Pomegranate Love

Can you believe this lunch of mine? It started as breakfast but as any mother would know that once I started to do something for myself then the kids then wanted, needed, ahhhhh help. So here it is 12:26 and I am finally sitting down for my breakfast that became lunch.

This is cantaloupe and a salad of kale, spinach, carrots and pomegranate seeds with a dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. I was so disappointed that I ran out tomatoes, my cucumber went mushy and my avocado went bad. I was planning to make an avocado dressing with lemon juice, oil and dill so I am slightly disappointed but my meal is amazing nonetheless.

A few days ago I made the trip to Fresh Market with the kids. There they had pomegranates on sale! Excitement! I have been wanting some for a while now. Here is a confession: I had never eaten pomegranate seeds in my life. I know, I know. I love pomegranate tea and drinks but never actually had the fruit. I have been watching the prices on them and it was just too ridiculous for me to spend so much money. So I waited. When I saw them at Fresh Market on sale, I scooped them up. When I brought them home and cracked them open, my family went mad. My daughter said they tasted like candy and ate almost all of them herself in one sitting. Thank goodness I had more. There are so any health benefits to pomegranates. Veggi-rific Living on Facebook just did an article about them. I will definitely be heading back to Fresh Market very soon to get some more.

My kids loved Fresh Market as well and have been asking to go back. I let them each pick something for themselves and they all decided on cantaloupe. I think my healthy eating may be having an effect on them. For instance, this morning my daughter had grapefruit, pomegranate seeds and cantaloupe for breakfast! My 3 year old that only eats cereal and other sugary carbs actually willingly ate a bite of cantaloupe before eating his cereal (yes, this is huge progress). My husband seems to be enjoying the foods around here as well but also has had more than the usual trips to KFC. As long as there is KFC original recipe chicken, my husband will never become a vegetarian. I'll settle for a healthier lifestyle.

All around, things are looking up and looking healthier. I am over 3 months in to my vegetarian life and still loving it. My 30 day goal was the best thing that I have ever done for myself. I want to strongly encourage everyone to just try it for 30 days, that's it! It isn't a long period of time and honestly easier than I thought it would be. Take just 30 days to change your life.

 

I Found a Local Organic Cafe

Amazingly enough, I found an organic cafe in this dinky little city of mine. I had some time to spare without kids this past Friday and so I stopped by to check out the menu. I had no intention of eating there as I wasn't really hungry and I feel weird eating out in restaurants by myself. My best friend and I "do lunch" together often and so I was researching to see f I should come back with her sometime. When I walked in to Cafe Organic , I was immediately welcomed by warm, smiling faces. The staff asked if I have ever been there before and offered information and advice about the large menu and options available to me. They specialized in sandwiches, wraps, salads and smoothies. Honestly, the prices hurt a little bit but the options and ingredients looked so tantalizing that I could not walk out without trying something. I opted for a half wrap and a salad combo. I chose the Southwest wrap and a kale salad. The wrap was made of homemade black bean and chipotle hummus with avocado, carrots, cucumber, bell pepper sprouts and greens dressed with a chipotle lime cream. It was probably the best thing I have eaten in a LONG time. I have never been a fan of beans as the texture is chalky and weird but the taste of this wrap was to die for. The kale salad was made of local kale, mashed with ripe avocado and a lemon olive oil and sea salt dressing- topped with red bell pepper and Florida tomato. It proved to be a good compliment to the wrap and I do love kale but it could have used a squeeze of lemon or something to add a little tang. I asked the staff to pick a smoothie for me to try and that I was up for anything. They made me a carrot cake smoothie that was to DIE for! It was made with ginger, cinnamon, carrots, banana and almond milk. It tasted just like carrot cake in a cup. I will be going back again very soon!

It was so exciting for me to find this place. I felt so comfortable and had a great time chatting up other patrons. It is so nice to know that I am not as alone as I thought in this new diet/lifestyle of mine. I am really hoping to do some travelling and find many more places and try new things.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a fabulous day everyone.

 

Opting out of my favourite food

I have pasted the true test of my new diet. My favorite food is dolmades from a local Greek restaurant that my best friend and I visit often. Dolmades are rice and beef wrapped in grape leaves and then they top it with this amazing sauce. I have had dolmades other places but no one makes them as well as they do. I have been purposely avoiding this restaurant because I wasn't sure I would have the self-control but after my last final exam this semester, my best friend and I went there to celebrate. While driving there, I was contemplating eating dolmades because after all, there is no hard-set rule saying I CAN'T eat meat. Really, it is just a choice I made for myself. I will not burn in eternal damnation if a morsel of meat passes my lips. Still, when I sat down, I perused the menu and asked questions. We had our favorite waitress and so I told her I began a vegetarian diet and so she was a great help. I didn't want to tell her I was vegetarian and then forget everything I just said and order meat! This gave me the self-control to try something new. I ordered spanikopita (cheese and spinach in a flaky crust) and a Mediterranean salad and opted out of the egg on top. WOW! The salad was lettuce, feta, cheese, olives corn, dill and a little onion. They gave me a homemade dill salad dressing that was a perfect touch! I could barely finish it! This gave me hope that I can survive being a vegetarian even when I have always loved meat options.
 

My next step is to go to a Thai restaurant and maintain the vegetarian diet. I know that they would offer some great choices but I have always loved Thai beef salad and curry chicken over rice. This is a fun experience not settling for the same old thing and trying new, exciting options.
 
Thanks for stopping by. Have a fabulous day!

 

Going strong but with a few less teeth

You have my sincerest apologies for not updating as of late but I am afraid there isn't much new to share. I am still going strong with my vegetarian diet. I love how I feel and am thrilled to be learning so many new things. Next step? Vegan? Well, I have been researching that and it seems like so much more work then I can manage. Also, veganism really is a lifestyle when being a vegetarian is more like a diet. I don't think I am ready for a lifestyle change.
 
The only "news" I really have is that I had my wisdom teeth out after 12 years of terror and agony. It finally got to a point that I couldn't sleep or eat so I got up the nerve to have them out. Thankfully, it was a great experience and I have no regrets. I still have some pain when I chew and I have holes in my mouth that food gets stuck in. I bet you wanted to know THAT! So now chewing most vegetables hurts too much so I have been having a LOT of soups. This has been a challenge because I really know nothing about making soups. Some have turned out, some really haven't. I did a lot of ordering out but when reading ingredient lists, I found that many of them have chicken or beef broth hidden in them! How dare they! So, needless to say I have lost 4 lbs.
 
It is time for me to head back to work. My youngest will be going to school soon and it is difficult for a family of 5 to live on one income in this day-in-age. Unfortunately, there isn't much out there. I would love to find something I am passionate about (green living, socially minded), or something towards my degree/skills (business and sales) but there is just nothing out there. I have so much to learn before I will be able to get the job of my dreams.
 
For now thanks everyone for stopping by and thank you Veggi-rific for the Twitter mention. Have a wonderful night Internet world!