The week after Thanksgiving I made a bold decision-no more meat for me. Obviously this wouldn’t be a permanent thing of any sorts since I’m a die hard carnivore but after MeatFest 2012 in Texas, I felt absolutely disgusting. We ate constantly when I was there and felt like I didn’t get one vegetable in the entire time and that there was just a mountain of beef sitting in my stomach. I felt gross, bloated and in need of something green in my life. All I wanted to do was get out of my jeans and put on pants that were less constricting like my yoga pants which is alright some of the time but yoga pants 24/7 aren’t feasible for me.
So I started to think what I could do to get to feeling more like myself. I’m exercising enough already and trying to cut down on my carbs which is working alright but not great. Then a light bulb went off in my head—I could cut down on meat or just omit it completely as a little experiment. Although I can’t fathom the idea of living a life without succulent meat, surely I could cut down on it and not consume as much as I have been right? Perhaps re-reading The China Study one day at lunch prompted this and ever since then the idea of giving up meat had been looming in the back of my head?
I wanted to feeling back to me (aka back to fitting into my jeans without being completely uncomfortable) so the next meal I had was without meat with the Veggie Delight at Subway and I went from there. Not only did I want to feel better but I also feel like I’ve been in a cooking rut lately so this would be a push to make me think outside the box and get creative with my ingredients and meals.
I made a ton of delicious meals such as lobster ravioli with pesto
Salad topped with cajun baked tofu
BBQ tofu sliders
Baked potato topped with sour cream, guacamole and salsa
Pumpkin chili sans meat
Whole wheat pesto pasta topped with eggplant, spinach and goat cheese (hands down my favorite creation of the week!)
And I even found it easy to find something when dining out
Lentil and Orzo salad
and I ever found a veggie burger at burger joint, Johnny Rockets!
Then last week I was craving a cheeseburger….a real cheeseburger that is. Maybe it was the cold weather, stress or busy day at work but I needed meat in the worst way. I saw a 50% off deal for 730 South on Scoutmob (think Groupon but instead of buying deals outright you just show the app right there and then and get 50% off!) and game was on—it was burger time! I’ve driven by 730 South countless number of times and have been curious about it.
I enjoyed a glass of Shiraz while watching the football game and as soon as I knew it, my burger and fries were out and it was gorgeous. The sweet potato fries and burger were kind of congealed into one which was like hitting the jackpot because who doesn’t love melted cheese? I ate up every last bite and walked away only paying $9 for the meal. Not too shabby at all! Plus I got my meat fix but unfortunately with the fix has been the whole “no meat” notion. I can confidently say that I gave it more time than I ever have before and while I think it’s definitely do-able, it’s just not for me. I love meat too much however I had fun making new meals and getting an absurd amount of veggies in each day. If I do decide to do an experiment like this again, I A) won’t tell anyone B) won’t label it as giving something up. Do to me issue with authority and being told what to do, I don’t work well with restrictions and knowing I’m allowed to have something. Take tonight for instance-I made a vegetarian dish without even trying and it was absolutely delightful!
Denver has had a chilly past few days and being a cold weather girl, I’ve been enjoying every minute of it! So something warm and comforting was on the agenda and that’s when I remembered one of my friends making a creamy tomato tortellini soup. I really didn’t have a set recipe to follow so I made my own little creation and if I do say so, it was orgasmic.
Creamy Tomato Tortellini Soup
32 oz veggie broth
5 12 oz cans condensed tomato soup
16 oz. whipping cream
2 packages Cheese tortellini (9 oz each)
4 oz. parmesan cheese (I used shaved)
Salt and pepper to taste
See, minimal ingredients—it can’t get any easier than this!
I poured the broth, cream and soup into a huge pot and when it came to a slow boil, added in the tortellini, cheese and salt and pepper. I was going to get adventurous and add oregano and garlic but I feel like I use those a lot so I kept it at just salt and pepper.
Even Lincoln was intrigued by the smells of comfort food in the air!
After I threw in the tortellini, I turned down the heat to low and let the tortellini cook while the soup simmered. 25 minutes later, it was all ready and soon enough I had a happy belly. This was the perfect meal for a cold winter night and it made about six portions so I have tons of leftovers for the week!
Maybe this whole vegetarian thing isn’t so hard at all? A week was longer than I’ve ever gone knowingly without meat and I’m proud that I lasted that long. I am definitely going to cut down on my meat consumption for health purposes alone (I’m a firm believe that God made animals to taste good) but won’t cut it out completely. And don’t ever get me started on vegans…..me thinks they’re crackheads. A world without cheese is a world I do not want to live in.
Have you ever done a meat-free challenge? Any success with it?