From time to time, I have a few folks ask for recommendations on what to eat or prepare for their dinners or lunch. I give my opinion even if it’s a meat item I’m familiar with. However new things such as capicola ham…
I never had the luxury of this in a sandwich….By Iceman0407 on Wikipedia
I can’t help anyone with. That’s usually when the discussion about why Ichose to gave up meathappens. When I think back on it, and I can see them selecting their meal choices, may it be at an amusement park, a movie theater, a carnival…
I can’t help but feel my mouth water. The desire to eat meat isn’t as strong is it was when I first became meatless, however it’s still a hidden want. To have that warm hot dog with relish and the sun beating down on my skin. A nice rib and corn on the cob.
What I’m telling you, is that it’s okay to be honest of your desires. The more honest you are with your reasoning for quitting meat, and still wanting it, can reveal a multitude of reasons and issues going forward. Perhaps you’re not getting something out of your new diet so your body is telling you the easiest way to help it.
Don’t you dare eat my brother. By wattpublishing on Flickr. www.WATTAgNet.com.
Overall, if you’re honest with your choices to still desire meat, you may be able to work something out if the “totally meatless” diet isn’t for you in the end. Perhaps meat twice a week?
Because I like to be fancy with a tall glass and a nice blender, here are some recipes you should consider for the upcoming breezy porch days ahead:
Pomegranate & Apple Juice – I perfected this using a whole pomegranate and getting all the pods out while watching Master Chef. If this isn’t an ideal activity for you, there are pomegranate seeds that can be purchased on their own. After cutting up your apple of choice (I prefer honey crisp or Granny Smith apples) and any juicer, you’re good to go! Serve chilled with a slice of lemon or orange. For added ‘extra’ taste and even more benefits, throw in a few blueberries.
Apple, Carrots & Berries (Oh My!) – Thrown in some cut apples, strawberries and raspberries and some carrots for good measure. This can either be a juice (no ice) or a smoothie (some dairy or dairy-free product). Either way it’s refreshing and good.
Apple, Ginger, Carrot & Mint Juice – My mother used to wake me up with this around 9AM. Something about getting the nutrients better and more energy. It was annoying because I wasn’t actually awake yet…but it did taste good. Use at least two apples, a small bit of ginger, and a whole carrot and a few leaves for at least two servings.
Banana Mint Smoothie – Some people don’t care for mint, but it’s healthy for you. And during the hot days, you’ll need that little ‘kick’ that makes you feel good in the soul. Mint could be that foot. Cut up some bananas (I actually detest this fruit but I like it mashed and pureed…) and add a few fresh leaves of mint. If you’re blessed with a green thumb, you can use the mint variety such as chocolate, or orange mint.
This smells like chocolate I swear. By Downtowngal on wikimedia commons.
Since I became a meatless eater, there are a few other items I chose to take out of my diet due to reasons I thought would enhance my overall health.
Sugar – White granulated specifically. I decided to get rid of this when I noticed how the taste of my morning teas were beginning to be too much, as was the later energy crash after consuming it. It wasn’t helping my skin issues either. After cutting down my sugar packets from three to two, and ultimately none, I felt better and my teas tasted more authentic. Replacement sweeteners are honey, brown sugar, and blue agave nectar.
This stuff is really sweet, which means less in your cup. By Mike Mozart on Flickr
Dairy – I mentioned my struggle with hormonal/adult acne in aprevious post. With motherly advice, the dermatologist and reading various sources, lessening the amount of dairy I ate or drank was important if I wanted some kind of relief from my break outs…and upset tummy. Yes! I do believe the older I’ve gotten, I’ve gotten a slight lactose intolerance. Since there are other options such as lactose-free milk like Lactaid or even dairy-free yogurt (no personal judgement on its taste yet…), I’ve still been able to enjoy my morning or evening bowls of cereal. Other alternatives such as rice, and almond milk (no additives!) are tasty. Almond milk is also a good and accessible options if you have a lot of almonds and are bored.
Gelatin – I cut this out because I felt that I’d be cheating if I said I didn’t eat meat, but still turned around and ate S’mores or cornbread…Yes cornbread! Imagine my shock when I saw this:
It made me stop in the middle of the aisle in shock…What WAS in cornbread anyway? Gross!
