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Ultimately I would love to blog everyday during our 30-day challenge, but I know that isn’t very realistic so my goal is to post at least 3-4 times per week. So far things are going well. The biggest problem is hunger. There are no calorie restrictions in this challenge, but eating enough plant-based food to stay full is tough! I have a big appetite to begin with, plus I’m breast feeding so that adds to my calorie requirement. My husband is a big guy who also has a big appetite so I know this is a challenge for him as well.
Days 1 & 2
Another challenge is trying to minimize processed food. Trying to eat a diet that consists of mostly whole foods is labor intensive. One thing I did that was helpful was yesterday I made enough lunch, snacks, and dinner to last two days so today was a breeze. Here’s what was on the menu for me and Tim:
Breakfast
Me: oatmeal with blueberries, cinnamon, and almond milk
Tim: Total cereal with raisins and soy milk
Lunch
Me: 2 Chickpea-tomato wraps
Tim: double decker peanut butter and jelly sandwich
Dinner
Both: Herbed Millet loaf with Mushroom sauce and broccoli with almonds
Snacks
Me: fresh raw veggies dipped in black bean sun-dried tomato dip, peanut butter and jelly sandwich, bowl of Wheat Chex with almond milk
Tim: dry roasted peanuts, tortilla chips dipped in black bean sun-dried tomato dip
The picture is of our dinner, which was actually very tasty and much more appetizing than it looks. Tim didn’t love the broccoli last night so I roasted some carrots for him as a side dish tonight and my 15 month-old daughter Meghan and I ate up the rest of the broccoli.
I discovered your blog through pintrest. I really like what you have to say so I wanted to see from the beginning all your posts. I can really relate to what you wrote here-we’ve tried a few times to go vegetarian (never vegan) and have just been too hungry. No matter what we’ve added it hasn’t been enough. I think we have found what works for us though-only cooking and eating meat that has been raised humanely from a “local” farmer. (which means meat once a week or so) and the rest of the time vegetarian. It’s a great balance and works well for us.
That is where we are at now, too. I realize that a totally meat-free diet just won’t work for our family, but we totally avoid factory-farmed meat and buy from local farms. It works for us. We currently eat meat about 2-3 times a week, but that fluctuates. Some weeks we don’t eat it at all.
I forgot to add that Tim also ate a container of M&Ms yesterday. Great start, huh? Actually it's my fault. They were a stocking stuffer from Christmas. i just figured he would have eaten them by now! Oh, well. 🙂