Labels?

Hi, My name is Lora, and I had my last piece of meat 9 months ago. (HI LORA!) Since then, I've tried on a few labels- but none of the couture seems to quite fit. Vegetarian? hmm.. but I do still use chicken stock- and have looked the other way while eating squash slathered in bacon fat- oh, and let's not forget the bone marrow I unapologetically devoured at Craigie on Main. Plus, I still eat a small and picky amount of fish. So, ovo-lacto pescatarian? riiiiight. Or maybe... ovo-lacto-osteo-lipo pescatarian?

Flexitarian?

locavore?

ummm... In the privacy of my own home I jokingly prefer the term 'vegetablarian'- but just yesterday came across a new word, which might come closer still to getting it right: vegivore. I mean, herbivore would work too, but vegivore sounds far more fun, and less like I'm now a type of dinosaur.

So what exactly is this vegivore creature that roams the earth? Well, according to an article in the latest New York Magazine- vegivore's are vegetable lovers who still might eat some meat or meat products, but relegate them to the sidelines, and glorify vegetables in all their forms.

This sounds about right to me. I mean, here I put on display the extremely complicated food rules I now find myself living by, which, well, probably only make sense to me:

I do not eat cuts of meat- pork, beef, chicken, etc. as a norm.

I do, however, make exceptions for locally sourced, sustainable verified 'happy' animals, but really, this is only happening once- and it will be for Thanksgiving. (We are paying big bucks for a happy turkey that lived twice as long as most on a mennonite/amish farm in Lancaster PA and was allowed to live outside, eat grass, and scratch in the dirt.)

I apparently have no issues with foods made from bones. Don't ask me why. But chicken and beef stocks are ok, as is marrow.

I will eat tilapia, tuna fish salad, only the stuff from a can, and occasionally fried cod, or a piece of sashimi or tuna tartare, and the occasional crab-stuffed mushroom, only when covered in cheese.

I will eat vegetables cooked in bacon fat, though I myself would not cook in this manner.

I will eat around meat in dishes- IE, I'll taste the broth of a chicken soup, or the sauce of a dish.

Mortadella is always on the table. All other cold cuts are out. Except when in country of fabulous origin. (See Italy, France)

I'm pretty sure while on vacation, I will taste some meats, but am unlikely to order them.

I now request veg meals for flights.

Dairy and Eggs is all good, though I prefer happy dairy cows and will really only eat free-range eggs these days, preferably from my local CSA.

So, call me what you will, but I'm 9 months deep into this thing- and it still just feels good. I guess for now, the best word I can come up with for me as an eater is happy!