Veg Update

We have reached the end of our veg experiment, and I am happy to report that it went really well. We ate a plant based diet almost exclusively!

We did indulge in the "paris exemption" a few times, which is the acceptance of flexibility on special occasions...like when you are out to eat or don't have veggie options available. I think we opted for meat 3 or 4 times, which is pretty amazing considering we used to eat it, on average, once or twice a day. We also ate seafood 2 or 3 times throughout the experiment.

I have to say that I really enjoyed trying new recipes and learning how to incorporate vegetables as the main dish. It was also pretty informative to see that buying vegetables is not more expensive than buying meat. We also bought a lot of quinoa, lentils, and rice, and I found that you can make hearty, affordable dishes if you put in the effort.

Now that the experiment is over, we are going to buy meat again, but I am going to continue making vegetarian meals....in fact I am planning to do more vegetarian meals than meat meals each week. I think I would call that a success!

Veg Experiment

When you have to recap your weekend on Tuesday, it means it was a good one. One of my friends and her boyfriend came down for the weekend and we had entirely too much fun eating, drinking, and staying up late.

However, we overindulged so much that AJ and I have decided that we need to get ourselves back on a track to healthiness. Alcohol and junk food are not what I need to be filling my body with if I want to try for another baby someday soon. We have been itching to dabble in vegetarianism since we watched Food, Inc. a few months ago (and after reading Jenn Lives Well), but we have been lacking in motivation and initiative. We finally have both!

We leave for Grand Cayman in 18 days. Between now and then we are cutting out almost all meat and alcohol. I say most meat because we have a few Healthy Choice frozen meals in our freezer that we need to eat so that we can free up space. I know frozen meals aren't the healthiest option out there, but they make bringing my lunch to work a million times easier. (Sidebar: Have you tried the Healthy Choice kind? My favorite are Chicken Parmigiana and Roast Turkey. They are so much better than Lean Cuisine or Weight Watchers frozen meals. They actually look and taste like real food. They are a tad more expensive then the other brands, but I have found that they are well worth the extra dollar or two.) We are planning to eat those for lunch this week and then it is onto a no meat meal plan. I think this will be good because it will allows us to wean ourselves off meat during the first week.

I have a few recipes I plan to use throughout our veg experiment:

Quinoa with Spinach and Tomatoes
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=2001925

Rigatoni with Eggplant
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/trenette-with-eggplant-and-basil-pesto-recipe/index.html

Quinoa Stuffed Red Bell Peppers http://www.shape.com/healthy_eating/recipes/quinoa_stuffed_red_bell_peppers_recipe

Ratatouille
http://www.thedcladies.com/2010/03/ratatouille-from-moosewood.html

After vacation we plan to asses how we feel and at that point determine what kinds of meats (if any) we want to reintroduce into our diet. Have you tried something like this before? Any other recipes, thoughts, and/or tips for me??

Caffeine

More body purification news! I know, I know...what is happening to me?

Last week I decided to give up caffeine.

I was never a big coffee drinker, but this school year has really messed with my energy levels (waking at 6 and being at work at 7:15 is hard!!) and I picked up a coffee habit pretty quickly. I was getting headaches like clockwork when the caffeine wore off, and I was not about to start drinking coffee during the day too.

Instead I decided to just cut it out.

I rarely drink soda, so it shouldn't be an issue giving that up as well. The one thing I do drink on a pretty regular basis is iced tea. Unsweetened, of course. I haven't had any since my anti-caffeine moment, but I am pretty sure I will start drinking it again once I am completely headache free. So I guess the more accurate description of this new lifestyle is limited caffeine intake.

I will get my warm drink fix in the morning with hot chocolate and herbal tea and perhaps a decaf Pumpkin Spice Latte every now and then. They make them decaf, right?

Speaking of Starbucks....

Jenn at Jeans Friday is giving away five Starbucks prize packs! Head over to her blog to enter. Tell her I sent you!

http://jeansfriday.blogspot.com/2009/10/starbucks-giveaway.html

You can enter the giveaway by answering Jenn's super easy question (or follow, blog, tweet, etc.). This not only gives you an entry, but also helps her to win her own prize pack, including Bose headphones. If you read Jenn's blog you know that she travels all the time for work and the headphones would be a welcome addition to her carry-on bag. So go help her win and maybe get a prize pack too!

De-Stress Me

I have the craziest week ahead so my posting may be few and far between. Or I may post a bunch as a way of procrastinating.

Either way, my stress levels are likely to be through the roof by the end of the week because I have tons and tons of stuff on my to do list. For starters, I have to go to North Carolina on Thursday for an internship meeting, so that is always stressful just because of the 5 hour drive there and back in a 24 hour period. It doesn't help that I have to have the ultimate final draft of my thesis ready by Thursday either. And my portfolio, so I can graduate. Plus all the reports I need to write this week. Okay, enough complaining.

After this week I am hoping to de-stress by doing something relaxing and/or good for my mental health. In my past (pre-internship/law school/bread winner) life I would have splurged for a massage or even a mani-pedi, but since we are on a tight budget and my mom isn't here to go with me (ahem...indulge her only daughter), I need some low cost ideas.

What do you do when you are stressed and need to unravel? Or do any DC gals know of some low cost places I may be able to hit up?