Wow, it’s almost been a month since I started on this journey. Congratulations to me! I got these beautiful flowers from a lovely young lady who did a bit of work experience with me. Totally made my day. 
In some ways it’s gone fast, in other ways it really hasn’t. When I reflect on last Sunday, gosh, that felt like a very long day. I spent hours in the kitchen chopping & prepping, only to realise that I hadn’t even thought about my dinner for that night!! I felt like crying in that moment.
It’s not all roses and I’m not naturally a domestic goddess. At all. Though I’d like to think that my rather terrible dishes are slowly diminishing. Tonight, I made a big batch of roast vegetables with no oil. I steamed the (mostly) starchy veggies first (potato, sweet potato, pumpkin & carrot) before putting them in the oven.
So, reflecting (once again) on what I’ve noticed in myself since starting this plant-based journey and cutting down significantly on highly processed foods:
- I’m continuing to slowly lose weight (about 2 kg’s so far) – I’d like to add that this is happening without me trying
- I feel 100% fine in myself (not sluggish, weak, hungry – all things people have asked me about or assumed I must be feeling lol)
- I feel that my mind & my body are much more in alignment with each other… let me explain. Though I started this journey to proactively work on my health, I’ve also realised that I wasn’t confronting my truth of what it means to eat meat. It’s easy to distance yourself from meat having been a live animal when a cow is referred to as “beef” and a pig is called “pork”. I feel so much better NOT eating animals anymore and knowing that my carbon footprint has reduced significantly. No amount of showering for shorter time periods, cutting down on plastic or composting will have nearly the same impact as a plant-based diet. I like that. I like that a hell of a lot.
- I have minimal cravings for crap food
- I feel fuller for longer
- I’m enjoying the flavour & taste of food much more than I used to (admittedly, I’m cooking much more now so I’d like to think my cooking skills have increased with practise)
- My daughter’s lunchbox has never been as healthy as it is now!
All good reason to give this plant-based diet I go – I’m definitely planning on sticking to it for the foreseeable future as I can honestly say that I’ve never been this healthy in my life.
Speaking of which, here is my very simple but very tasty lunch I had today:
I’m also really excited about Christmas! I LOVE Christmas. A LOT. I’m keen to trial some awesome (and healthy!) vegan desserts. I’m sure there’ll be meat in the house (my step-dad would not cope without it) but there’ll also be yummy alternatives available. I cannot wait to make trifle with coconut cream, I bet it’ll taste amazing.
In all honesty, I do have my moments where I question what I’m doing, Mostly because it does take more effort & planning to eat this way. I’ve also eaten meat pretty much all of my life, so I feel it’s a fairly natural reaction. In those moments, it helps me to watch documentaries on plant-based eating. Either new ones or those I’ve seen before. It’s hard to remember all the information so re-watching them can really help cement that understanding. Some of my favourites so far are: The Game Changers, What The Health, Forks Over Knives, The Magic Pill & Cowspiracy (FYI – it was co-produced by Leanorda Di Caprio) as he is a very vocal & active environmentalist.
I’m very much aware that there are two sides to the coin. However once you start looking into some of the facts you see and hear about, you cannot unsee or unhear them. Well, I guess you could but that wouldn’t feel right to me. I’ve had people telling me they don’t want to watch these documentaries because they’re not ready to stop eating meat. Everyone’s on their own journey so I totally get that.
Yet remember that it doesn’t have to be super hard. You may be giving up meat, but you’re gaining so much more! Believe me, if I can do it, YOU definitely can. I’m doing this for myself, but also very much for my daughter. I know there are no guarantees in life but I really do want to be around for as long as possible. I mean, you can’t put a price on health, right?
Even cutting down on meat and joining the ranks of flexitarians is a great option. I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Auf Wiedersehen,
Carly