You know what I used to think was just crazy? Being a vegetarian. I didn’t know anyone who was a practicing vegetarian until after college. Growing up, we ate all the things. As I learned more about food and how our bodies process things, I started to think differently about what I was consuming.
Then as I got older, I started noticing more people I knew gave up meat and it didn’t seem crazy at all. It seemed doable. I didn’t go all in right away though. My first steps were doing fasts for 30 days where I cut out meat. I found that it wasn’t a hard transition for me. So I started to think of other things I could do to change my diet. Over time I cut out pork. I thought I’d miss bacon but I switched to turkey bacon. That worked for me.
Then I moved on to leaving beef off my plate. I have always loved a burger so this one was more of a challenge. After a while, I just got used to eating turkey burgers. And just like that, I let go of red meat. I was down to turkey, chicken and seafood – those good lean proteins. That was as far as I’d go until a couple of years ago.
Gave up meat (kind of)…
In 2016, I made the leap and gave up most meat to be a pescatarian. Honestly, I only didn’t go full vegetarian because I thought I’d miss sushi.
Here I am nearly three years later and I don’t miss the chicken and turkey I used to eat at all. I still cook those lean proteins for my family though. I try to be pretty particular about the meats I buy for them. The downside of being the only non-meat eater in the house is sometimes the smell of it cooking turns my stomach.
This whole pescatarian diet is easier than I thought it would be. I actually find myself eating more like a vegetarian. I don’t eat fish everyday. I’m actually allergic and too much of it breaks me out. Beyond that, I just don’t want it all the time. I eat a lot of beans, cheese and peanut butter to get some protein. I also mix it up with plant based “meat” products. I even made some sloppy joe’s using jackfruit.
I can see myself going all the way over soon to full on vegetarian. One cool perk I’ve found is that it doesn’t take me much time to order at a restaurant. So many things aren’t an option. This is awesome for me because too many options means it takes me forever to order!
Trying new things…
My husband bought me the Thug Kitchen cookbook to help me with trying new things. Once I get some really good recipes going I’ll be thinking about pulling away from the fish. It seems like a mostly plant based diet is the way to go health wise.
I load my kids up with lots of fruit and vegetables and give them smaller portions of meat. I want to gradually pull them away from meat too. I’m also one of those save the animals kind of people so… the less animals we consume the better I am. I also remember reading a quote from someone that said why do we expect the dead things we eat to give us life. That stuck with me.
I’ve been on the journey for several years now to live greener and eat cleaner. My family is getting on board in other ways. My kids are always super curious about my meals and want to try what I eat. We really eat the same things, my protein is just different. When I eat fish, we all eat fish. I’ll also do a meatless meal for us every now and then.
My daughter is way more open trying new things now. That’s huge because she can be such a picky eater. The whole healthier eating and living is a black hole. Once you jump in there’s so much information and you can’t un-know something once you know. I’m trying to do my best with what I’m learning.
