….I just do not eat chicken….or pork….or beef. I have never been a fan of the taste of meat and when I was growing up I would always have to stay at the table after everyone else was done because I had not cleaned off my plate. One of my most vivid memories of hating meat was when I was about seven or eight (I am spelling the low numbers out here Shawn) and my brother told me that corned beef was made with rats. I immediately stopped eating corned beef…..although it did take me a while to realize that HE was still eating it. Hey I was only seven and he was much older!

I stopped eating corned beef and would make these little gagging noises whenever I saw it so after a few months my mother stopped giving it to me. This is after days of telling me I could not leave the dinner table until my plate was clean (and putting the cat and the dog outside so I could not feed them under the table) then coming back 30 minutes later and finding me staring at the meat on the plate.

Now I decided to try the same tactics with chicken which I really hated. What? Chicken? Everyone eats chicken you say. Well not me. I hate it. My brother loves it so much that he even cracks the bones and chews them up. *shudder at the thought*

I weaned off meat slowly except for ham which I love (especially at Christmas time!!!) and beef, but only if cooked a certain way.

This year I decided to give up red meat for lent and then when the period was over I realized that I did not miss meat. Now I do supplement my protein intake by eating fish and lots of peas and beans which I love (except for green string beans….ewwww).

Now I love eggs and fish so I will never be a vegetarian but I have just decided that I do not want to eat meat if I can avoid it. Since fish is more expensive Honey says that I will not be able to ever save money because I will have to spend more for a small piece of fish than he spends on a big bag of chicken. While the prices do not lie I do not think this will be a problem for me because I do many meatless meals. Most times I just eat my meal with plenty of peas and beans and I really do not have a problem with doing this.

I do not even notice that I do not have some kind of animal on my plate until someone points it out to me. I probably eat fish three times a week and this includes tuna from a can. When I buy a piece of salmon for example I cut it into smaller pieces and use one per meal. When Honey was staying with me I would use one package of salmon to make two meals, one for each of us. Now that I am here alone I cut the fish into three or four pieces and that way one package lasts me a week’s worth of meals.

So for all those who look at me strangely at the barbecue and wonder why I do not eat chicken….no I am not a vegetarian, I just do not like chicken.