Food Diaries: Mal's Decision To Go Vegerarian

First off, I have to just go ahead and let you guys know I am not a nutritionist. Please do not take any nutritional advice from this post - this is simply to let you guys know why I made this decision (I certainly have gotten this question a lot so far). If you are interested in making a life change like I did, definitely talk to your nutritionist or doctor so you can make the best choice possible! Healthy doesn't always have to be black-and-white; there are plenty of people out there with healthy diets that include meat. All the meat. This post is solely discussing my personal health and moral decision to give it up!

Secondly, technically, I am pescatarian (I still eat some fish/shrimp), but not many people know that term off-hand, so I just lead with the vegetarian bit to make life more simple.


Ok, phew, enough with the technicalities. Let me just begin with the question I have been asked the most - don't you miss bacon?! Answer: YES. Ok, now to start from the beginning. My entire 27 years of my life, up to about a month ago, I had no dietary restrictions (medical or choice) - excluding that 2 months I went cold-turkey vegan; man that was rough, but that's a-whole-nother story. I grew up on North Carolina BBQ, fried chicken, TACOS, steaks - the works, and I never thought twice about it until my college years. I have always been a total mush when it comes to animals (remember, I am devastated when even bugs are killed), but when it came to eating them, I was dismissive of the thought of where the meat actually came from; it made me too sad. I think it was easy to ignore because I had been eating it my whole life, and frankly, have never had to kill anything to eat myself.

Right after college, I started paying attention to my body, how I treated it, and what I put into it. I started making healthy and responsible decisions for my life - regular gym visits, yoga, taking better care of myself, the works (don't get me wrong, I still had my love affair with Taco Bell, and have been known to pass on the gym and yoga a time or two). Around that time, I heard about these books - Skinny Bitch - and so I gave them a try. Immediately after finishing the book, I became cold-turkey vegan (not realistic for a cheese-lover, like me, people). It. Was. Hard. I missed cheese so much, and milk, surprisingly. Needless to say, after 2 months of it (and honestly feeling the best I've ever felt), I caved. I gave up the vegan lifestyle - it was too "inconvenient" for 21-year-old Mallory - and expensive.

Since then, I thought I could never give up animal products again. Bacon, man! It was too hard. And its expensive to eat right, right? (Side note - why is it that a 2L soda is 99 cents, but a gallon of milk is $2.50-$4.00?!) Eating healthy is a drag on my wallet.

Then, our trip to Colorado happened ...

My cousin, Beth, has been vegetarian for a long time now. Because of the dietary restrictions she has, we ate so much healthier out there than Travis and I are used to - and it was awesome! We were sitting at the island one morning and I asked her - "What made you become a vegetarian?" (Aside from the fact that she is just as much of an animal lover as me). She simply said she watched a film on Netflix called Forks Over Knives. So, naturally, when we got home, we watched. it. It was seriously eye-opening, and not in the gruesome, bloody way that the Skinny Bitch books portray, but in a simple, medical and scientific way.

After that, I knew I was ready to make the life change. not only did the movie open my eyes to a whole world of health without meats, but it made me completely aware of my feelings about eating animals. I no longer wanted to be a hypocrite. If I were to continue to eat meat, I would make myself go to a local farm and watch the animals get killed. And I was NOT about to do that. So why, then, could I so easily go to the grocery store and buy that same meat, wrapped in plastic? I was not going to do it anymore. Not once. So I shared my feelings with my husband (who also watched Forks Over Knives), and much to my surprise, he said he wanted to give it a shot too! What?! I explained, "Trav, this means no wings, no burgers, no steaks, no sausage biscuits, no meat ... " and he still wanted to, which made me extra happy, because that obviously could pose an issue with meals cooked at home!

Now, to make life easier, and not feel so "cold turkey" as I did with the vegan experiment, we became pescatarian. I love shrimp, people. And salmon. And I am not quite ready to give that up. Maybe one day we will taper down our fish consumption, but for now, we are loving this diet. LOVING.

And I finally have faced my "fear" of healthy eating being expensive head-on. Much to my surprise, I was wrong! We are actually saving money. Not necessarily just because of our decision to give up meat, but because we are buying smarter, planning out our meals, and shopping at the right places! Don't get me wrong, I love a good Whole Foods or Fresh Market run, but those places are not cheap. I have been able to find local markets that sell fresh, mostly local, organic produce for insanely cheap! Which makes me so happy!

"But how do you get protein?!" - this is another question we find ourselves answering a lot! Aside from the ample protein in fish, we can get lots of protein in unexpected places, although it does take more thought than just throwing a meat into the meal, which we could so easily do not long ago. Eggs, oatmeal, Greek yogurt, nuts, beans, broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower just to name a few! Those are some of the top meatless proteins for us non meat-eaters, and I can't say I'm disappointed. I will happily eat all of those things any day of the week! (Well, maybe not cauliflower, but it's growing on me.) But it does prompt a whole new train of thought while at the supermarket. Call it a challenge!

And my husband swears that he feels better already (whether it is mental or not) - he said he feels less groggy in the morning, he feels more full after meals, but less tired and "heavy". Boom! Revelations!

I will say I haven't ventured out and tried tofu yet ... I don't know, I just don't think I'm ready for that endeavor; chalk it up to being skeptical at this point. 

Luckily, my amazing and dear friends Sarah (vegetarian her whole life) & Brianne (pescatarian for 2 years) are also #veglife with me and Trav, and that has been such a blessing; they are (obviously) so supportive of our life change, and have been amazing at sharing tips, tricks, and recipes! And as Sarah said to me when I broke the news to her, "You are going to be so proud of being a vegetarian; I know I am."

And to be honest, I already am! I feel better, I am eating better, and I am enjoying food on a level I never thought possible (and I LOVE food, people).


xoxo, your newfound veggie-lovin pal