As a Catholic, I give up eating meat for Lent and follow the Mediterranean Diet for the rest of the year. I’m not a vegan because I eat fish, but I do nix most dairy (except yogurt) and eggs. I call it the Lenten diet and like the Mediterranean Diet, it centers on eating fresh produce in season, alternative protein sources, fish and sustainable, locally-produced foods.
The Lenten diet is healthy all the way around. Spiritually, it puts me in solidarity with the poor (one of the Church’s Lenten mandates). It helps me to overcome addiction to indulgence and to live simply that others might simply live. Breaking with unhealthy foods (animal fats, meat, excessive sodium, processed food, sugared foods) reduces risks for diseases of affluence, heart and cholesterol problems, diabetes, hypertension and obesity, says Forks Over Knives.
Following my Lenten diet I’ve lost about 45 pounds. It’s not a crash diet; the weight is coming off more slowly. However, I’m developing healthier eating habits that will enable me to keep the weight off. I’ve also boosted my good cholesterol and gotten my bad cholesterol down with no medication. Following this diet dropped my blood sugar from pre-diabetes levels and helped heal some liver problems.
The Lenten diet is about moderation and balance. I don’t cut, I rethink. For meat-based dishes, I substitute Portobello mushrooms, beans (garbanzo and turtle are our favorites), edamame, tofu and falafel. I use the Catholic Relief Services Operation Rice Bowl prayer calendar, too. This highlights recipes from countries we support with our Lent almsgiving. Their diets are, for economic reasons, vegetarian, pescatarian and vegan. They also “eat local” as a way of life and aren’t reliant of corporate food producers for sustenance.
Eating local in developed nations like the U.S. is more difficult. Take Michigan for example: we are the asparagus, apple and potato capital, but much what’s available isn’t local. We’re the Great Lakes State, but most of the fish and seafood is imported. Sadly, our brothers and sisters in developing nations know more about supporting local business than we do.
We buy produce from roadside stands and farmer’s markets. We follow Fair Food Network and support local community gardens. We buy and enjoy foods in season: hard squash and apples in winter and berries and garden produce in summer. We freeze some produce (green beans, peaches, asparagus, green peppers, zucchini) for winter consumption. I dry summer herbs for winter use.
Because we eat so much produce, we have to rely on some imports during the year. For example, we will buy tomatoes from Mexico, as opposed to those sold by Florida growers who pay people slave wages (they also pick tomatoes green and spray-paint the tomatoes red, says NPR, which is pretty appalling). We look for stores that support worker’s unions like the CIW (Coalition of Imokalee Workers). Since I have a budget to consider, I buy some bulk frozen fruits and vegetables.
We eat a lot of fish and seafood. To know which is safest, health-wise, and also which hasn’t been over-fished, I follow Oceana’s Seafood Watch guide. They list alternatives that are more worker-friendly and ocean-friendly.
Following a Lenten diet, shopping locally and responsibly and eating healthy are, for me, works-in-progress, but they’re worthy endeavors.