First shopping trip!

Well I had my first meat-free shopping trip!  Really, technically, I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, because I'm still eating fish, eggs, and dairy.  So I'll continue to just call it "meat-free." It is much easier to say vegetarian/vegan, but that's not true to those who really are.

Anyway, I'm happy to say I spent about the same amount of money that I did last week!  I was about $20 more this week then last week, but that's not much in my book.  And this is the grocery total, not just the food total.  I did buy a lot of cleaning supplies this week, since we're going to be moving soon & I will have to clean house.  Plus, it was time to buy Dan's razors, and they're pretty pricy!  Additionally, this week I didn't buy too much produce, because I will be purchasing my produce locally this week!  A friend is heading out tomorrow to a local farmer and is going to pick me up a large box of greens & whatever else is in season, then I'll incorporate them into the meals that I have planned this week.

To compare the vegetarian meat substitutes to the real deals... I have my receipts ready from both shopping trips!  Last week, I bought a pound of lean ground beef at $3.61 for about a pound (I think it was 1.16 pounds or so).  This week, instead, I bought a 12 oz pack of MorningStar Farms Meal Starters Griller crumbles at $3.18.  So, it was roughly the same price, or at least not that big of a difference in my book.  Last week, I bought chicken nuggets at $3.49, and this week I bought a box of Chik'n nuggets at $3.18.  Now, this is a bigger difference, based on quantity.  The chicken nuggets came in a large bag, where as the chik'n nuggets came in a smaller box.  I also got a bag of chik'n strips at $3.18, a box of corn "hot dogs" at $3.18, and a small, 2 patty box of MorningStar ready to grill "burgers" for $3.18 as well.  I have really nothing to compare these purchases to because I didn't purchase anything similar last week, and I forgot to check out the prices of the meat items that they would compare to.  But, I think they're all very reasonable prices.  Additionally, I found $.75 off coupons in the refrigerator and took three, so that was nice :)

As for meal plans...  I'm not as prepared this week as I would have liked to be.  To be honest, I was freaking out a little bit that I won't be able to make it an entire month!  But I sat down and looked at what we ate last week and decided to do something similar, but just leave out the meat or make small changes.  So, this is what I have planned for this week:

Breakfasts:  Generally I just have a bowl of cereal, some fruit, and a Carnation breakfast essentials milk chocolate shake.  So I'm just going to stick with that!

Lunches:  Generally I usually have left overs from the nights before, or a sandwich.  So, I got some organic strawberry jam, HFCS free bread, and Peter Pan Peanut butter!  Yummm for PB & Js :)  I also plan on having a few boiled eggs ready, and purchased crab sticks and yogurts to satisfy my sweet tooth ;)  I will probably throw in a few salads with the chik'n strips, and I also got a few lean cuisines that are meat free as well.

Dinners:  This was the hard part.  Generally our dinners consist of a meat, starch and veggie.  I wanted to make sure I got a good mix of carbs, but not TOO many carbs. Also, I haven't incorporated in the veggies that we will be getting tomorrow from the local stash, so I may add a few different things throughout the week.  So this is what I came up with!

- Fish, rice & greens
- Veggie Chili (made with the "meat" crumbles)
- Spaghetti, garlic bread & salad
- Shrimp fajitas
- Quiche with asparagus & onions
- Veggie burgers (I also bought big portabella mushrooms to grill up to put on top... yummy!)
- A pasta bake with the "meat" crumbles, whole wheat rotini pasta, pasta sauce, cheese, and zucchini squash.  I don't normally eat zucchini squash, so that will be an interesting one for me!

So that's my plan for the first week!  Caulen doesn't know it, but some days he'll be going meat free too ;)  The corn "dogs" and chik'n nuggets are for him ;)  But I'm sure I'll keep his staple hot dogs ready just in case he's not a fan.

                

Why meat free?

During my meat-free month, I'd not only like to tell you what I eat and how, but why.  Vegetarian living is something I've flirted with for a long time.  I'll be honest... I eat way too much processed & fast food.  I loves me some McDonalds!! The sight of a Big Mac makes me drool... and when they put them in wraps it made it easier to eat them when I was driving!  But, I can feel the negative effects of eating these foods.  Whenever I eat meat (even at home) I eat way more that I really should.  Where I would normally stop, I continue to eat until I feel like I will burst.  And afterwards I don't feel fueled and refreshed, but instead I feel worn out and tired.  And I feel the effects continually for a day or two on the "other end" if you're catching my drift.

Now, granted, I know that meat isn't the number one culprit.  Overeating in general is.  And eating processed food crap is pretty high up there as well.  I'm a sucker for a "quick fix." If I can just unwrap it and eat it, it's my best friend!  And sugar and salty sweetness are my weaknesses!  I'd rather unwrap a candy bar then peal a banana.  Actually, as I'm typing this out, I'm thinking "wow how lame is that?!"

I began to worry about my diet when I started watching Jamie Oliver's Food revolution about two years ago.  Seeing what those kids in that West Virginia middle school ate made me feel sick for them... but then I realized that's the way I eat too!  So I tried to change my diet... instead of buying pre-made lasagna, I even  once made my own noodles from scratch!  I thought I was on a roll!

