What exactly is a meat pie? And more so, what is a Guiness-based Shepherd's Meat Pie? That was an item on the menu of the bar and grill I lunched at in between work Friday. Four days ago, I gave up red meat for Lent. I also gave up white rice and greasy food -- period. For 36 more days, I plan to keep these three things out of my diet. I know it won't be easy, but I hope you'll follow along with me to catch if I survive or fail, but mainly, if I've learned anything.
The funny thing is, I didn't have any desire to eat this meat pie, and that surprised me. I was more curious as to why someone would need/want/even create a meat pie. Is it wrapped in a doughy crust? If that's the case then I really don't feel like eating it. So because it was Friday and meat was not allowed in my diet at all that day, I went for the next best thing I could find on the menu. It was not easy and I partly feel like I've failed.
My lunch? A tuna melt on multigrain bread with a broccoli and cheese soup. I can just hear the grease and butter bubbling in those very words. The tuna was in some kind of mayo mix, the multigrain bread didn't exactly look like it came out of a wood fire oven and for cheese to melt that softly in your mouth, you better believe it's not the healthiest. And we all know broccoli and cheese soup is laden with all sorts of cream and buttah. That's when I knew these next few weeks would be a work in progress for me.
As for red meat, it's not like I ate it all the time, or so I thought. But as I take a look in my fridge and another look into my freezer, I shock myself. I honestly thought I ate red meat three times a month at most. Yeah, not so much. The spaghetti I made over the weekend is in a meat sauce. The beef steak prepared so meticulously by my mom won't get a taste from me, even as it sits so perfectly on a platter. Forget about those amazing carne asada tacos from one of my favorite taquerias, Los Gallos. And I can say goodbye to delicious char-grilled beef burgers on any happy hour menu. (Especially those darn cute mini burgers. And those savory Kobe burgers, too. Beef is oh-so-good sometimes, isn't it?)
But giving up red meat is going to be a good thing in the end, and I'm not going to complain about something I proposed for myself in the first place. (Same goes for white rice and greasy food). So when you mix those three sacrifices together, my limits seem to be adding up by the day. So far, I'm enjoying the challenge.
What I'm doing is supposed to be life-changing, as my pastor has said, meaning whatever changes I do make, I should live them out and continue them. I've already started to open my eyes to a lot of things, and I hope you'll follow me to see how I do 36 days from now. I also hope to not make this about myself, but rather a transformation and a realization that internal changes make you a better person. We don't celebrate and practice Lent to make life all about us, but we do it to look deep within ourselves to become better people. Our lives are always, always, always about us already, remember?
And that's a good reminder to us all. But seriously, can anyone tell me what a meat pie is? And why would you ever want to eat one?
~Rowie V
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