Also, a week from yesterday, I decided to make my first vegetarian attempt by making Black Bean Veggie Burgers (or tacos, in our case).
I haven't had a bite of meat since (yep, cold turkey!), and I have to say, it wasn't so hard. Those of you following along or who know me personally know that I am no fan of seafood. You also know that I gave up red meat last year per my doctor's suggestion, leaving me with turkey and chicken.
Now that I have been making changes to live more holistically and do right by my body, I see the case for vegetarians in a whole new light. Of course I am an animal lover (I work with pets for those who don't know), but I have also seen more information indicating that perhaps maybe meat isn't as helpful to the human body as once thought - and found it un-ignorable.
While not ready to give up everything just yet, (I LOVE my sour cream and cheese!), Sean and I also finally sat down to watch the documentary Forks Over Knives this week, which was highly enlightening. I recommend taking a look at it no matter where you are nutritionally- it provides some great insight.
I remember saying even back in high school that I could be a vegetarian if forced to - I ate meat because it was accessible and expected, but I was never in love with the stuff. I was afraid I wouldn't know what to do or have any choices, but all of those are excuses; once I gave one dish a try, it was easy to keep going.
I snack on fruit throughout the day, occasionally throw in an Arbonne protein shake, and make anything I would normally make for dinner with extra veggies that I should have been eating anyway.
Oh, eating out is no biggie either. We all know it is better to eat at home, but I had a short lunch break Saturday and wound up at Chick-Fil-A - I enjoyed a house salad and the yummy waffle fries and was just as satisfied (and felt better) than had I eaten any of their chicken offerings.
It's only been a week, but I feel great. That alone keeps me going. My stomach used to be upset all the time, and that is pretty much eliminated (except when I gorge on M&M's- they're meatless!). I'm excited to keep this up in the long term and find new things to try in the kitchen - feel free to share your favorites!
Congratulations! I have taken weeklong meatless challenges before. It is really not as difficult as some might think especially when you prepare alternatives beforehand.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely! I am at two months now, and all it took was one recipe to realize that my mind was blocking me more than anything else. It was so much easier than I thought!
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