how i do #veglife

Hello!

Earlier this week, I shared with you, why I decided to become a vegetarian.  Now, I want to share with you how I do it!

I really think that there is a misconception out there about there being strict rules to being a vegetarian.  There aren't.  What I have enjoyed is being able to research as much (or as little) as I want to and shape my philosophy based on my research and my lifestyle.  Cool, right?

So let's dig right in!

Here is my basic framework for #veglife:

1.  I do not eat any meat.  No chicken, no beef, no pork, no fish.  At first, I thought about including fish, but factory farmed fish is no better than factory farmed beef.  As for "wild caught" varieties, check out my initial #veglife post regarding bycatch.  Oh, and no gelatin-containing items, either.

2.  I do consume eggs.  But try to keep it to a minimum.  This is not ideal, but I still find myself slightly clinging to the notion of needing to get my protein.  And have you ever had veggies and eggs for breakfast?  It's amazing.

3.  I do consume dairy and cheese.  But try to keep it to a minimum.  There is some evidence that cultures that traditionally consume more dairy and cheese actually have a higher incidence of osteoporosis.  Plus, there are a wide variety of plants that contain calcium.  Broccoli, anyone?  Yum!  I also rarely consumer cow's milk.  Haven't you ever thought that it was odd that humans are the only species that consumes the milk from another species into adulthood?  Mother Nature is amazing, so consider this:  cow's milk is naturally created with a specific set of nutrients that are meant to grow baby calves into big ass cows.  Not to grow toddler humans into adult humans.  It's weird.

Spinach pizza = the best version of cheesy goodness

4.  I do consume beer, wine, kombucha....all of that fermented goodness.  I ain't about that vegan life.  (yet)

Now, let me share some of the practices/guidelines that I use to help keep myself in check and to make sure I don't become a bread & cheese vegetarian .  My philosophy is that if one of my reasons for adopting this lifestyle is for my health, then I need to create practices and guidelines to make sure I am keeping in line with that thought.  Here we go:

1.  Eat as many whole, plant foods as possible.  Even when I indulge in pizza, I make sure it is FULL of veggies.  I'll be sharing my veggie pizza recipe a little later on the blog.  I have pasta and I try to make sure it is more than 50% veggies and less than 50% pasta.  There are so many vegetarian substitutions that you can make for the refined crap food in your local super market, that it's crazy!  Spaghetti squash pasta, anyone?  Anyway, I try to keep it simple.  I have some favorites that I use often, but I do like to mix it up and find new ways to use whole foods as possible!

There's a little pasta in there, at the bottom!

2.  Eat veggies for breakfast.  I adopted this practice about 6 months ago when I realized that even as a vegetarian, I was probably not consuming enough veggies.  The struggle is real.  My favorite to whip up, if I have time is veggies & eggs.  My go to veggies include:  zucchini, peppers, potatoes, eggplant (occasionally), carrots, broccoli, and of course, onions & garlic.  I purposely exclude cheese.

Eggs and veggies are my favorite breakfast!

3.  Reduce use of vegetarian/vegan versions.  I would hazard a guess that this is one of the biggest struggles for vegetarians and vegans alike.  Again, my focus is health and getting all of the nutrient dense foods that I can, so it doesn't make sense to buy an abundance of vegetarian or vegan processed foods.  Examples: Veganaise, Vegan butter, vegan cheese, veggie burgers, vegetarian cereals, snacks, etc.  Now, I do have some in moderation when it comes to snacks, but overall, I try to keep them to a minimum.  Here is my reasoning:  Have you ever heard the philosophy that every time you see a "low fat" snack or "reduced sugar" snack that you should instead interpret "chemical shit storm"?  My thought process is similar.  If I'm a vegetarian for my health and I'm eating vegetarian cookies, does that make them healthy?  No.  Don't get me wrong, I have some veggie dogs in the freezer because I felt left out at an event, but to be honest, they weren't very good anyway and I don't think I have had one now in several months.

4.  Avoid health claims/health foods.  I promise I wont repeat the entire previous paragraph, but it all still applies.  This is called marketing.  Think about the claim on Twizzler's candy that it is a "naturally low fat food".  This may be true, but that's only because it is pure sugar.  Now when it comes to eating things like cheese, I would prefer to eat a full fat version, than reduced fat because it is at least closer to its natural state.  To be honest, I avoid almost all reduced fat/sugar products.  So, I try to keep packaged foods to a minimum, but if I do get them, I go for the packaged products that ARE full sugar/full fat.  Example: breakfast cereal.  Due to marketing and government recommendations, many people assume that breakfast cereals are healthy because they are naturally low in fat and ohhh, look! It has been fortified with "xyz" nutrient!  And the manufacturer says it's healthy!  So it must be healthy, right?  Wrong.  If we are being realistic, breakfast cereal is not much more than processed grains and a few vitamins and minerals that they added back in so that they could say it's healthy.  Most of those nutrients won't be absorbed into our bodies as well as if they are consumed from a whole foods.  (Look up bioavailability).  I also want to add that this applies to organic products, too.  Just because the "cane juice" on the label is organic, that does not make it better for you than regular sugar.  Which brings me to my next point:

5.  Reduce added sugars.  This applies in a few ways.  I do not put sugar or cream in my coffee or tea.  I don't usually get a latte at Starbucks (maybe 1/month).  I avoid fruit juices like the plague (sugar water, anyone?).  I'm sure all of my coworkers would interject here that I have a hard time staying away from the candy jar in the HR office.  Sugar is as addicting as cocaine!  And the Butterfinger cups have no added colors or preservatives, so they must be healthy, right?!  RIGHT?!!  Anyway.  My key word here is try.  When I do use sweeteners, I try to stick to organic raw honey or organic maple syrup because there is at least some mineral content.  I tried agave awhile ago, but to be honest, I wasn't a fan anyway.  Also, check out the documentary called "Fed Up".  You can find it on Netflix and it is a very interesting perspective on the obesity epidemic, particularly in young children and the addictive nature of sugar.  Which, of course, the sugar industry doesn't mind.  Also, I'm sure you have heard now that the FDA will require "Added Sugars" to be listed on nutrition labels beginning in July 2018.  Apparently the sugar industry is not too happy about this.  If you reduce the sugar in your diet to naturally occurring sugars in whole foods, you will be amazed by how you feel after a couple of weeks.  For more info on my experiment with the No Added Sugar Challenge, click here for the background, here for day one reflections, and here for week one reflections.

6.  Take my vitamins!  I am currently taking a multivitamin and a vitamin D supplement.  I would love to take a gummy because I have the hardest time swallowing large pills, but most have gelatin in them, so I settled for a children's chewable.  I don't know that I truly believe that vitamins work.  From what I recall from college, if you remove all confounding factors, there is no evidence that they work (read: due to bioavailability and such).  The reason that I continue to take them is as a reminder that those who take them typically engage in healthier habits like exercising, eating well, hydrating, and resting.

7.  Eat when hungry.  Stop when full.  I do not count macros or calories, but trust that if I am eating a whole foods, plant-based diet, then I am doing well and likely consuming more nutrients that most Americans anyway.  I'm a total grazer, and I always have been, so I snack throughout the day.  The only times I have experienced issues with energy levels is when I have found myself reverting to the bread & cheese lifestyle or making other less healthy decisions and I course correct as needed.

I can't wait to share my favorite go-to's!

As always, feel free to ask any questions that you have!

xoxo,

Anne