As most of you know, one of my goals for the year is to go vegetarian for thirty consecutive days. The goal was inspired by the fact that I’ve been feeling “off” since my gallbladder surgery last March and I noticed that I felt most “off” after eating a meal with animal products. Well, except eggs- I don’t want to throw them under the bus in a blanket statement. So I thought it might be time to explore vegetarianism and see if it improves my state – both mentally and physically. I’ve always been interested in clean eating (I grew up in LA, people!) but I’m not always consistent about it. I go through periods where I am either obsessed with clean eating and on a green juice cleanse or indulging in a cheeseburger and a glass of wine each night for dinner. I don’t do “middle” ground very well. Considering I am now officially a woman in my 30’s, it might be time to take what I put in my body each day a little more seriously.
Ever heard the quote…“Take care of your body, it’s the only place you have to live” – Jim Rohn . Well, that quote keeps replaying in my head. He has a rather good point, don’t you think?
Yesterday was day one of the challenge! So far so good (said rather confidently by the girl only 2 days into her 30 day challenge) Yesterday I took myself to get a lunch at Thai Vegan (if you live in LA, go. It’s so delicious and super cheap). I’ve always loved their food, so eating there wasn’t a sacrifice. I ordered the fresh veggie wraps with peanut sauce- YUM. For dinner I made a big veggie salad (lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, gorbonzo beans & avocado) for Brian and me (although he topped his off with roast chicken. I only glanced longingly at it for a ten seconds, tops) and everybody was satisfied.
I do realize I might get a little bored of eating a salad every night for thirty nights in a row. I like variety! So I am on the hunt for easy weeknight vegetarian meals…I found the below ones while scouring pinterest. Don’t they look delish?? Each one is so colorful and vibrant. I might give them a try this next week.
I would love any vegetarian recipes you guys have to share!
GRILLED SWEET POTATO TACOS WITH LIME CREMA
found on A House In The Hills
QUINOA COCONUT SOUP
found on TLT The Little Things
SWEET POTAO AND BLACK BEAN BURRITO BOWLS
found on The First Mess
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find me elsewhere : instagram @kate365 / facebook / twitter / pinterest
365til30.com 
Check out The PPK (www.theppk.com) and also Healthy Happy Life (lunchboxbunch.com). Great plant-based recipes. You’re gonna love this challenge, I’m so curious to see if you feel differently. Are you eliminating dairy, too?
I will definitely check out those sites! Thanks for sharing sweets! I am so curious to see how I feel too. I didn’t go into the challenge saying “no” dairy. Although we never keep it in the house. I use coconut milk in my coffee in the morning and there is never cheese in the house because Brian HATES it. HA. I may as well just skip dairy for the month, right?
Right!
I hope you have great results and improved comfort. There is nothing worse than living with a chronic ‘ick’ feeling after you have eaten a meal. Maybe your body just needs a rest from digesting meat for while.
I love salad, so I have it for dinner multiple times per week 🙂 When I need inspiration I visit Cookie and Kate (http://cookieandkate.com/), or I leaf through ‘Feast’ by Sarah Copeland, either of Heidi Swanson’s books (or her great website http://www.101cookbooks.com/), and I’ve recently discovered ‘A Couple Cooks’ (http://www.acouplecooks.com/).
I hope you have fun exploring all the great vegetarian options out there!
It’s the worst feeling “ick” after every time you eat! I know you understand. Thanks for tips Amy! I am so excited to look at those sites. Wish you lived closer so you could teach me a few recipes 🙂
Check out cookbooks by Heidi Swanson. Her blog is 101cookbooks.com and she has a lot of her recipes (all vegetarian) on there.
Good luck with 30 days. I tried once and maxed out at a week but mostly because I too got bored or didn’t know what to eat that was quick and easy not so much that I missed meat 🙂
Sarah, that’s exactly what I am scared of…getting bored!! I will totally check out that site!! Thanks, lady!
check out http://www.forkandbeans.com 🙂
on it! thanks, lady! 🙂
HI Love! I applaud you for taking the initiative to make these changes. I find food habits to be some of the hardest routines to break. I wake up every morning trying to cut back/ quit coffee and every day I’m bested by that damn bean.
I’ve been pescatarian for about 12 years, but have a lot of strictly veggie recipes that I love. I pin a ton of stuff on Pinterest, if you find me there. Two of my favorite “indulgences” are spaghetti squash pad thai and shakshuka.
http://www.acouplecooks.com/2013/11/spaghetti-squash-pad-thai/
http://drizzleanddip.com/2013/11/11/shakshuka
Thanks, Katie!! I applaud you for thinking it is possible to cut out coffee in the morning. I. Could. Never!
After the 30 days I could see myself adding fish back in. I really do enjoy it. But, we will see. I am most definitely trying out that spaghetti squash pad thai. I’m already salivating. Thanks for sharing!
BIG undertaking!! Go you!! I started feeling “off” in my mid-twenties and it turned I’m allergic to dairy. I had to make LOTS of changes to how I eat, from cooking at home to eating out (always fun explaining when ordering food – this was so much easier in L.A.!). Even when I had a doctor confirmation that I should be cutting out dairy it still took me about 2 years to fully phase dairy out of my diet.
My advice in your 30 days:
Be kind to yourself.
Play, have fun, experiment.
Have a burger and some fries mid-way through if you crave it! One day won’t throw off all the other good you’re working to do :
I have a Pinterest board of veggie recipes here: http://www.pinterest.com/coindesign/food-vegan-veg/
My fave veggie cooking blogs:
http://www.sproutedkitchen.com/
http://nutritionstripped.com/
http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/
http://naturallyella.com/
If you don’t have a food processor in your kitchen maybe look into finding one? That made cooking veggie food so much faster for me (also came with a HUGE learning curve for me – thankfully Sophie was awesome in getting me on board!!!).
Ending my super-long comment – just so excited for you and don’t want you to eat salads every day – ha! Email me if I can help!! xx!
Best. Long. Comment. EVER!
What a fabulous resource you are- THANK YOU!
I will be checking out all those blogs as well as breaking out my food processor 🙂
xx
I love a good burger, but I always feel so much better when I cut out meat. I bet you will feel great after this month, and it will be so much fun trying out new vegetarian recipes! thetexitarian.com
Thanks, Jenny! I appreciate your support!! 🙂
You should definitely try the Ginger Sesame Baked Tofu I made recently. It was really good with brown rice and tons of veggies. Another thing I do when we have big salads for dinner is add roasted sweet potato to the salad. It makes it a more significant meal, especially for dinner. Season up the sweet potato. So good!
That recipe looked delicious in the pictures! I might try that next week. I can imagine the sweet potato makes it feel a bit heartier. I also happen to be a huge fan of the sweet potato:) Thanks, Amber!