Something’s Fishy…

A pescatarian interview

A photo of our local pescetarian Ace Helgens in the first floor blue hallway.

Jesse Schuerer

A photo of our local pescetarian Ace Helgens in the first floor blue hallway.

When Ace Helgens first interviewed her vegetarian mother and aunt for a project on diet in agriculture, they never expected to actually agree with the things that they said. They started a vegetarian diet shortly after. But a few months after becoming vegetarian, Helgens realized that she liked seafood a little too much, so they decided to become pescetarian instead.

According to Healthline, a pescatarian is a person who adds fish to a vegetarian diet, whether for taste or health reasons. Helgens’s main reasons for becoming a Pescaterian were mostly to do with health. Lot’s of the food we eat in the United States is full of sugar and fat. While a Pesceterian diet eliminates these in most situations, the added benefit of heart healthy fish.

“The school’s main options are all meat-based and so are a lot of restaurants. Finding good alternatives that I can eat that are also full of protein isn’t an easy task either,” Helgens remarked as a struggle. 

But though it is a struggle, they’ve found some new recipes since becoming Pesceterian.“I recently made Philadelphia Rolls. I really enjoy Sushi and it was probably one of the reasons I decided to become a pescetarian instead of vegetarian!” 

Helgens hasn’t yet found any new restaurants that cater to Pescetarian or Vegetarian people, but Sushi and Seafood restaurants are always a good option. Most restaurants will also usually have at least a couple Pescetarian friendly options but they aren’t always the most appetizing.

“Most Pescetarian friendly dishes are Tuna based, and I’m not the biggest fan of Tuna, but I make do most of the time!” Helgens said.

Though there are many struggles that come along with starting a Pescaterian diet, Ace would encourage others who may be interested in Pescetarianism to give it a try. 

“I would help someone who’s thinking about becoming a pescetarian by first telling them that you absolutely have to watch how much junk food you eat. By eating less meat you are getting less protein so you have to make sure you get enough. There are lots of meatless alternatives you can get through.”