diet experiment was just that, an experiment. I could not sustain it over the long haul. I believe you can get the essential nutrients and vitamins from an animal-products-free diet, but something just seemed to be missing (iron? vitamin B?) from my diet. Maybe I need to interview a gorilla and see how they manage day-to-day living on a vegan diet.
     This time around, I am not going the vegan route. I am eating fish and vegetables, along with eggs and (ideally) a minimal use of dairy products. If you had to throw a label on me, I guess it would be an ovo-lacto-pesca-vegetarian, but whatever. I am not interested in labels, and I reserve the right to chow down on some chicken or beef now and then. One of my conditions for the occasional consumption of meats is that I understand where the meat came from. It needs to be "kosher," not by Jewish definitions, but by the standards of sustainable agriculture (i.e. grass fed cattle and free-range chicken).
     What prompted all of this?
     A few weeks ago, two of my worlds collided. My father had triple-bypass surgery and I preached on the dietary laws from Deuteronomy 14, both in the same week. My conclusion? I guess I am influenced by books like The Maker's Diet (Jordan Rubin) and Omnivore's Dilemna / In Defense of Food (Michael Polin). Perhaps there is a health-inspired reason why God restricted the diet of the Israelites? Although it is not required of God's people, perhaps it is a guideline that can lead to our health and prosperity? Maybe it is time to return to a plant-based diet and tolerate only an occasional (and more conscientious) consumption of meat.
    For now, I am riding the wave and following Spirit, as it leads me back into veggie mode.