My Heaven Includes Bacon

I have been struggling to come up with a simple way to explain my change in diet. Basically I am a vegetarian for most of the week, and an omnivore on weekends. Why?

It’s not about religion, I am too afraid of picking the wrong denomination to ever choose just one. I can already imagine how ripped off I would feel if I lived my whole life by some strict code, to get turned away at the pearly gates (or equivalent) by a technicality! “You’re kicking me out for eating bacon?? Hey, my heaven includes bacon!”

While it is a great reason to reduce meat intake, the environment isn’t my reason. I am reducing intake of all animal proteins (including fish), not just the ones that chew up hectares of land and resources to produce.

It isn’t an ethical concern, since I can’t see where to draw the line on animals, insects or plants. Does the tasty cow deserve to live more than the yummy escargot? And we’ve all seen Avatar; how about plants??

So that leaves health, and yes that is the reason. I’ve read a fair bit of research that points to animal protein –not the common villain, fat– as the root cause of heart disease and many cancers. Completely eliminating meat is supposed to be the idea solution, but many health benefits can be gained by significantly reducing the intake to levels much lower than the typical North American diet.

Are the Meat & Dairy Industries the Next ‘Big Tobacco’?

I have heard too many studies on nutrition to take any of them seriously. One study says X is bad, the next says X is good. Too much noise, and I have been filtered it out for a long time. I figured, eat everything in moderation and exercise will lead to good health.

You can have your cake, and eat your steak too (which is great, because I love steak!).

For the first time, I have come across research that seems to go ‘thunk’ with me, something that is actually changing my behaviour. I read the book ‘The China Study‘, and it has so much compelling detail that I just can’t ignore it. Here is a good video summary by the author… you’ll note that this guy does not sound like some kind of Atkins quack.

Conclusion… the biggest competitor to the pharmaceutical industry, and the solution to the NA health care disaster, is likely a whole-foods plant-based diet.

Ironically our ‘low-fat’ health kick is actually INCREASING the amount of animal protein we are eating, which is exactly the wrong way to go.

Oh, crap…

The BEST Burger Joint in Ottawa: Burger & Shakes

Well, I am cheating a bit, it is actually in Manotick Station which is just East of Manotick (crossing of Limebank and Mitch Owens); but it is certainly worth the drive!  You can click here to see it on the map.

I was heading over to Omer’s place for a jamming session, where I pretend to be able to play the drums, and I needed to grab a bite on the way.  I call Omer to ask him where to eat and he says “You have to try Burger & Shakes… its a couple miles east of Mantotick across from the high school.”  Since Omer is a big fan of food -as am I- I didn’t take much convincing for me to give it a try.

Sure enough, in the middle of nowhere, is Burger & Shakes, attached to a golf & mini-putt business which is closed for the winter season.  Its 8:30 PM on a Thursday night and there are actually cars in the parking lot.  This is a good sign…

I am pretty hungry, so looking up at the board I try and decide between the 10oz ‘Double Burger’ and the 7oz ‘Super Burger’.  I decide I don’t want a double, and order the Super with a side of poutine.

When the fresh (certainly NOT ever frozen!) beef patty is placed on the grill, I am shocked to see that it resembles a large pancake in size!  This is going to be a big meal.

While I wait for the burger to cook, I have a chance to talk to Ali and Zainab about their business.  They are clearly the sort of people that should be running a business like this:  Really passionate about what they do, and it’s very obvious they enjoy interacting -and getting to know-  their customers.  Ali tells me about how they get their top quality beef locally, pointing in the direction of the farm they get it from.  As our discussion continues, my patty on the grill shrinks from massive to just huge.  Ali asks if I want some steak spice, yep!

I get my meal and sit down to enjoy it.  Wow, what a great burger!  Not only the patty is good, but the bun is super fresh.  The poutine is also fabulous, with the large cut fries being perfecty cooked and also from potatoes of high quality.  About half way through Ali asks how I like it…. “Awesome!” I reply between bites.

Since I like to help send good businesspeople good business, I had decided about half way through my meal to do a blog post on this restaurant.  It was a testament to how good a sport Zainab was that she was willing to let me take the picture below of them after a long day at work.

Thanks to Ali and Zainab for the great food, and Omer for the recommendation!  I think Omer and I are going to make this part of our bi-weekly jamming ritual.