Vegetarian: 1 Year! {Healthy Substitutes & Top 2 Tunes}



Happy Tuesday!

I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I've officially been a vegetarian {pescatarian to be exact..} for ONE YEAR.

This time last year, I was unsure how long I could stick to this lifestyle change, but I knew it was something I wanted to try. I feel as though I made the right move because here I am, one year later, not craving any meat and am really satisfied with how far I've come. In the past year, I've only "slipped" a handful of items. Once, while watching a football game, I really wanted a chicken wing my friends were eating, so I ate one! If I have a random craving here and there, I'm not super strict with myself and I will eat it. ...and No, I didn't get sick after. The handful of times I did accidentally eat meat, I noticed I didn't really miss it enough to continue wanting to eat it, or to add it back into my diet. I mentioned in previous posts about how I have more energy, skin has improved, weight hasn't fluctuated like it used to, and I just feel good. There are more positives that I've noticed, but without going into lengthly detail, those reasons are enough for me to continue on with it.

Read about my favorite vegetarian websites and meals: here
Read about my favorite foods that I eat on a day to day basis: here

If you are thinking about trying a vegetarian lifestyle, my biggest recommendation would be to plan. plan. plan. Plan your first month of meals (especially dinners) ahead of time, or make yourself a binder full of recipes you can turn to when you aren't sure what to cook. For the first couple months, I would make a few new recipes here and there, but I mainly stuck to what I knew to eat and enjoyed. I got used to it rather quickly and it wasn't as bad as some of you would imagine. If you've been wanting to push yourself to try a different diet/lifestyle, this might be for you!

When I made the switch to becoming a vegetarian, I also substituted many items I had been eating with healthier alternatives. Here are just a few of them. What healthy substitutes have you made in your diet?

-I only use regular milk (skim) when baking

-I rarely drink milk as it is, but I use almond milk for smoothies, the breakfast cookie, protein shakes, and with the occasional bowl of Kashi granola

-Greek yogurt = more protein

-I even use plain greek yogurt in place of sour cream

(this takes some getting used to, but I love it now)

(as you can see, I still eat dairy, for those of you who are wondering. I'm not a vegan and don't see myself giving it up anytime soon. HOWEVER, I have done a good job with limiting it and cutting back on eating cheese!)

-I used to eat cashews, peanuts, and other various nuts like it was my

j-o-b. The 100 calorie Emerald Walnuts and Almonds packs help me keep my intake of them under control, and they are 2 of the best nuts you can eat.

Do you still eat normal granola bars?

I don't remember the last time I had one like Quaker or Nature's Valley, but if you are still eating them, I'd say make the switch to a more organic, natural protein bar like Larabars. There are other yummy brands of protein bars, if you aren't a fan of Larabars, like Luna bars and Clif bars.

Other items I eat on a day to day basis include: spinach (say goodbye to the romaine lettuce), quinoa, beans (ALL types), hummus, sweet potatoes, and obviously an adundance of fruits and veggies.

Time for my Top 2 tunes this week!

1. International Love - Pitbull ft. Chris Brown

2.Turn Me On - David Guetta & Nick Minaj

*Last night was my first CROSSFIT class with Kelsey!

It went really well (..I didn't pass out, so that's good), and I'm excited to see how the next few classes go. Crossfit is NO JOKE, friends. It is so intense, unlike anything I've ever tried, and is a total body workout. I'm predicting to be sore many many mornings this next month. It's going to be a total change for me in regards to my workouts....

Running/lifting and Crossfit = completely different.

...and to scare us shitless top it all off, we already saw someone bust their chin

in one of the classes last night. Just great.

What have you changed in your diet or workouts lately?

Share with me!

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