For the low, low price of $80. You’d think my morals would be a bit pricier than that and honestly I myself was surprised but there you have it. Last night and tonight found me parking around back of a large building, sneaking in a door left cracked open, and then jogging up six flights of stairs to arrive sweaty and breathless in a tiny room full of…
Pizza.
I don’t eat white flour, sugar, processed foods, meat with nitrates or even meat at all. I am repelled by foods with words like “lite” and “tasti” in their names. I avoid “cheese product” like the plague. I don’t think I’ve eaten a conventional pizza in years. And yet there I was with 12 other women eating frozen “healthy” pizza like it was our last meal.
You see, I signed up to work for a marketing research company and every other month or so they call me in to test random products. The stuff I’ve tried in the name of research reads like a stranger’s list you find in a grocery cart (anyone else fascinated by those??). I’ve done diapers, muffins, yogurt, cereal, ice cream and lighters among other sundries. And no, smart alecks, I did not wear the diapers, I used them on my children. Who also wore the yogurt and muffins. What can I say? Breakfast is a no-man’s land at our house. If they could’ve figured out the lighter they probably would have burned the kitchen down to hide the evidence.
But back to the pizza*. I had to try eight different pizzas and fill out a survey of what I thought of them. Two forty-five minute sessions and all pizzas nibbled would earn me a nice 80$ check. Never before though had a taste test challenged my moral convictions. While it is true that I am currently a vegetarian – and like it – I have in the past eaten meat – and liked it. So was 80$ worth breaking a year-long streak of no animal flesh?
Apparently. I’m sorry chickens. It was nothing personal. I’m just cheap! Do you know how much “Chik’n**” I can buy with that kind of dough? If it makes you feel any better, I tried really hard to just nibble around the chicken pieces and not actually eat any. I’m so ashamed…
Have any of you ever sold out? Please tell me so I can feel better!!
*The pizzas were everything I’d expect of a “healthy” “lite” frozen “meal”: disgusting.
** I don’t actually eat “Chik’n” either – hate processed meat replacements. But it just fit so nicely in that sentence.
What a blog, you would not beleive I bought a frozen pizza last night, 1st time in a long while. I didnt eat any, the reason being I wasnt getting $80. My teenager bought home some coke as well, now its sitting on my bench and I am just drooling over it.
$80 for eating pizza? sign me up!
(and yes, i have sold out many times. usually for a lot less than $80!)
Tell me how you can go veg without eating processed TVP meat?
BTW you have incredibly high morals selling out for $80.
I sell out all the time for chocolate…and I’m the one buying it! Does that mean I sell out twice?
I haven’t eaten meat in 8 years… so I get sick if I eat something with chicken broth in it…
I used to just “avoid the chunks” as a fellow veg put it when I was a new-be. But now I have to be pretty careful and really check ingredients closely.
Since my husband is a carnivore, I agreed to eat sea food and poultry again when it came time for us to try starting a family… So far, I am doing okay with the sea food but I am nervous about trying the poultry given my history.
I am currently working with a dietician to help me transition back to the world of meat eaters.
The last time I ran up 6 flights of stairs was to resuscitate someone during a “code blue!”
Pizza or code..pizza or code..??
tough choice….
Dr. J
Suzanne, Workoutmommy & Gretchen – SO glad I’m not the only one!!
Apy – Going veg without soy/tvp crap is actually really easy. I get my protein from beans, nuts, eggs & dairy. Tofu gives me gas but I’ll occassionally eat that or tempeh. That processed stuff is just trouble.
krs – that is exactly what I did. I switched back to omnivore when we started trying to get pregnant. I stayed omni through all pregnancies & nursing and then went back to veg after the little critters weaned. Take your time, I’m glad you have a nutritionist helping you! It is a weird transition – and I couldn’t wait to get back to veg when it was done.
Dr. J – you have the BEST stories! Nobody can compete with a code blue!!
if it makes you feel any better, i doubt it was real chicken….
I had a friend that was a vegetarian (im sure she still is) but her boyfriend fed her some chicken because he thought it was funny and she got really sick.
theres no moral here: he was just a jerk.
Sorry, I’m no vegetarian…but we do avoid meat a lot. I usually only eat meat on the weekends, weird huh? We eat tons of beans which is not something I usually broadcast, and our burger of choice is always a veggie. We eat chicken way more than we eat beef or pork, but that probably only happens about once or twice a week. I do avoid chicken for a while if I get behind a chicken truck, those make me so sad. 🙁 I think my comment probably isn’t relevant – sorry about that! Happy Friday everyone!!
Grrl, you dont even want to know about my participation in some medical trials…G R O S S! but that $100 cash for each session definitley made it bearable.
Happy long weekend!
I have so much fun checking out other peoples grocery lists. And seeing what other people have in their carts. I get all curious as to what kind of meals people are planning on cooking with their ingredients and such. What can I say, I’m nosy:)
Also if I had an opportunity for money like that I’m sure I’d sell out too!
Hey Char…because I knew you when you were having kids and nursing them, I knew you as a carnivore. Now that you do vegetarian, what do the kiddos and the hubby eat? Are they with you on this?
Once I was part of a test group for feminine protection products. I had to haul my butt over to the west side of L.A. from the Valley (which takes about 4 days to drive. OK, it only FEELS like 4 days; it’s probably closer to 80 minutes). But I got $75 and free feminine products!
I sell out all the time. Usually in return for a nap.
Oh yeah baby…I’ll do anything for a nap!
I ran 3 fast miles this morning just so I could have a hamburger at McDonalds! No morals at all!
I am SO with you, Char! Last year, I went through a period of time where I was OBSESSED with getting into focus groups. I would talk about anything for $50 -deodorant, The Gap, juiceboxes. It was like a disease. The best was when Dan got a call from Trivial Pursuit to test out a new online version and this guy came to our house and had us invite another couple over (my friend Amanda and her fab gay coworker) to try it out. We were ALL paid $200 PLUs $100 for food..we ordered in a sick amout of sushi. It was heaven.
Oh, don’t feel too bad about it! We all sellout at times.
So you went back to meat when trying to get preggers….maybe I’ll hold off on going vegetarian for awhile then. I’ve definitely transitioned away from a lot of meat (once or twice a week now, instead of every day) and was planning on getting rid of it all together during the summer.
I have the same problem…Sometimes I’ll have a bit of cheese or something at work and people freak out because I’m generally a vegan. I’m not so principled that I follow through with it all the time, though. I don’t eat cheese much, but I still LIKE it. I feel like a fraud, but really I think I’m just being reasonable. I could not be 100% vegan ever I don’t think. I just get tired of the “She doesn’t eat that” stuff. Sometimes I DO eat that, and I shouldn’t have to feel guilty about it.
I am curious what do you eat for a day and does it keep you full?
I have done numerous diaper studies and one taste test on hamburger helper…ugh.
WeightingGame – I’m so glad I’m not the only one addicted to these things! I feel like such a product whore…
Kristy – you pretty much summed it up for me too! Nice to hear from another moderate:)
Anon – briefly: I eat veggies as the main dish for every meal. I eat 5 meals a day. I also eat a lot of eggs, dairy, beans, nuts & fruit. Yeah, it totally fills me up. That is until the cookie dough ice cream comes around…
Lisa – hubby and the kids are all still omnivores. Although because I do all the cooking they probably eat veg 4-5 days a week. Usually I make whatever I want to eat and then cook some meat on the side for them. Hubby has meat for lunch at work too. They are all remarkably good eaters and seem to be relatively happy with whatever I put on the table!