Beating Meat: Day 1

Could I think of a more obnoxious (and/or suggestive) title? Probably. This fits. Sort of.

So, Day 1 of the 21-Day Kickstart came and went. A fairly decent day, highlighted by an enormous amount of stress at work, but a phenomenal ending to the day. Over the past month or so, we've already made serious changes to the dietary intake, eliminating most processed sugars and processed foodstuffs, foods with high or any cholesterol content and fatty, junky, well-preserved foods. So, this foray into healthier eating really isn't going to be THAT difficult. Probably just a bit more fibery (read: Farty), grainy and more vegetable-full.

For me, the day's menu went like this (until dinner):

Coffee with non-dairy creamer
Bowl of Raisin Bran (with Silk Vanilla)
1 large grapefruit with about 1/2 tsp of stevia
Split pea soup (with soy bacon) and Sea Salt-flavored Pita Crackers
1/2 whole grain bagel (and THIS is where I cheated...because we had some Whipped Philly Cream Cheese left in the fridge. I used about one tablespoon. Fail)

For the Beloved:

Coffee-black
1/2 Boca Chick'n patty
Peanut Butter and Jellies (using natural peanut butter (just peanuts..period)
Tortilla Chips

This is going to get a BEET long winded (pun intended)....so we'll break HERE. Click that little 'Read More' thingy to continue!!!


I felt bad because I kind of left him to swing it on his own...what with yesterday being his day off. To my defense, however, there WERE assorted Boca meats in the freezer, along with 3 Lean Cuisine Vegetarian meals. None of which he chose to make.  Neither of us has ever really been the Breakfast type.....so he's not really into the whole eating cereal or oatmeal or anything else in the morning.

As for me and Breakfast, I have a long-standing denial of the need to eat in the morning. Stemmed from a childhood of weighty issues, I suppose. Last year, after a much-needed hysterectomy, I started consuming Slim Fast, mainly as an easy way to get calories, vitamins, etc., during the recovery period without having to be up and around for long stretches of time. It was easy and it became a habit. I haven't done the math, but to be certain, I was consuming an enormous amount of milk and processed sugars of all types, sizes and shapes.  Not too good. Even after starting the new job back in December, I kept up the habit, because it would fill me up long enough to get through to my lunch break. Sort of.  Let's be honest, not really.

In thinking about making changes, I decided that I really needed to break that habit, let go of the milk and learn to actually consume FOOD stuffs in the morning. It's been about two weeks, and for the most part, before yesterday, all milk stuff had been eliminated. I even switched over to SOY milk, of which I am ghastly afraid. I made the mistake of trying a store-brand. Won't do THAT again.  Stick with Soy Dream or Silk and you'll be fine once you get past the consistency, which is kind of odd.  Soy Dream, in my opinion, being the better choice, though it's probably not as cost effective as the Silk. Yet, you can definitely get way better deals in the big box stores than at your local health food shop, unfortunately.

Apart from the big dairy to soy switch (with rice and almond milk doing the job too)....I started eating either cereal with fruit or oatmeal with fruit. I even tried steel-cut oats (not the flaky meal, but the actual OATS) for a week with pieces of peaches. Not TOO bad, but probably not going to be a regular on the menu.  I have also started eating a grapefruit every morning at work on my first break.

I just realized that this is going to get exceptionally, overtly long winded.....so let me get to last night's dinner.

We went here...

Loving Cafe

There's an excellent review, with great pics here...

I had a vegan spring roll with spicy orange sauce, BBQ Nuggets with veggies (peppers and broccoli), brown rice and vegan coleslaw. The Beloved partook of the asparagus soup and a BBQ sandwich on an organic, whole grain bun topped with that same vegan coleslaw.  

I was impressed with the vast selection of items they were willing to serve. It's pretty cool to know that there are places you CAN go if you don't want to cook and still maintain a vegan/vegetarian way of living. 

Sooooooooooo, all in all day one was pretty much a success, except for the bit of cream cheese.  

Stay tuned, because today I am making not one but two soups....so I can continue to have lunch on a regular basis during the next 21 days!