Tofurky and Vegetarian stereotypes

You have my sincerest apologies for not updating. I allowed myself to get a bit behind in my homework and so I have been catching up. Next, I have a presentation due on Monday. It never ends.

The day before yesterday I made myself an amazing breakfast of spinach, tomatoes, onions and crumbing cheese in a whole wheat pita, topped with avocado and salsa. It was so great and filling but kept falling apart. Since enjoying homemade salsa, the jar stuff really isn't so appealing anymore.

Yesterday I have my usual yogurt for breakfast but I have eaten up all my fruit so I just topped it with this new chocolate delight granola made by Back To Nature. I have found a new favorite product! In addition to eating a vegetarian diet, I am also trying to eat better all around. This means no fried foods, less caffeine (I am pretty addicted to Diet Coke and coffee but slowly trying to decrease my intake) and cutting out my love of chocolate as much as possible. I think this new granola product of mine might help a lot with my late night chocolate cravings.

The biggest excitement for me has been finally making up my Tofurky Italian sausage. I didn't have high hopes for it because tofu is just squishy and weird but this stuff is AMAZING! The flavor is perfect. It did have a squishy texture but I just cooked it a little bit longer then necessary and it came out just right. I made up some simple noodles and mixed a concoxion f olive oil, tomatoes, spinach, onions, leeks and seasonings and plopped it on top. It was a huge meal but so good. I will never again eat real sausage even if I do decide to return to eating meat because the Tofurky's taste is at such a higher level of yumminess. The one and only concern I have is that I think the sausage had a lot of salt because I was very bloated after my meal. This will not be an everyday meal but it will most definately be in my rotation of great things to buy.

I have been attempting to keep up with a simple exercise routine. I run on our elliptical machine as long as I can. Unfortunately, I have noted that I just don't have the endurance anymore. I used to be able to run for an hour and a half which went down to an hour, then 45 minutes and last night I could only run for a half hour. Quite possibly there could be other reasons for this such as the times of day I run or who-knows-what but I do feel it is noteworthy.

I do believe that my diet has helped me with my fatigue. For the past year or so I have been dealing with being constantly fatigued that I was unable to function during the day. I used to get up and take my children to school by 7:30am then come back home, put my three year old in front of the TV and sleep until 11am and then be unable to really wake up or be rested enough for the remainder of the day. Now, I am able to get up with my kids and stay up. I do get pretty fatigued by 3pm but I am able to fight through it. Even now however, I enjoy the days when I can come home from bringing the kids to school and my youngest is still sleeping. I lay down next to him and sleep another few hours if I can. I don't think I will feel a quick fix to my fatigue but I do see a light at the end of the tunnel. By changing a few things my quality of life is already so much better.

I am facing a little bit of a vegetarian stereotyping. I have vegetarian and vegan friends but they are not my closest friends. One of my closest friends seems to be bothered by the fact I am defining myself as a vegetarian. I only mentioned my diet to her in passing once and yet I feel she has put up a wall to me. She seems defensive. She tells me how she hates that vegetarians and vegans seem like they are "know-it-alls" and I think she feels I will be doing the same. I mentioned to another friend my new diet plan and she told me that I needed to go spend more time wth L*** (mutual vegetarian friend) because we would have so much to talk about and not with her. It felt like I was being written off. Honestly, I haven't told any of my vegetarian/vegan friends how I have changed my diet. I have only mentioned it to one person via Facebook whom I may see only once a year at the most because she is a very educated and informed person and I thought she might help me educate myself (again, thank you for your help Rhonda!). Why is there such a stigma against people who choose to eat differently for their own personal reasons? I am not forcing my opinions on anyone and even though I have my family try the vegetarian foods I make for myself, I still cook meat for my family. I am not fanatical but I do see so many benefits to my new life that I wish I could share it with more people. It hurts to be shut out.

On that depressing note, I will sign off along with my sincerest thank you for coming to read my crazed ramblings.

Dried cranberries and crazy kids

Today was ridiculously stressful but also somewhat productive. My kids have reached a stage that they can’t stand being around each other. This is difficult because normally they are each other’s best friends. The kids were out of school for Veteran's Day and refused to stop fighting or were not listening to me. I suppose that happens as they get older but I am not okay with that.

Mondays are usually busy for me as I clean because the house is typically destroyed from busy weekends and cook as much as I can to put in the fridge for later. Part of my bad mood was probably because I didn't get a chance to make anything for myself to eat until about 1pm when I wolfed down the last of my tzatiki and pita bread.