Then Caulen was born.  And we moved.  And once again, I found myself in the pre-made food rut.  Hormel meats and Pillsbury biscuits filled my refrigerator.  There were many days that I didn't even look at a vegetable, much less eat one.  And fruits?  Forgetaboutit!  The only things I can say were good about my diet is that I A- rarely, if ever, drank soda, and B- steered away from anything that noticeably contained high-fructose corn syrup (most notably, I checked the labels for bread, peanut butter and jelly).  Even when my exercise increased, and I was on Weight Watchers and losing weight, I was still eating pretty much pure crap.

Then Caulen started growing up and eating meals with us.  At every feeding I would think "I shouldn't feed this to my kid" or "I always said he wouldn't eat [food] but I'm just too tired to make something else" or worst "I don't know what else to make."  I started worrying about his weight, and if he would grow into being one of those "obese kids" you hear about on the news every day.  He's a big kid already (90+% for weight and height) and the doctors are very clear about this at every well-baby visit.  And a quick look at my family history wasn't very pleasing on the health front either... three of the four of my grandparents all had some form of cancer at one point in time, and my father is diabetic.

Diabetes in the family is what worried me the most.  After I found out I was pregnant for a second time, I began to research gestational diabetes again.  I was lucky enough to not have it with Caulen, but after some research I found that my risks have increased since then.  After this, I started looking into changing things for us for the better.

A friend of mine had posted on FB that he was watching Forks over Knives, and I googled it to find out it was a documentary on living a plant-based, whole food lifestyle and the health benefits it can bring.  At first glance, the documentary was very compelling.  It follows a few individuals with various health problems, including high cholesterol, diabetes, high blood pressure, and breast cancer.  All these individuals began a plant-based, whole food diet and in a few, short weeks were able to stop taking their medicines and change their health forecast completely.  The science presented was exactly what I was experiencing... when I ate meat, I ate much more of it than I should have.  And I had to eat bigger portions of meat to feel full than I would if I had chosen a salad instead.  For 10 minutes after watching the movie I wanted to completely stop eating meat and dairy all together.

But then logic kicked in, and I began searching for holes and alternative studies.  For starters, it worried me that they NEVER covered fish in FOK.  And the information presented on dairy was minimal.  I was eventually lead to this website: http://rawfoodsos.com/2011/09/22/forks-over-knives-is-the-science-legit-a-review-and-critique/   But let me be blatantly honest here... I have no idea what ANY of this means LOL!!! All these studies and numbers from either side make my head spin.  I don't know nearly enough about nutrition and diet as I should.  I know our bodies are "well oiled machines" that need to be fueled appropriately, but I don't know what the best way to do that is!

Both sides were interesting, and presented a lot of great information.  I was still interested in going vegetarian, but completely plant-based didn't seem like it was for me.  And cutting out fish?  That would be impossible!  Cutting out meat seemed hard, especially when I started to think about everything I make that contains chicken broth or cream of chicken soup.  But I know myself.... I can't just make small changes, because I fail more often when I do.  Cutting back on meat wouldn't work.  Cutting out fast food was something I've tried before, but failed.  So I decided to try meat-free for one month and see how it went.  What better way to prove or disprove the science then by doing it on my own?

So, that's what I'll do.  Do I think that I'll still be completely vegetarian at the end of the month?  Probably not.  But do I think that I will feel much better by the end of February? Absolutely.  I think that this month will allow me to look more closely at what and how I'm eating and make more educated changes where needed.  I have an appointment with a dietician tomorrow (thanks to my OB for setting me up!), so I will be getting more information to share with you all.  And come February first, I will post daily how I feel, what I'm eating, and my nutritional intake information. I look forward to sharing this journey with you all!

The Rules...

I just wanted to quickly post an introduction!  I'm really excited to start my meat-free month journey, and look forward to blogging about my journey.  I was inspired to take on a more plant-based diet after watching and reading Forks Over Knives.  If you have not seen this documentary or read the book, I highly recommend it!  It is available on Hulu+.  I am also a fan of Supersize me and Jamie Oliver's food revolution, which don't necessarily promote a plant-based diet, but definitely make you think twice about eating highly processed foods or meat products.

Here are the five goals I have come up with for myself during my meat-free month.

#1.  Absolutely no red meat, poultry, pork or related animal products (broths or gravies)

#2.  Dairy, butter, cheese, eggs and fish are okay, but should be limited.  Certain days will be designated as complete "vegan" days, where I will only eat a plant-based, whole foods diet.

#3.  I must try new foods, products, and new ways of preparing and cooking foods.  For example, I have not had eggplant in a very long time, but know there are many ways it can be used in a vegetarian diet.  I have never tried quinoa, and would really like to!  I also plan on trying various vegan products, such as egg substitutes, meatless products, and dairy substitutes like almond milk and soy.

#4.  I plan on keeping track of my grocery list and money spent.  I think there is a misconception that it's more expensive to be vegetarian, vegan, or eat a healthy diet.  While convenience foods are cheaper, I believe that I can eat healthier and meat-free without spending too much more than what I normally would.

#5.  I plan on keeping track of my foods eaten and the nutritional value of those foods.  I think there is a misconception that meat is required in a diet to ensure a person is completely healthy and receiving all the proper nutrients needed in a day.  I think it is possible for me to receive the recommended daily values of protein and various other vitamins and nutrients without having to eat meat.  Of course, however, because I am pregnant, I will be taking a prenatal vitamin which ensures I do receive the proper nutrition needed to grow a human :)  When daily nutritional values are computed and reported, my supplements will be left out of the final total, and you will be seeing just the nutritional values of the foods I've eaten that day.

If you have any questions or input, please feel free to contact me!  Thank you!!