Hey everyone. Long time no see! It’s been since, what, last Friday since I posted? Oops.. sometimes life gets in the way, and I can’t put blogging as my first priority! But miss a WIAW? Never. So today I’m back, sharing some recent eats!
green smoothie bowl with banana bread english muffin topped with almond butter, peanut butter, bananas, and strawberries
turkey sandwich with pesto, mayo, onion, tomato, and spinach, sweet potato with cottage cheese and cinnamon, strawberries
souper supper: egg salad and chili.We sat right by the dessert plate π
Speaking of dessert…
cake batter cookies
pumpkin bars and an oatmeal cookie
brownie sundaes
Did anyone celebrate Fat Tuesday yesterday? I’ve kind of been celebrating the whole weekend π For dinner last night my mom made patty melts! They’re made with ground turkey instead of beef so that counts for something right?
So let’s talk about Lent. For those of you who celebrate Lent, you’d know that you have to give something up for the 40 days before Easter. This year my mom and I have decided to give up meat. Lately we’ve both been really disgusted with it and what a perfect time to try vegetarianism! Don’t worry, eggs, milk, cottage cheese, yogurt, fish, etc will all still be eaten. The only thing we’re not going to eat is meat!
The only time I really eat meat is on my turkey sandwiches at lunch. Giving up meat will force me to get more creative with my lunches. Also, my turkey sammie and an apple were starting to become a safe food for me. I might start not wanting to have anything else for lunch. Plus I’ve been eating them since the beginning of the year. That’s, like, 125 sandwiches! If you’d like to help, I’d love some lunch ideas! I’m planning on taking some egg salad and tuna sandwiches. (not together.. π ) Maybe the old PB&J will make some appearances!
I need easy lunch ideas!
Have you tried/are you/do you want to be a vegetarian?
Good luck with your efforts to give up meat, Leigha. I’ve been vegetarian for I think 24 years now. I don’t actually remember when I gave up meat. It was a gradual process until it just wasn’t there anymore. I credit that and following Weight Watchers during that same time for keeping off weight that i needed to lose and being quite healthy. Let me know how it goes for you. Have a great day!
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I’m not sure if I’ll want to live the rest of my life vegetarian, but we’ll see how this goes! Thanks for being supportive of this! π
Everything looks amazing! Proud of you for taking on the no-meat challenge for lent π I’m going to see if I can manage 40 days of kindness; one act of kindness each day.
I love that idea! Maybe I will do that along with no meat π
That is an awesome idea! I might have to do that also π
Those deserts all look AMAZING. I have such a sweet tooth, and I want all of that right now! I’ve never gone Vegetarian, and I don’t think I ever could, but I don’t eat nearly as much meat as I used to. Sometimes I’m accidentally a vegetarian for like a week haha
Sally Rae recently posted…WAIW – National Pancake Day!
Same here! After Lent is over, I don’t know if I’ll go full-time vegetarian, but I’m definitely okay with cutting back on my meat consumption!
I am wanting to go vegetarian too! The thought of eating a hamburger or whatever sort of grosses me out. So I might as well go vegetarian! π
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Hey, it can’t hurt to try!
Mhmm gorgeous pictures! And send me some dessert please ;). That brownie has me DROOLING and it’s only 8 in the morning haha!
Christine@ Apple of My Eye recently posted…WIAW: Noms of Late
Lol! I would send you some but it’s all gone already hehe π
Oh wow! Your breakfast and lunch look gorgeous! Good for you on trying something new, just don’t forget your protein!
Jenni @ Fitzala recently posted…Life of a Trainer #5
Of course not π beans and nut butters are going to get eaten in bulk!
I don’t know if I could give up meat. I just love it soooooo much! But I have been eating vegetarian this week and I did grow up as a vegetarian thanks to my Mom! Good luck π
Those deserts look so good. I might have drooled a bit looking at the pictures lol
K @ Finding a Skinnier Me recently posted…What I Ate Wednesday…
That’s cool that you grew up as a vegetarian! I actually was a vegetarian for a few years awhile back.
lol! I drool at my computer all the time π
Seriously, pass me a bite of that brownie sundae will ya? It just blew my mind haha π I have been pesctarian for 5 months now and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Granted, I still eat fish, but I don’t see myself going back to land protein. I watched a horrifying documentary called Food Inc. which pretty much solidified my decision. I feel healthier, lost a little bit of “fluff” and have more energy. Plus my protein levels are accurate now, when before I was getting WAY too much. You should check out Yves meat substitutions, I really love their lunch “meats” whenever I actually crave it.
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Most of the reason I’m doing this is because I saw a video on how hot dogs are made. DISGUSTING! I don’t know how people eat them! I’m anxious to see if it will affect my weight at all or not. Although, I did not do this as a way to lose weight! I’ll still eat fish too… I love me some fresh Lake Michigan perch!
way to go for giving up meat for lent…I became a vegan 6 days ago..I am so excited to start my new life…love all your pics and food..thanks for stopping by today!
