Vegetarian Update

It's been almost 5 months since I've become a vegetarian. So far I'm feeling good! :) Though this may sound a little cliched, I really do have more energy. I used to have problems with stomach pain where I would take prescription medication as needed but now, it's been a while since I've had the pain. Less digestion issues as well. Being a vegetarian isn't just not eating meat, it's making a conscious effort to find, try, make and eat different foods that have vitamins, protein and minerals that we need. It's cutting back and out other foods that are nothing but, empty calories high in sugar, salt, cholesterol and fat that don't provide that nutrients that the body needs. Since I am a Christian, for me it's choosing to do what God wants all of us to do and that's to treat our bodies well because we only have one life.

I don't miss eating meat or cooking it. In fact, the the first thing I detect whenever I smell meat that's being cooked by someone else is that it's salty. Over the past few years, I have been training my body to get used to eating foods that I cook with little to no salt and cutting back on the foods (i.e. fast foods, frozen foods, snacks, etc.) that have a lot of salt added. This started back in high school (I think) when I learned more about when my mom was diagnosed with hypertension in her 20s and how a lot of my family members have or had it, I get headaches from eating foods high in salt.

Like I mentioned earlier posts, I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian meaning, I don't eat meat but, I still include eggs and milk products in my diet. However, I'm choosy about where I get eggs and dairy products from and how much I personally consume.

A few of my family members know that I don't eat meat anymore. Not all of them though. I don't really know how some will respond but I have to be prepared for any response. We'll see how it all goes during Thanksgiving when more people wonder why I'm not eating the ham, turkey, chicken or fish (if there is any this time).

I know that meat is a good source of protein and has other nutrients that our bodies need and I don't condemn anyone who eats meat. The only thing that I pray and hope is that people are more aware of where the meat comes from, how the animals are treated prior to be slaughtering, and most importantly, I hope that more people become more knowledgeable about nutrition and what our bodies need to function properly. Eating a healthy and balanced diet, whether it includes meat or not, is not only eating salads, eating carrots, celery, and foods that taste like cardboard all day everyday. (That's boring! I prefer my carrots steamed, raw with hummus or ranch and my celery with hummus, peanut butter, ranch, the occasional raisins on top and in soups, stews, and salads.) There are a TON of different foods out there that is not meat that have so many different things to offer us. Food should not taste boring and nasty. Find out a way to make it taste good and still keeping it's nutrients (for example adding different spices instead of a ton of salt or substituting olive oil for whatever cooking oil.)

So far my favorite food is spaghetti with chunky veggies, mushrooms, and marinara sauce. Trade in the regular pasta for whole wheat pasta... YUM! I enjoy munching on veggies and hummus in between meals. I recently started adding raisins and cut up apples to my oatmeal in the mornings. Doing this adds some natural sweetness allowing me to getting used to eating it without adding a lot of sugar. Granola is fun to crunch on every now and then. I also love fruit and fruit salads for snack or part of a meal.

So that's how fairing as still a fairly new vegetarian. Eat healthy my friends!