Not so deep thoughts on Lent.
This year for Lent Brent suggested we give up meat for 6 days out of the week. (Don’t ask why 6 days b/c I don’t know.) It wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would it be, annoying at times, but not necessarily difficult. I chose not to talk about it publicly on my blog until now because I wanted it to be as much as a spiritual discipline as possible rather than “blogging material”. I’m not so sure it was either.
What I learned from my (almost) meat free Lent
1. My body likes protein and I found it difficult to get in the amount of protein my body needs. I like dairy but it’s not what I necessarily reach for when I’m hungry. I do love eggs…up to a point. Without my normal protein intake I found myself facing much stronger cravings than usual. I have a hunch it had to do with my blood sugar levels.
2. My wallet likes vegetarianism. Eating high quality meat is EXPENSIVE. I think we must have cut at least $25-50 dollars off of each week’s bill.
3. My brain (and thighs) LOVE carbs. Rather than a spiritual discipline I think this became more of an excuse to eat vast amounts of carbs to satisfy my hunger. I’m not necessarily a low carb proponent but my carb intake is less than the SAD (standard American diet). I only tracked calories a few days so I really don’t know what I was eating calorie wise. I do know that the scale went up (just a little though). I tried to eat when I was hungry which, without protein, was much of the time. I also noticed I often felt sluggish and much weaker than usual during my workouts.
4. I LOVE fat. Many days I would eat lots fat and much less protein and carbs. I noticed when I ate a whole or 1/2 an avocado rather than a sliver at lunch time I wouldn’t get the intense 3 pm “Dear God please have a random person dump a truckload of Captain Crunch on my lawn” cravings. I am definitely going to continue making an effort to get in larger portions of fat.
5. Limitations kick open the door to creativity. I’ve noticed this in almost every area of my life from writing to homeschooling to cooking. Over the Lenton season, Brent and I came up with quite a few new recipes that I’ll be sharing. Some worked and some such as my Polenta with green chile sauce should be forgotten asap.
In Conclusion: I’m still going to try to incorporate one or two meatless meals a week into our diet for personal convictions regarding the food industry rather than for health considerations but I don’t see myself going vegetarian anytime in the near future.
Before logging out I wanted to share some photos from a blogger meetup. Today I met Averie from Love, Veggies,and Yoga and Madeline from Greens and Jeans at Whole Foods in Scottsdale. This is my second blogger meetup and I have to say I LOVE meeting the people behind the blogs. It’s really fun. A few weeks ago, I met Deb from Smoothie Girl Eats for a kettlebell workout at the beach. This was also the only the third time I’ve stepped into a Whole Foods. This one was gigantic, almost overwhelming. I think I prefer smaller more intimate stores but it was fun to look around.
When I was going through the photos on my phone I came across a few (including a shaky video of some cookies) my 7 year old son took when I thought he was playing games. I thought this one was cool, almost cinematic. I think he may have used the Toy Camera photo app.
Hugs and High Fives,
Jenn
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This is my (almost) sane quest for insane health. Let's 
I can’t imagine going without meat, good for you Jenn!
I love this line:
“Limitations kick open the door to creativity”.
How true! Sometimes the easiest answer is not always the best answer and this line simply exemplifies that.
I do so much better with a lot of healthy fat and high quality protein. I try to make vegetables the base of every meal, but I also need lots of fat and some protein.
My 15yo is vegan and she’s healthy and fit and it works well for her right now. I went vegan for support when she made the switch and gained 15 pounds in 2 months and felt very tired and anxious. My body just isn’t happy with a vegan diet. I also have a gluten allergy, so that limits me a lot too.
I love Whole Foods, but I find it overwhelming too. I’m more comfortable at Trader Joe’s where I don’t have to choose from 37 kinds of almond butter.
This is so interesting, because this is the exact same experience I had when I tried going vegetarian over a year ago. I lasted about 3 months. I thought I would lose weight but I ended up gaining. I really need that extra protein. I still don’t eat meat everyday, but having it at least 3 times a week is very beneficial to my satisfaction levels.