Overall, this is a personal choice and certainly not indicative of everyone that may choose to go meatless but there are now plenty of options for your taste-buds. Vegan marshmallows, gelatin-free Skittles. Vegetable broth…No word on gelatin-free Starbursts.
When I was a first year, I was really excited about getting to be so close to a gym and actually using it. Then I started using it. I quit my fitness perspective about four weeks after being on campus due to worrying about germs and eyes during my workout. During my sophomore year, my roommate and I experimented with evening jogging. This was okay so long as the weather wasn’t too cold.
Who wants to jog in this? Not I. By Victorgrigas on English Wikipedia
By junior and senior year I made no effort to work out as much as I used to. So many excuses among us both; we were too cold, too tired or the gym was too crowded. Overall, being active shouldn’t be because you want to look great for the summer thus attracting a fling of some sort, but because you want to live longer and feel great on the inside! My roommate and subsequent added figured out a plan – we’d carry on activities that didn’t make it seem like we were doing too much strenuous activity. One of them was holding a Zumbasession two times out of the week for at least thirty minutes. It was an activity that worked into our schedules and actually made it feel like we weren’t doing anything too intense. I also love dancing so with a great beat and enthusiastic participants this was a great start for us.
As the weather grew warmer, we grew interested in using the newly installed track field, as well as walking around our campus after dinner. Our appetites caused dinner to be around 3:30pm, leaving enough sunlight to walk around in peace.
In my room, I’d stretch after getting dressed walking up and down the stairs for at least twenty minutes even though we chose the first floor to avoid this.
Overall, the access one has to college workout equipment and spacious lawns is something to take advantage of amidst busy schedules. Although I find it easier to use trails and a sturdy bike to get my solitary fix of fitness when I’m off-campus.
If you continue to go meatless, you’ll start to notice that you’re becoming more aware of the things you eat and use.
Candy isn’t just candy, and body spray isn’t just that. And that tea mix you love? Nope check again.
Labels lie…or have a special way of lying that the average consumer isn’t properly interpreting, because they believe the fancy splash graphics on the front. Or because it’s the latest ‘trend.’
For instance, a brand name smoothie I used to drink constantly, recently got into a lawsuit due to the labeling that was deemed a false claim.Anything that is labeled ‘all-natural’ or ‘100% juice,’ you need to learn to take a second look. In terms of bottled smoothies, there are different ways to process the ingredients and certain brands are ‘better’ due to less pesticides and more nutrients present.
From a very beneficial post from The Food Babe.com that helped me nix my favorites and experiment with the good stuff (it was very hard as I love the sweet stuff), she touts the smoothie or juice brands that are better and other ways companies attempt to ‘legally lie.’
From The Food Babe.com
Bottled juice wasn’t the only thing I learned to be more aware of. The teas I make from store-bought tea bags were also re-examined after reading the above blog and others. Anything with ‘soy lecithin’ or ‘natural flavoring’ I learned to stay away from. Again, pesticides and sometimes bugs…Gross!
Learning what certain ingredients really mean is also important. If I didn’t understand what it meant, I did a trip to the search engine. If I felt icky after reading up, then I ditched it. Numerous body sprays with BHT I’ve stopped using. Water and ingredients I can get myself are important to me.And they smell much nicer too!
Let’s face it: acne sucks. That wasn’t just an attempt at a cliche, but my honest feelings.
Ever since I was a teenager, I was a sufferer of acne. Still am. Adult acne is very real and unless you have the insurance of a goddess, sometimes it’s not always easy to keep it at bay.
Overall, adult acne is usually due to an influx of hormones that can be inflamed by stress, chemical make-up or simply your diet. There are a variety of sources that tout different ways to ‘cure’ it or manage it.
Personally, I’ve seen quite a few dermatologists (which you’ll need to do during your meatless journey, trust me and to determine your remedies) and used nearly every acne system on the market…It was frustrating and expensive.
If I ever thought my skin was finally clearing up, that one HORRIBLE breakout ruined my esteem or any progress I felt I had made. In my opinion, why was I paying to have everything ‘clear it out’ and then start over until I ran out of said supply? I still had to go out in public after all.
Out of the things that were prescribed to me,Retin-Aand Acanya gelwere a nice combo. However I was still dealing with breakouts from time to time.
I’ll list a few of the methods that helped during the Rx and after it ran out that seemed to keep my breakouts to a minimum.
