Karen Nicole Costa

Are you a vegetarian?

No, why do you ask?

I don’t know…you look like a vegetarian.

What, I wonder, does a vegetarian look like? I don’t have a barn full of farm animals tucked lovingly under my arm; I just checked. Nor do I sport PETA t-shirts or scream “MURDERER” as I walk past steak houses.

My eating habits are [noticeably] different.

“You’re so… healthy” people typically remark as I leave the office kitchen with a plate full of baby spinach, shredded red cabbage, carrot sticks and cherry tomatoes. It’s easy to ignore the turkey and cheese panini accompanying my dish. I eat at my desk with chopsticks [to slow myself down and mindfully eat, which seems oxymoronic when you eat at your desk every day]. I also have no fewer than a dozen teas at my desk, an assortment of supplements [vitamin d, st johns wort, and zinc], and usually a container of soy or almond milk waiting to be opened. I also kick the mornings off with a smoothie that looks like a science experiment [spinach, banana, peach, and orange juice] or sewer sludge that I drink out of a clear container. It should be noted that I love cupcakes, pizza, and the occasional buffalo wing as much as the next frat boy.

I was a vegetarian once. I was a vegan for a while, too, but mostly because I had an eating disorder and saying “I can’t eat that” was easier than saying “I won’t eat that” and yielded fewer questions from people. Now, my decisions about food are more about health, wellness, and something(s) very important to me.

Color and texture.

On color:

I love beautiful things. I love color. I love the idea the colorful foods paint my insides with nutrients. Beige foods are a starting place. Where is the color in your life?  

On texture:

I like the crunchy things. I don’t particularly like the texture of meat-it’s chewy and it has funky stuff [like grizzle] and veins. I don’t eat red meat. I don’t even like the smell of it. I never crave meat. With one exception. If I smell bacon, I am instantly transported to a carnivorous place. Bacon, I am your Rick Astley. Never. Gonna. Give. You. Up. I believe that heaven is actually a sushi bar in the sky with a self-service frozen yogurt/toppings dessert stop.

I spend what some consider a lot of money on food….about $80 a week for one person. I shop organically, but not because I think it’s chic. That’s so…yuppy. To me, food is cellular insurance. The food isn’t just merely something to occupy space in my stomach, but fuel for existence. I think about the vitamins, the nutrients, the fiber, the way foods help other foods absorb better [the orange juice and the spinach in the morning is no accident], like they’re all in it together, trying to make me feel good and keep me healthy.

What is the cellular ROI of the food you’re eating?

Regardless of the meal or whether or not meat enters my body on any given day, it’s really not about being labeled a vegetarian.