I love to cook. Preparing meals is not stressful for me; it's my time to relax and unwind in the evening and a way I show others that I care. But, I could go without doing the dishes. And for the month of June, I ate and cooked exclusively vegetarian.
Another big help was our Weekly Fig deliveries. If you're in Chattanooga, check them out. It's a CSA style program that delivers to your door. We've received so many great fruits, vegetables and other food items that it made my vegetarian cooking and non-vegetarian cooking a lot more colorful, tasty and interesting.
One of the reasons I wanted to try being vegetarian for a month was the challenge it would present in cooking. A big thank you to all my social media friends for sharing your vegetarian recipes, favorite bloggers, staple ideas and quick non-meat dishes that you enjoy. Below are some of the suggested items that I also enjoyed:
- Slow Cooker Enchilada Orzo
- Pizza Quinoa Casserole
- Quorn Products I'm not a big fan of meat substitutes, but these were good. Tofu and seitan make me want to throw up.
- Grilled Zucchini Hummus Wraps
- Zucchini Meatballs - LOVED these!
- Put artichokes, havarti cheese and pesto onto some fancy bread and make a panini.
- Cookie and Kate (blog)
- The First Mess (blog)
- Naturally Ella (blog)
- And for everything in life including vegetarian recipes, Pinterest for the win.
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| We have the sprout option which is enough for two people. It's a perfect amount. |
As I was teetering between trying vegetarian for a month or taking it a little more extreme with vegan, I ultimately went with vegetarian. I thought going vegan would have been a little too drastic. How can anyone give up cheese? And I know about vegan cheese....hard pass.
One thing to caution about being vegetarian is it's not necessarily healthier. Lots of vegetarian dishes and quick eats can be very carb heavy and protein insufficient. I tried to use more veggies, beans, nuts and eggs to fill up. And I really enjoyed using items like artichokes (never used them in anything but dips before), zucchini, sweet potatoes and kohlrabi (a Weekly Fig item I probably would have never tried) as the highlight or main hearty staple of meals.
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| A colorful salad for lunch. |
Eating out was a lot easier than what I thought. Most places had vegetarian options that weren't heavy pasta or a side salad. During a quick beach trip with friends, I had to pass on all the delicious seafood I normally would have enjoyed but only had one night where I felt I had a collection of random sides for a meal. Another night, I got a stir fry dish at Big Fish I never would have ordered and it was absolutely delicious.
And you can even do vegetarian well when life is stressful and unexpected. Unfortunately the last week of June, I spent it mostly in a hospital and then preparing for my father in law's funeral. And even between all the fast food and food dropped off by friends and family, it was relatively easy.
And in the same vein, this was also the time we were scheduled to go to Napa and take the hot air balloon flight. While we were able to successfully cancel our plans with minimal financial impact, I'm not sure when we will be able to reschedule this trip. Before my 30th in September? Probably not, but the journey continues until then.
See my other cooking/food experiences with peanut butter roll and Coq au Vin from earlier in my 30 Before 30 journey.
Update 7/7: I was asked for a conclusion on my vegetarian experience. Did I feel better after not eating meat for a month? Did I run out on July 1st and eat a burger? The answers are kind of and no. Eating vegetarian is easier on your digestive system. You don't have that same uncomfortable, heavy feeling you can get when eating meat. That said if you ate an entire extra large cheese pizza, you'd still probably feel pretty uncomfortable. Since July 1st, I have had some meat. But, I think the biggest change is I don't feel obligated to have meat at meals and feel more compelled to embrace meatless recipes or order vegetarian dishes at restaurants.
So my challenge to you is try it for yourself. Whether you go for a week or month or start having Meatless Mondays, I think you'll be surprised at the options and flavors awaiting you.
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| Our four year anniversary dinner at Flying Squirrel. The broccolini and fried rice are amazing! |
Update 7/7: I was asked for a conclusion on my vegetarian experience. Did I feel better after not eating meat for a month? Did I run out on July 1st and eat a burger? The answers are kind of and no. Eating vegetarian is easier on your digestive system. You don't have that same uncomfortable, heavy feeling you can get when eating meat. That said if you ate an entire extra large cheese pizza, you'd still probably feel pretty uncomfortable. Since July 1st, I have had some meat. But, I think the biggest change is I don't feel obligated to have meat at meals and feel more compelled to embrace meatless recipes or order vegetarian dishes at restaurants.
So my challenge to you is try it for yourself. Whether you go for a week or month or start having Meatless Mondays, I think you'll be surprised at the options and flavors awaiting you.
So, I was waiting to hear the conclusion. Did you feel 'better' or refreshed? And did you order the fattest burger you could find, the next day?
ReplyDeleteEating vegetarian is definitely easier on your digestive system. I would just say you didn't have the same heavy feeling after eating that you can have with meat for the most part. If you eat an entire pizza, you'll still probably be uncomfortable. And I didn't run out and eat meat as soon as possible. I've actually had several days of vegetarian meals so far in July. I think it's going to be more of a focus on not feeling I have to have meat at every evening meal and continuing to cook with what I think will be tasty, with or without the meat.
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