The first paragraph of this article is the truly insulting part:

Being a teenager means experimenting with foolish things like dyeing your hair purple or candy flipping or going door-to-door for a political party. Parents tend to overlook seemingly mild, earnest teen pursuits like joining the Sierra Club, but a new study in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association suggests that another common teen fad, vegetarianism, isn’t always healthy.

I am sorry, did they say that doing ecstasy is a normal part of being a teenager, but that becoming involved with an amazing charity and doing something good for the environment is something to be worried about?   This article goes beyond hinting that if you have a child that is a vegetarian that you should be worried, they flat out say it.

My reasoning for becoming a veggie simply was that I didn’t like the thought of eating something that used to be alive.  Now-a-days, kids have a lot more knowledge about the subject, along with a lot more options. They also have a lot more pressure to start looking “good” at a younger age.  So it isn’t the subject matter that really bothered me about the article, I think that eating disorders are something that affects almost every teenage girl and needs to be addressed.  It was the way that the TIME article seemed to spin this eating disorder “fad” really irritates me.  Also interesting is that the subjects they interviewed were all Minnesotans, if TIME magazine was going to write an article so in your face like this one, I wish they would have done a more broad study, not just a small sample of one state.  Especially a state where I have visited and gotten a lot of grief for my lifestyle choice of not eating meat.

It is an important subject, but I think Emily hit it on the head when they said “parents should pay attention to all lifestyle changes a teen makes.”  I am sure that sudden vegetarian isn’t the first sign of a problem.

Since then, every time I attempt to get a waffle has ended in failure. Either because of the time of day, or my own personal time constraints. I was craving one so bad that I went out and bought some Safeway brand toaster waffles that satisfied my craving for maple syrup, but not for the fluffy goodness that a restaurant waffle can offer. There is no comparison of the thin, crispy toaster waffles to a fluffy warm one that just came off a waffle maker.

My friend Scott only fed on my obsession by going to get a waffle of his own, fully knowing (I assume) that I wasn’t able to get one of my own.

Why am I talking about this? Well, I am still obsessed and for some reason, beyond my control… I still want one. Bad. So like I do when I cannot stop thinking about someone or something, I write about it.

My new found obsession even made me remember that my love for waffles isn’t a new thing.  Years ago on a family road trip to Seattle, I remember fighting with my dad because all I wanted to eat the ENTIRE trip was waffles with strawberries and whipped cream, it was my beginning stages of becoming a vegetarian (yes, at age 11) and I refused to eat eggs or BACON (yes, I have denied bacon since I was 11) and I loved waffles so much, I wanted them for every meal. I am not sure if I got my way or not, but I do know every breakfast and most dinners were mostly waffles.

If anyone wants to meet me for lunch or breakfast this week to eat waffles, then let me know. Or if you have an amazing waffle recipe, post it here…. Oh. Also, let me know if you think I have a problem…. I may need help.

Half the population eats fast food once a week, with 20% eating it every other day. Some 14% of the population accounts for almost half of all fast-food sales.

This Ad Age article on the topic is disturbing, haven’t people learned anything?

I have been a vegetarian for over 15 years. Yes, a vegetarian, not a vegan, not a “vegetarian” that occasionally eats chicken or fish. I don’t eat eggs, but yes, I eat items made with eggs (i.e., bread, cookies, etc.)…. I feel better now that is cleared up, yet, please don’t get me started on WHY I am a vegetarian, I honestly don’t even want to bother with my long rant about why…. I have already had to explain to all my friends who don’t understand.

One of my best friend’s loves to quote a bumper sticker that drives me nuts. “If animals were not meant to be eaten, why are they made of meat?”

Interesting fact that has barley anything to do with this post via Mintel Reports:

Improved health (65%) is the strongest motivator of respondents pursuing a vegetarian and vegan diet.

Anyways, this weekend is Memorial Day weekend and basically the start of Summer here in Sonoma County, California… More importantly, it is the start of BBQ season. It feels like it has been years since I have had a great veggie kabob. I was on Evite’s blog today and found an article that had a link to Williams-Sonoma’s BBQ plate to BBQ items like fajitas and NACHOS (seen above).

As a self-proclaimed cheese addict, I have to try out BBQ nachos!

Speaking of BBQ’n, I cannot even think about a BBQ without thinking about the type of wine I am going to drink but I never thought that the type of music I play will impact the taste of the wine. Check out Lia’s latest blog at Swirling Notions.com where she talks about how different music enhance the way wine tastes…. At least I can listen to the Stones and Hendrix while drinking my Clos du Bois Cabernet.

Any other vegetarian BBQ/music suggestions?