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Cold Turkey

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By MICHAEL D. BATES, Hernando Today

Published: November 22, 2007

Updated: 11/21/2007 09:22 pm

BROOKSVILLE - When the kids, relatives and assorted guests sit down at the David Russell family table for Thanksgiving dinner today, they will find the usual turkey and seasonal staples.

But there will be two people who won't be partaking of the big bird: Commissioner Russell and his wife, Michele.

The Russells are devoted vegetarians and, although they will have meat available for everyone else, they will not have so much as a drumstick. Instead, they will chow down on such fare as meatless lasagna, vegetarian country bread stuffing, grilled asparagus and portabella mushrooms and sweet potatoes with a nonanimal fat-based gravy.

David and Michele said they don't force their eating habits on anyone else. That's why they will have the traditional turkey on-hand for their nonvegetarian family members.

But they think their vegetable dishes are so tasty, they can't help but think their guests will sample the meatless fare and maybe get tuned into what they believe is a healthier lifestyle.

How the Russells became vegetarians

Russell said he became a vegetarian to get his weight and blood pressure under control. It was also a philosophical decision. He finds the slaughter of animals repulsive.

He ate his last hamburger about 20 years ago at McDonald's and never looked back.

"I don't recall what a real hamburger tastes like," he jokes.

First, he lost the red meat. Then came the pork, which was easy because he wasn't a big fan of that anyway. The last to go was the chicken and white meat.

He said it doesn't bother him to watch others eat meat. Russell said he is not a Vegan, who disdains eggs, dairy products and certain processed foods. As a vegetarian, he will not eat meat or any sauces or gravies with animal-derived ingredients.

Michele became a vegetarian a little later than her husband. Her commitment came while they were watching the 1991 movie, "City Slickers."

During that movie, one of the three middle-aged men on a cattle drive helped deliver a calf named Norman.

"(Dave) caught me eating a taco and he told me I was eating Norman," she remembers.

From that moment, she couldn't look at meat without thinking of that cute calf, she said.

Michele said the switch wasn't too difficult.

"Even growing up, I wanted the salad and the baked potato," she says. "I didn't care about the steak. So it was a pretty easy transition for me."

The Russells' older son, David Russell III, 22, is more into meat because he grew up eating it, she said. When he visits and there is some kind of meat on a bun, he is never sure if it's soy or beef.

"He will ask if it's fake or real," Michele jokes.

Devin, their 18-year-old son, is more tolerant of the vegetarian dishes, she says because he was around when his parents started their new eating habits.

Society is more accepting

Dave says society is more accepting of vegetarianism today than it was 20 years ago.

Grocery stores stock more vegetarian products and restaurants offer more meatless choices on the menu.

"There are products out there that mimic every type of animal protein," he said.

Russell also explodes the fallacy that eating strictly vegetables and non-meat products automatically keeps off the weight. Pasta, for example, has plenty of carbohydrates that can pack on pounds he said.

Still, it's surprising that the longer one abstains from meat, the easier it gets, he said.

"Your tastes change," he says. "My taste buds have become more acute to not-animal foods," he said.

But as avid as he is about vegetarianism, Russell said he would never foist his lifestyle on others.

"I never ask a host of any function not to make any special preparations because there's always something I can eat," he says.

Health benefits

Because most vegetarian dietshave limited or no animal products, they may be low in protein and that is important for maintaining a person's health, according to Karen Gidden, heart healthy program coordinator for the Hernando County Health Department.

But vegetarians must also learn to supplement their diets for optimum health.

"Vegetarian diets can be healthful and nutritionally sound if they are carefully planned to include other foods thatcontain essential nutrients," Gidden said.

That includes eating whole grains, legumes, seeds, nuts andsome vegetables.

"Just as with a meat based diet, the key to insuring the body meets all of its nutritional needs is to choose a wide variety of foods," she said.

Vegetarianstend to have a lower risk of obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, coronary heart disease and some forms of cancer, according to the American Heart Association.

Reporter Michael D. Bates can be reached at 352-544-5290 or mbates@hernandotoday.com.

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