Monica Valentinelli: Author, Game Designer and Consultant

Posted on June 15, 2009 - by Monica Valentinelli

Day One: My Pescatarian Adventures

It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of sushi, but I’m also a fan of eating right. So I decided over the weekend to start on a 30-day excursion that I call “My Pescatarian Adventures.” Most vegetable-based (with the occasional sushi goodness) this is a shift for me from the chicken/carb/vegetable means I’ve been eating. I’d like to share with you some of the things I’ve learned. For those of you who aren’t interested in these adventures, I’m going to start off each post with “Day + Number” so you can skip on by if you’re not up to reading these. I’ll still keep posting about writing; this is something “new.”

For everyone else? Here’s my summary of Day One.

Most Restaurants Suck

My restrictions are: no sugar (or corn syrup) and no meat, except for fish. Little caffeine and no “straight-up” dairy. Human-size portions preferred.

Going out to eat is an exercise in insanity, because it is virtually impossible to find edible menu items with those restrictions. For beverages, I pretty much have to stick to water. Few places offer alternate, caffeine-free and no sugar beverages (even the sushi places), so water it is.

We went to a local restaurant, and there were only two things on the menu that would be considered vegetarian. For fish options, there were only dinner items, so I was out-of-luck on that front.

I almost postponed the start of my adventures due to a lack of choices. (Thank heavens for friendly reminders.) While I wasn’t unhappy with my choice, it seems like eating out might be a chore.

Why do Grocery Stores Keep Veggies Wet?

Built a menu list from a bunch of recipes we had on hand and went grocery shopping to support my adventures. That part was pretty easy, but the veggie shopping was disturbing.

While my grocery bill was less than what we normally spend, there are a lot of “shower sprays” that continually wet down the vegetables making them “look” fresh. I have a few veggie storage containers I got from Tupperware that work really well to store veggies over the long-term, but I’ve had a hard time using up the veggies before they go bad. Is the constant watering the cause?

This might mean more frequent grocery shopping just for vegetables. We’ll see how that shakes out.

On to Day Two…

Related posts:

1. Day 5 and Beyond: Being a Pescatarian Takes Planning
2. Day Three: Good Karma and Laziness
3. Day Four: Protein Bars and Peanut Butter
4. Day Two: Soy, Portions and Mac-n-Cheese