Witch Hazel – I always used this in high school, but I started back using it less than a year ago and ‘adding’ it with my current toner. Anything alcohol-free is vitally important as inadvertently causing more oil or sebum to produce could produce more break outs. I use it as soon as I get out the shower in my problem areas on my body or face and let it dry.
Black Soap – Another product I was experimenting with when I got financial freedom. This is touted as the ‘end all be all’ to any sort of skin issue, but personally it depends on what and whom you’re buying it from. Be careful ordering batches of these, as you want something that can’t be misidentified as a small child or bits of glass due to a lack of proper processing/filtering. Made from palm ash, tamarind extract, tar and plantain peel and other natural sources that give it a dark brown or light brown color. The ‘dirtier’ and less uniform it looks, the more authentic the soap. I used this at night and washed it off with cold water. Don’t get this in your eyes, I repeat: DON’T GET THIS IN YOUR EYES!
Water – How many times can this be repeated? The times where my skin looked the most flawless was when I “kept drinking like a fish,” as my college roommate called it.
Apple Cider Vinegar & Green Tea – I always loved tea, and green or black tea was how I chose to wake up in the mornings. After mixing the ACV with hot water and honey and not tasting very good, I decided to just throw a tablespoon into my green tea. Best idea ever. I get the nutrients of both and the health benefits cited from the ACV. Apple cider vinegar with the ‘mother’ is said to be the homeopathic ‘thing’ that can help with anything.Again, that’s all hearsay unless medically proven, but it does help with my energy, and the more that I’ve consumed, the more of a glow my skin seems to have. I can’t explain it quite simply but it’s doing something and I like it. Just don’t drink this by itself – tooth erosion is real.
Colorful foods – as mentioned inmy previous post, the more color in your diet, the better your diet. The better your diet?
Hopefully these are some things (other than sleep when you finally graduate) that can help ease your journey when making a drastic change that will affect your internal and external appearance.
Ever since I decided to go meatless, I really got into the various snack items that can be found in any co-op or store on a hill. Here are a list of things you can chose to add to your diet and make people feel bad about their own simultaneously and I really really like.
Toasted Coconut Chips
These are light and buttery. Strips in a spaceship bag made of heaven.
Dried Mangoes
They’re pretty sweet due to the added sugar…But who cares. Have five strips and be awake for anything!
Dried Seaweed – You can usually find this in the ethnic food aisles in any store or those stores on the hills…but be careful with this! Eating too much made me feel a bit light-headed. But the added salt in some brands can make you think they’re just chips. Newsflash; they’re not. One or two sheets are good or you can use them for some home-made sushi rolls instead…
Trail Mix – No picture needed as it’s an age-old snack. You can either pay to buy a wholesale bag to last you through the months or you can make your own. Try to stay away from too much of those chocolate pieces!
Smoothies – You don’t need an expensive piece of equipment. Get a blender or mixer from any store and call it a day. During my mornings or afternoons in between classes, I added strawberries, blueberries and mangoes with any kind of nectar juiceand a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.
Fruit Bars – Any thing “apple,” is a go-to of mine, but feel free to experiment! However always be aware of the ingredients!
Some sources always try to use water as a sponge for your stomach. As in, “drink all this water and you’ll never need food again!”
Nope, nah and never. During your meatless diet however, you will get the munchies. It’s a given. In this way, your desire to be healthy can get thrown out of wack because of the bad habits you may form because you feel as though you can’t eat anything…
Stop being lazy and get a grip! You can be eating all the healthy food this green Earth can offer but if you’re not adequately hydrated, people will tell and your body will suffer in various ways.
During my early stages of going meatless, I searched for my old water bottle. Reusable of course. Some folks like to get fancy and get one of these:
Plot-twist, these Voss U.S. bottles no longer use glass. By Christian Rasmussen on Wikipedia
Recently I decided to revert back to a water bottle choice I used all through elementary school:
It’s plastic and HUGE can resuse it as many times you want.
I didn’t pay an expensive amount, and I can drink the recommended amount of water for my body weight (take your weight and divide by 2) without worrying how many water bottles I’ll have left for the week.
Overall, drinking more water (and making an effort to do so), has cleared up my skin, fuels my energy, and I have less of an inclination to eat after 7pm unless I’m just bored.
Drink as much as you can throughout the day. Your body will thank you and you’ll have folks wondering what tournament you’re training for.
