I am two weeks into going completely vegetarian for a month, and, I have to say... it's not that bad.
Okay, "not that bad" is an understatement; it's honestly been challenging and slightly exciting to go through this new lifestyle. Other than some good-natured teasing from my roommates about cooking up all the meat in our house so the tempting smell will permeate everything we own (I laugh right along with them), I haven't really felt the draw to meat as much as I thought I would. I've been able to find recipes that satisfy those end-of-the-day cravings, and actually found that I have more leftovers with these veggie dinners than I did when meat was a main part of my diet. I have containers of leftover zoodles (what the cool kids call zucchini noodles), vegetarian lasagna, and quinoa that will last me for days and save me money in the long run from constant trips to the grocery store.
However, one struggle that I've noticed within the last two weeks is my draw to sweeter foods. Another disclaimer (you'll get a few of those throughout the course of these reflections); I have a huge sweet tooth. Ice cream is one of my favorite indulgences, and I'm usually the one who keeps the candy jar full in our living room...and I'm usually the one who eats the last piece. I'll use any excuse to bake for my roommates or roommates, just so I can sample the batter as I bake.
That being said, within the last couple weeks, I've noticed a sudden craving for more sweets. The couple pieces of chocolate I usually had a day increased to a few more. While I justified it in some way or another, it troubled me that these cravings were suddenly popping up. One of the goals of this month-long challenge is to adjust to what I perceive is a healthier lifestyle; the constant and daily consumption of vegetables seemed to promise more energy and more positive feelings about myself and my lifestyle choices. I get the feeling that this sudden increase in sweet cravings is a result of a heartier and more filling food group being removed from my diet, and my body is trying to make up for it.
One of the concerns my professor brought up to me when we were discussing the finer details of this project was me getting enough protein. While it's been noted that Americans might be over-consuming the amount of protein in their diet with mass meat consumption, to cut it out completely is admittedly not beneficial. A goal for myself coming up this Monday is to attempt to alter and differentiate my vegetable consumption so that I'm not sacrificing a healthy amount of protein for my diet (if anyone has any suggestions or recipes for receiving just the right amount of protein, please feel free to comment below!).
Overall, I have enjoyed cooking and eating foods that, prior to this month-long experiment, I really hadn't even considered buying. Things like peppers, quinoa, beans and zucchini, and every time I see the array of colors on my plate, it feels incredibly good to know that I'm putting some of the freshest produce in my system. Who knows; maybe this experiment is on track to last longer than just this one month.
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