Tags
almond breeze, almond milk, butternut squash, carrotsncake, Fage, greek yogurt, Jay Robb, Kashi, laughing cow, PB & Co., pumpkin chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin yogurt, vegetarianism, whey protein powder
Vegetarians and vegans, cover your eyes. I’m about to discuss… MEAT.
*cue scary music here*
Is it just me or does 95% of the blog world no eat meat? Chicken, pork, and heaven forbid, beef, seem almost taboo… Now, I know that there are some out there who DO but they are few and far between. Do we have to be a vegetarian to be a healthy living blogger? I wonder.
For the past maybe 5 years or so, I’ve been a semi-vegetarian, meaning I would only eat chicken and fish. I always defended this by explaining that I don’t agree with the inhuman treatment of animals (including chicken) and that supporting the meat industry is supporting this tragedy. And while this is true, there was also another hidden reason behind this.. my vegetarianism started at the same time as my eating disorder? Coincidence? Probably not. I’ve thought and thought and thought about it and I have came to the conclusion that at the time, it was more because of my fear of calories than my stand against the animal industry. And on my quest to get stomp out any ED related behaviors, I decided to re-visit my view on this issue and have been thinking about it since early this summer. Which led to my having my first beef hamburger in 5-6 years back in July. And guys, it was delicious. Many followed after that first one, all undocumented on the blog. Why? I felt almost.. ashamed. Like I didn’t deserve my “healthy living blog” title. But you know? That’s silly. My view on healthy eating is all about moderation. And while I still do NOT agree with the treatment of animals, I am welcoming beef and pork back into my life. However, I am trying to make good choices in choosing grass-fed and organic products, supporting the companies that DO treat animals in a humane way.
Thoughts? Opinions?
Rewinding to yesterday…
Pumpkin oats!
1/4 cup Scottish Oats, 1/4 cup milk, 1/2 cup water, pinch of salt, cinnamon, 1/2 of a banana…
Along with pumpkin stirred in the end and The Bees Knees peanut butter. And maple syrup.
Lunch was on-the-go to my meeting with my boss and it was AMAZING!!! Un-pictured but it was a smoothie with 1/2 scoop Jay Robb’s vanilla whey protein powder, cocoa powder, ice, 1/2 of a banana, almond milk, and about a tablespoon of peanut butter. YUM!!!
And dinner…
Speaking of hamburgers 😉
A lean beef hamburger with oven baked french fries…
And a salad.
YUM!
Breakfast today..
A bowl of Kashi Go Lean Crunch with 1/2 of a banana and almond milk.
Mmmm… sometimes nothing hits the spot like cold cereal!
Lunch was a BALLER sandwich!
White mountain bread, 1/2 of a mashed avocado, 1 wedge sun dried tomato basil laughing cow cheese, and turkey.
The avocado and laughing cow together creates this creamy cheesy delicious goodness… must try!
Along with pumpkin yogurt (yogurt mixed with canned pumpkin and cinnamon, topped with maple Agave Nectar)
Annnd this bar earlier today before the gym.
Dinner was a mom cooked meal 🙂
Pork chops (my first since my pre-vegetarian days), peas, oven roasted butternut squash (my contribution), and crescent rolls.
Brings me back to dinners she cooked when I was younger.. so comforting.
The butternut squash was simply roasted with maple syrup, salt, and cinnamon. Delicious!!
And you can’t go wrong with crescent rolls…
Then came dessert 🙂 I had the baking itch. I knew I wanted chocolate chip pumpkin cookies but I wanted them healthified. So I turned to one of Tina’s recipes, Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, and subbed pumpkin for the banana (and left out the walnuts). And cooked them about 5 minutes longer.
OH wow. SO GOOD!!! I’ve already had two and am debating another…
Today I am thankful for..
- Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies…
- …plus wine…
- …plus Grey’s!
"Stay away from what might have been and look at what will be."