Water is a great conversation piece but should be a very important piece in your diet
As mentioned in my first blog post, my mother was highly concerned with how my dietary needs would be met, after taking out an important staple like meat. She harped with our doctor to look for things I could take or do in order to keep up my healthy balance.
For a while, I was taking the brand name supplements, also throwing in some extra Vitamin C for good measure. It seemed like it was working until ‘that day…’
See ‘that day,‘ consisted of my latest shift at the campus cafeteria. It was a slow and boring shift but easy money. However, although I was sleeping enough prior before getting up, walking around etc. I still felt very tired. Almost as if I imagined myself falling down and never waking up.
After consulting with the nearest doctor, I was told I was borderline anemic and I needed to start working on my iron and B12 levels.
Great and gross…Iron water smells like blood if you don’t mix it right.
So I tried out iron pills and continued to have huge bowls of dark greens during lunch and dinner, or just as an evening meal.
In the morning, I’d have bright red grapefruit, and bright orange cantaloupe after a bowl of cereal or scrambled eggs. Nothing but bright red tomatoes or a bowl of dark red beets. Very blue blueberries or bright orange carrots as a snack – I could go on!
Do you see what I’m doing here? All of these colors are not just to tie a fancy abstract writing piece but to show how Mother Nature signals the ‘good stuff’ depending on the color. For instance, according to Fruits & Veggies, More Matters, the more colorful your diet, the more phytonutrients, or antioxidants you consume.
Here is a postfor the different nutrients found in the above foods I mentioned (beta-carotene, lycopene etc.) and more!
On the bright side, the majority of these things taste good so keep using pure supplements (try to stay away from synthetic oils) and colorful foods.
Since I’ve gotten used to ‘cooking’ between these four walls that are a dorm room or campus apartments, there are a few ‘go-tos’ that are incredibly filling and easy to make during undergrad.
Notice I didn’t say ‘healthy’ but we can slide in a few of those if you insist…
Mac & Cheese
Salmon & Salad
Spinach & Shrimp
Mac & Cheese – My mac & cheese dish is an odd bowl. For starters you need a either your standard brand mix (again, this isn’t healthy) or you can purchase you own elbows.
For some reason, this noodle dish I’ve seen growing up is spiced up with mustard. So after boiling your noodles, and adding any cheese (or dairy-free?), squirt some mustard along with some butter.
I’m worth more than something on your hot dog…By @theimpulsivebuy on Flickr
After spicing it up, I usually throw some marinara sauce in it, giving it a nice, “I cook like an amateur on Master Chef,’ blush red.
Salmon & Salad – Salmon is pretty tasty, but if you’re too eager, you can easily destroy all enthusiasm to try some. No one wants under-cooked fish (raw or die) or a piece of rubber to chew on.
During nights I’ve watched my mom just ‘whip up some fish,’ here’s how it goes:
Season your fish however (basil, oregano…No Old Bay, that’s tacky)
Melt a tablespoon of butter in a skillet on medium heat
Rub your season mix on the fillets
Let the fish cook on each side, getting a light golden brown (usually five minutes each)
Squirt a little lemon juice and add a few sauted onion slices and tomatoes
Absolutely no lemon slice
Now that your fish is done, you can let it cool off for a bit while you throw you salad together. I usually go for the ‘spring mix’ in stores; spinach, baby lettuce and some other weird stuff.
French call it something…We call it Spring Mix. Photo by DocteurCosmos on wikipedia
Since you most likely didn’t use all of the tomato, it can be used with the salad. Just heaps of greens and buttery golden goodness, can make for a very fancy dorm (or home-made) meal that’ll leave everyone questioning why the ramen no longer tastes as good.
Last but not least there’s my Spinach & Shrimp dish. Made when I was in a rush and wanted to be fancy, yet again.
Spinach is easy to cook. Almost too easy! Just get a non-stick pan, some olive oil and chopped garlic. Let the olive oil heat up a bit, and throw as much spinach leaves into the heat. The leaves will curl and get smaller, so you’ll want as much as you think is ‘enough.’ The shrimp is fairly easy as well, no matter if you boil or saute it. Just let it thaw out first under some cold water for about five minutes.
You can then eat these two together or add it to some quick rice for a really hearty meal.
I hope you take these options to heart and try it when you’re feeling bored. But remember, it will get boring if you don’t shape it up! Happy Nomming!
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