This afternoon I made handmade oven dried cranberries from a recipe I found online. They turned out pretty yummy and even my kids ate half of them. I think I needed to squash the cranberries more during the cooking process and I did sprinkle a tiny pit of sugar on them during the last hour of cooking but I don't think that made much difference in the taste.

Dried cranberries

I made myself a salad for dinner as my dandelion greens were already starting do go bad. I also added kale, spinach, tomatoes, leek, a little bit of dill and sunflower seeds with an oil and balsamic vinegar as the dressing. I also made up the quinoa that bought from the Fresh Market. I have never had quinoa but have seen so many recipes that I had to give it a try. I was so disappointed because it tasted like the inside of a shoe. It came with a seasoning mix but it was just not good. It was a new and tasty addition when I added some to my salad though. I do have high hopes it would be good in a variety of recipes and I even have a few in mind that I am eager to try.

Quinoa and my salad

I ran to the liquor store when my husband came home from work as I felt I needed something to ease my nerves from the screaming children all day. Unfortunately, the store was closed but as it was right next to the Publix grocery store, I had an excuse to shop for something new without distraction. I bought some grocery staples along with wine coolers. I also purchased these cute little Forelle pears and Tofurky Italian sausage. The pears were so adorable that I had to give them a try. As for the faux sausage, I came to the conclusion that if I wanted to be a vegetarian, I needed to not only discover new plants to eat but also learn what substitutes for meats are out there. I have had tofu before in tacos and lasagna but it is just spongy and weird. I can’t just write off all meat substitutes because I dislike one. I am looking forward to cooking it up tomorrow to see how it tastes.

Now, about my observations regarding the effects of this experiment. I am aware that you don't want to know this but alas, it is still an interesting fact... I stink. I let out some of the most mind-altering, so-strong-it-could-take-down-a-horse farts that it is embarrassing! I did not expect this. I would have imagined that meat products and the body having to digest those difficult animal proteins would make a person much stinkier but I was wrong! So to those within 2 feet of me out in public, I am so sorry.

My last observation is that my husband complimented me as I was changing for bed tonight. I was poking my flubby belly from the 3 beautiful children that I carried and my husband mentioned that it has gone down. I appear as though I am more toned and have lost weight. Now, the scale disagrees but I may be seeing more muscle tone from exercising and decreasing my fat intake. My husband is not one to beat around with words or one to give compliments or criticism when it isn't warranted so I am taking him at his word. YEAH ME!

Thank you one and all for stopping by! Have a fabulous evening and stay safe.

*I apologize for my camera seeing to be orange. My kids do mess with my things so who knows what they did to it...

Good times and limited vegetarian options

It has been such an eventful few days. I have dyed my hair (dirty blond), went to a violin symphony, lunches and dinners with friends and even went to karaoke for the first time in my life last night. This afternoon I took a long nap just to recover from the constant activities!

New hair color.

Horrible camera and so it is a bit lighter then this.

I like it

I still am keeping with the vegetarian diet and learning to make new and exciting things. Friday, I used the dill that I bought at Fresh Market and made tzatziki sauce. Tzatzki has always been one of my favorite items from the Greek restaraunt that my best friend and I frequent. It is such a simple thing to make, which is wonderful! The recipe made SO much that I have tzatziki coming out of my ears though. Also, the recipe called for too much salt but it is still amazing and I have been chowing down on it with cut whole wheat pita bread.

Tzatziki and pita bread

I mentioned that I have been to a few new restaraunts the past few days. Yesterday I went to a fancy caribbean place before heading to the symphony. As we live along the Gulf of Mexico, fresh gulf fish is a big deal here. I have never liked fish and so I have always had a hard time finding exciting menu items even before this change in my diet. Now, it seems all I have offered to me is noodles and soggy salads. Yesterday I had a boring fettucini alfredo. It was alright but there was no substance.

Today, we went to a sports bar for lunch with friends. Of course there was a lot of chicken wing type menu items which I normally LOVE but now I am left with no options. I had a simple caesar salad that was limp and nothing to it. I have hope that other restaraunts may offer decent vegetarian choices but I am not too optimistic.

The other night my husband was working late and I can't sleep when he isn't home and so I stayed up late watching Food Inc. on Netlix. WOW, that was a powerful documentary. It didn't advocate a vegetarian or meatless diet but it was about informing the consumers as to where our food is coming from. I cried. There is no doubt in my mind that I will be making a vegetable garden come spring as I will feel so much safer knowing where at least a little bit of my food comes from.

Thanks for stopping by. I adore you. Good night.

Fresh Market adventure

I finally made it to Fresh Market! I drove to the next city over, which was about 20 minutes away. I think the drive was too long though because my 3 year old fell asleep during the ride. Normally, I would appreciate the nap but he wouldn't wake up! I had to carry him through the store as I shopped. It was a challenge trying to reach products on the shelves while carrying him and a basket. I got a serious workout from it though.

