Two-Bean Burritos:
30 MINUTES OVEN: 350°F

6 10-inch spinach flour tortillas
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8-ounce can whole kernel corn, rinsed and drained
1 medium mango, seeded, peeled, and chopped (1 cup)
1/3 cup chopped red sweet pepper
1/4 cup snipped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped*
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons olive oil or cooking oil
1 16-ounce can vegetarian refried beans
1/2 cup salsa

ONE Wrap the tortillas in foil. Heat in a 350°F oven about 10 minutes or until warm.

TWO Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine half of the black beans and all of the corn, mango, sweet pepper, cilantro, lime juice, and jalapeño pepper. Set aside until ready to serve.

THREE In a large skillet cook onion in hot oil about 5 minutes or until tender. Stir in the remaining black beans, the refried beans, and the salsa; heat through.

FOUR Divide the refried bean mixture among the warm tortillas; roll up. Serve burritos with corn mixture. Makes 6 servings.

NUTRITION FACTS PER SERVING: 503 cal., 9 g total fat (2 g sat. fat), 0 mg chol., 1,253 mg sodium, 88 g carbo., 14 g dietary fiber, 19 g protein.

*Because chili peppers contain very pungent oils (the membranes and seeds carry the heat), be sure to protect your hands when preparing either fresh or dried peppers. Put plastic gloves or sandwich bags over your hands so your skin doesn’t come into contact with the peppers. Always wash your hands and nails thoroughly in hot, soapy water after handling chili peppers.

My name is Brad, I am an overweight meat eater.

Last night I watched a short video (HERE) and my resulting epiphany has caused me to swear off meat & dairy to the best of my abilities for personal and moral reasons.  Check out my daily digest to see what I’m eating, how I am coping and find out if I can succeed at all.

Thanks for looking, Brad.

DAY TWO:

"Born to die, born to suffer, they are tortured so that I may have pig crumpled on my salad, so that I can have a cow’s milk on my cereal."

So, this is day two.  I have been trying to figure out what to eat and what not to eat. 

If I can just get my head out of this whole idea of eating whatever the government, the advertisers, my peers, big business, etc. want me to eat I will be able to do this just fine I think.

So, I have been eating a lot of Burritos (hand made of course) hmmm… can I actually live off of rice and bean burritos and corn chips with bean dip?  If nothing else I will be skinnier – lol

Today I had 3 burritos, white rice, salad with some kind of little spritser, spritzer, (why won’t my spell checker assist me with this word) spray bottle of "natural" flavor.  It’s okay I guess. not what I am used to, but then why do I need to have flavored lettuce and tomatoes anyway?  If I can stop thinking about food as a hobby or event, as something fun that I look forward to and start thinking about it the same way I think about putting gas in my car; because I have to, not because I want to.

Also in the long run, an added fringe benefit is that I will end up being a much healthier person.  plus I will save lots of money and lots of time.  plus it is another test that I will be able to pass, strengthening my will.

  Today I ate 3 Burritos, Ramen noodles with chopped garlic, White Rice, Salad, coffee and ice tea.

I do not feel hungry, not really.  My body is telling me I have not eaten enough food only out of habit, but I do not feel hunger "pangs" or pains but at the same time I do not feel "stuffed", which is what I am used to feeling after I eat.

You know what?  -I can not remember when I did last feel ACTUAL HUNGER.  most Americans probably almost never feel true hunger.  (oh gawd, I haven’t eaten since 3pm, I am "starving" that i suppose. lucky us.

I am still pretty confused about my actions.  Strange for me to suddenly swear off 90% of my food types.  It just pisses me off so much that these animals are treated this way.  All so that I can have them to eat.  Boy oh boy are we lucky that we are not farm animals.  FARM?  I wouldn’t even call these shit holes farms.  I have been on farms these farms that I saw in this video and recently in many other videos are more like hellish torture houses.  What kind of people actually work in them?

Well.  I will see you again tomorrow.  day three as a new vegetarian… Vegetarian…. seems strange to call myself that.  Am I a vegetarian?  I am sure I still have meat inside me.  How long do I have to not eat meat before I am a vegetarian, or is it more of a decision then a work or deed.  I guess we shall see.  good night!

~Brad

DAY ONE:

"It’s not a health issue, it’s a moral issue"

So, after digging around in my refrigerator, I discovered almost everything inside contained some form of animal products.

I didn’t realize just how difficult this might be.  I mean, I love salads, but probably not what YOU think of as a salad…  I cover mine with creamy blue cheese dressing, shredded cheese, crumbled hard boiled eggs and bacon bits, deep fried croutons… you get the picture, this is going to be tough.

But it’s okay, I have burritos and chimmychangas in the freezer….

unfortunately, they are filled with meat, cheese, more meat and I think some beans.  So, just what is there to eat?  I could have a bowl of cereal… I mean I have 8 boxes of cereal on the shelf…. but what can I use in place of milk?  Juice?  perhaps, we shall see.

okay, looks like I will be having toast with peanut butter.  no butter, just peanut butter.  not so bad, dunking it in my coffee right now as I type this post.  

But, I certainly can not live off of coffee and toast with peanut butter… or can I? lol

Anyway, it’s day 1 and I have yet to find a steady food source.  I think I will start some rice boiling and cook some Ramen noodles (yes I know, without the neato little animal flavored packets.

____-many hours later-____

Okay. so, I have had 3 pieces of toast with peanut butter, 1 orange, 1 banana, 1 apple, 1 bowl of Ramen noodles mixed with rice and chili beans covered in hot sauce and two handfuls of (oh the irony) animal crackers!

  I also have had two cups of coffee and two glasses of ice tea.

Sure, I know many of you are thinking "that doesn’t sound like a healthy diet at all"  well for me it is.  I am doing this in steps, heck, yesterday I would have had macaroni and shredded cheese with ground hamburger or kielbasa.  So, things will be changing, I am learning as I go along.  everyone I know with the exception of my grandmother are omnivores.

Why am I doing this?  I am not sure.  I’m not quixote-esq, I know my actions will not even prevent one animal from suffering.  There will be no farmer saying, "okay George, let that turkey go, we got one less meat eater out there". I just feel that even if I can do nothing to help, I do not want to be part of the problem.  I may not be able to stop hunger, but that doesn’t mean I need to take someone’s food, I may not be able to eliminate rape, but that doesn’t mean I will turn a blind eye to it and just accept it.

Does this make me sound a little like a bleeding heart hippie?    perhaps, I don’t know what my "label" is, I just know that I do not like to see animals being tortured, their plight is to constantly suffer, they are born to suffer and then die so that I can grind and shred and slice and cube them up and put them onto my damn salad.  I CAN put a stop to at least 1 person who does that…  ME.

I am unhealthy, but please note that I am making these changes not for health, but for morals.  The health will be an added benefit I hope. : )  I am about 100lbs overweight right now.  I don’t look it, but I am.  I think I should be right around 240lbs but I weigh 340lbs right now.

Perhaps along with fulfilling my self decided moral obligations to other living creatures, I will also lose weight and feel better.

stay tuned and we will see….

~Brad

Please comment if you like, I would really like to hear your opinion and if you have some encouragement for me, that would be great, I have not even told my friends or family yet, you, the readers, are the first to know about my life changing decision.