I’ve been off meat, including chicken, since 2005. I ate only fish and other seafood. That decision was fueled by concerns over what the flesh of the pig, goat, cow and chicken might be doing to my health. Later, it was because I felt sorry for the animals. Mind you, when we were kids, we used to go to a pig farm and inevitably, pigs would be killed while we were there. Their throat would be cut, all the blood would come rushing out, then they’d pour hot water on the dying animals so the hair would come off easily. And before 2005, pork was my favourite meat. Go figure.

Whether it’s coincidental or not, I’ve had muscular issues from around 2005. Could there be a connection, I wondered? I’d read a few stories about vegetarians who returned to meat, because of the negative effects on their health. B-12 deficiency was usually one of the issues. It made me contemplate whether these injuries to my muscles were as a result of not enough animal protein. The pro-vegetarians would say “hog wash!” 🙂

Since 2005, the only time meat had passed my lips was when I ordered peas stew for dinner and it had bits of ham in it. I spat them out. So I had been very disciplined in that regard. Twenty fourteen saw the return of chicken to my lips, but jut a little. I pinched a piece of curry chicken that was cooked for my family earlier in the year. Then at Christmas, I decided that I was eating everything…..chicken AND ham….to the horror of my father, who had also stopped eating meat and poultry in 2006, following my example.

So 2015, will see me dive into meat, starting with chicken. Buying the chicken from a restaurant is all I can so far manage. It is still going to be difficult for me to hold the whole fowl and take a knife to it. So no purchase of raw chicken just yet. But I’ll change that…soon.

Here’s a picture of a cooked chicken lunch I bought from Grill To Go. That’s where I’ll get my little chicken, for now.

Chicken, Macaroni Pie, Plantain and Veg