 

The trip was still a success. I found fresh dill which I have been trying to find for a few months now. I bought dandelion greens! I have never had dandelion. I also found some mangos for the kids, chili peppers, quinoa and dried vegetables for a snack. The veggies were so yummy and my son even liked them so I will be back again soon to get some more. I especially loved the green beans. What a great taste and a healthy snack. Can't get any better than that!

So when we arrived home I made a salad with my new dandelion greens. I added spinach, tomatoes, leeks and red onion. I made a simple dressing with oil, white wine vinegar and dill. It was such a wonderful and flavorful meal.

For dinner I made a simple quesadilla with salsa. Nothing special and honestly it was very filling and heavy on my stomach. I have always loved cheeses. I get a thrill out of finding new and different cheese (have you ever had buffalo milk cheese? I have) but I am not sure my body likes it so much anymore. I will be trying harder to cut out cheese from my diet but I can't get rid of it all and I still love my yogurt.

This morning I enjoyed my favorite yogurt with blackberries and sunflower seeds! I LOVE BLACKBERRIES but they have always been a little too costly for me. I found them on sale and stocked up. It's like Christmas, I am so excited.

That's all I have to share for now. Thanks for stopping by my friends. Have a fabulous day!

Just Some of my Research

I wanted to share some of the info I found. I have been noticing that the scale isn't changing and so I found this article here titled "Can Going Vegetarian Make You Fat?" Honestly, I am still baffled because I do eat low fat, low calorie foods but this still was pretty insightful.

Also, I found this article posted by someone on Twitter titled "Top 10 reasons Not to Eat Pigs". It is very disgusting how these defenseless animals are treated. Just reading this made me sick.

Thanks for stopping by!

Progress

I know, I know. I have been slacking on posting updates but honestly, I haven't been eating anything that I haven't already posted.

For instance, my breakfasts and snacks have become Greek yogurt with cut up strawberries or cranberries and sunflower seeds. Lunches are usually a salad of whatever I have in the fridge and dinner has been either another salad, stir-fry or I made stuffed chili peppers again last night. The stuffed peppers didn't turn out too well because I used a crumbing cheese that didn't melt and the whole thing was a weird mess. I ate it anyway.

Kale Chips

Random Salad

Yummy vinager I found to use as my salad dressing

My bedtime snack

Stuffed peppers. Next time I will use mozzerella

I think it is time to mention how I am feeling physically about my new diet changes as it is an important part of this experiment. One thing that I have noticed is that I have to eat breakfast every day. I used to be able to just have coffee and be fine but now I need something on my stomach. This has been the hardest challenge because I LOVE omelets but decided to cut out eggs. I have also noticed that I feel lighter. I don't have the bloated, nasty feeling after my meals that would weigh me down. This has been the best effect so far! However, speaking about being weighed down, I am a little upset that I haven’t seen a change in the number on the scale. I have been exercising regularly and eating this amazing vegetarian diet but the scale isn't moving. I suppose that can be attributed to age. I am now 30 and it isn't as easy as it was when I was a kid to lose weight.

I am running out of ideas of new things to make for myself. I suppose I could spend more time researching new recipes but I don't always have the time to spare. I still haven't made the drive to the next city over to see the Fresh Market.

I am absolutely THRILLED to see my kids making better food choices. My daughter always could survive on fruits and salads and I love seeing the excitement in her eyes when she finds fresh strawberries or bananas to snack on. My 5 year old son is a relatively good eater and enjoys a salad but also loves nasty processed foods. He has been asking me to buy him more kale (to make kale chips), bananas, yogurts and berries. The best results have been my 3 year old son who eats nothing but waffles, sugary oatmeal, french fries and the occasional chicken nugget. I have learned that he likes pumpkin, bananas and hummus! WIN!

I have been morning the loss of my favorite food. My best friend and I are regulars at a local Greek restaurant that makes the most AMAZING dolmades (rice and beef seasoned and wrapped in grape leaves that they serve with this amazing sauce drizzled on top). I haven't had them in a long time and debating if I want to go get some on the first chance after my month long experiment. I was hoping to continue on being a vegetarian after the 30 days has passed but I had only promised myself to stick with it for a month. I suppose I will just have to wait and see how I feel when my month is over.

Well, thank you all for stopping by. I appreciate all my readers. Thank you and have a wonderful day!

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Check out her site, click around and read the amazing things that Batty's Bath is accomplishing. GO to Batty's Bath NOW!