Caroline Thomas recently posted…69 To 22 Degrees With Snow In Less Than 24 Hours Plus More On My Journey Into Veganism
I’m so excited to see if I notice any changes! Thanks for stopping here!
You know I was a vegetarian for 3 years π It’s actually not hard at all once you get used to it! Last summer I work at a camp as a counselor and had to pack my lunch everyday. I almost always brought a veggie sandwich, carrots + hummus, and fruit everyday. Also, salads are a good meal or like you said, a simple pb&j! Last year I gave up dessert and chocolate for Lent. This year I think I want to focus on improving myself rather than giving something up.
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I feel like a veggie sandwich won’t have any protein! But I guess if I have some kind of protein on the side it will be okay π I love the idea of improving yourself rather than giving something up! I’m thinking about doing that too!
Yum. Your pictures are soososo gorgeous and make me want to eat all of your food. You even made your green smoothie look delicious (and those things aren’t pretty!)
For lunch ideas… Salads, salads, salads! Also, are you eating fish? You could totally do tuna salad if you are.
I like taking chobani cups with me to school. I freeze them and they thaw by the time I eat my lunch.
You could also experiment with taking quinoa mixed with veggies and spices to school!
And you can never go wrong with an old fashioned PB&J π
Emily @smilemilegirl recently posted…Monday Miles #4
Thank you SO much Emily!! These are awesome ideas! I love the one about freezing yogurt – I’m doing to try that! π
Oh my gosh can I just move in with you?! Haha those patty melts look amazing, and the desserts and pretty much everything in this post <3 I've been thinking about going full-on vegetarian for a while now but am still debating… I like the idea of trying it out for a while!
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You should do it with me! π We can be veggie sistas!!
Banana bread English muffins!! π That breakfast looks amazing.
Good for you for giving up meat! I abstain on Fridays, so I like to take a couple of soft-boiled eggs to school with some sea salt and pepper, then have a few snacks on the side. Egg salad made with hummus is also amazing! PB&J is also never a bad idea. π
Alison @ Daily Moves and Grooves recently posted…Behind the Scenes #12: No Shame
I have hard boiled eggs in the fridge but I don’t think I can make soft boiled yet.. I need practice haha! I made egg salad last night with avocado. Hummus would be great in it too!
Being a vegetarian/vegan with benefits [some dairy] I’m obviously delighted to see you give up meat π . Not like I wasn’t tolerant about everybody’s diet in anyway. We’re all different and vegetarian just doesn’t feel right for everyone.
That being said my current easy office lunches are soups and stews. There’s an endless variety because you can turn basically everything into soup. An easy formula for satisfying vegan meals is: a grain, a green [carbs], a bean [protein]. For soups that could mean minestrone [pasta, whichever vegetables I have at hand and chickpeas/white beans] or a lentil stew with vegetables and a slice of whole-wheat bread on the side. Less watery are the ever-so-popular bowls following the same basic formula maybe adding some avocado or nuts on top. Okay, I’ll stop listing all the ideas now, haha.
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Thank you so much! I never realized just how many people are vegetarian/vegan. Last night I had a soup with some egg salad on the side – so satisfying, and no meat!
Good luck! I love avocado toast as a side to soup and there are plenty of vegetarian soups out there! My mom makes a really good lentil soup and I love butternut squash soup! Now I need that cake batter cookie recipe!!
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I have lentils that I’ve been wanting to do something with! I want the cookie recipe too.. I didn’t make them!
I rarely eat red meat – the first time I ate it in about 10 months was the other day when I made the current recipe on my blog. It’s delicious, yes, but I don’t crave it that much… Now fish, I crave that for sure and could NEVER give it up! I don’t think giving up meat will be all that hard for you – JUST don’t replace meat with those AMAZINGGGGGG cake batter cookies!
GiGi Eats Celebrities recently posted…Saint Patrick’s Day: Rolling Up a Specialty
It is weird that I’ve NEVER even eaten a steak?! And if I’m craving a burger, there are so many veggie burgers out there I can make!
Hey Leigha. Recently I’ve been watching these documentries of how they process meat, and have been starting to cut out certain meats out of my diet. Good for you girl for giving it up for lent π You are such an inspiration.
Maddi Leigh recently posted…Lemon Ginger Quinoa Scones with Healthy Cherry Compote
Thanks Maddi! I’m so happy I’m doing this. It’s good to know that I wasn’t the only one getting disgusted with meat!
Cake batter cookies sound amazing!! I eat vegetarian 90% of the time but when I do eat meat it usually some form of chicken. I find that it isn’t as hard as you would think it would be especially if you aren’t craving meat. For lunches you can simple take out the turkey and enjoy the veggie sandwich..this is a great time to try different forms a vegetable sandwiches. Add grilled vegetables or roasted, try a different type of cheese (I love goat) or try a heartier bread or wrap! π
Thank so much! These are fabulous ideas! π