It was so nice to meet you Jenn, especially because it helped me find your wonderful blog!
Loved hearing about your time going veg. And can oh so relate to having occasional cravings for Captain Crunch (or any sugary cereal) sometimes ….
While I was at my parent’s last week, I read the book The KIND Diet (it’s about going vegan by Alicia Silverstone) and I really enjoyed it and want to buy it. I am def not going vegan anytime soon but it did open my eyes to new recipes and ideas. (I bougth a daikon radish last night at the store! have never tried it.)
I am really going to try to reduce the amount of dairy my girls and I eat and started last night (bought 100% fruit bars instead of creamsicles and am going to start cutting their organic milk with almond or coconut milk)
Interesting post, Jenn. I am trying to get more protein, but for the same thoughts about the food industry, I can’t do the full on meat thing. I’m trying to gain some muscle mass, so protein is key. I’m working the smoothies, but there’s got to be more. I do eat about every 2-3 hours, and your thoughts on lack of protein are probably what’s going on there.
Same with the fat.
Can’t wait to read some of the recipes!
I do a meatless day once a week and I find the same things you do–it’s not hard, just annoying! And I like my protein as well.
i would not do well without meat. i would eat every carb in sight! loved your reflections. your dress is SUPER cute, i just read about the meetup on averie’s blog and came here to tell you how gorgeous you are!
Interesting observations! I find my body does better with a good amount of protein, as well, but I do love plant based proteins and dairy/eggs over meat- but that is only me! I do notice the more I eat carbs, the more I crave them.
And only 3 times at Whole Foods? I couldn’t do it! I looooove WF!! Of course, it can be very intimidating, I must admit!!
xo
K
I’ve been having a food epiphany of sorts lately. Protein and carbs used to be the angel and devil on my shoulders, respectively. And as a long term vegetarian, I’d stress about where I’d get my protein. And like you, eating all carbs all the time – even if they’re whole – makes me hungrier. Again like you, I think I’ve discovered the key is FAT. I recently read on her site that HEAB (heather eats almond butter) that she averages about 50% fat. I think I’m going to give that a try.
Excited to see your recipes!
A pet peeve of mine is when people only care about fat content. They actually think that putting fat into your body is what makes you fat or a nicer way to say it “bigger”.
We are so similiar! I feel my body does much better with a higher ratio of protein and fats than carbs. Carbs make me more hungry, more cravings, and they make me sleepy!
Ah! Interesting. I would NOT do well without protein. Somehow I feel like I’d wither away like the wicked witch of the west (north, east??) if I don’t have protein with every.meal.and.snack. When I was pescatarian (it’s a real word despite spell-check’s protest), I did get REALLY tired of eggs. I don’t think I could ever get tired of greek yogurt however.:-D
Thanks for the mention- it was super fun to meet you too-= twice!
You look beautiful in the photos. And I must say that I’ve never seen Averie in a photo where she is not smiling, and she looks very lovely that way too. Random comment, right?
Have a wonderful time in AZ. PS. I do not like Whole foods- overpriced, over-rated. I’d rather go to a small co-op. Or TJs or Vons. Or buy fruit on a street corner.
Hey Jenn, thanks for the tea, it rocks! And our meetup was awesome. The best part of the ‘sphere for me has been connecting with people, (not their food!) both in real life in the blogger meetups that Ive done and also the online friendships. It was great to have met you
Your observations…very interesting. I just posted about protein today. For me, I need carbs first, protein 2nd. That’s me though. I know this. Everyone is diff! I know Heabs can eat tons of fat. That much fat would cause GI distress for me. WE are all so diff and must honor that, for sure!
xoxo
Thanks for posting what you observed about your body and the way it reacted during Lent. I found it very helpful and could relate. I had a little ah-ha moment. The comments were informative, too.
It’s amazing how much money you save when you eat beans and tofu instead of meat! I love high fats too! Especially avocados. Avocados are like BFF, for real! I’ve never met an avocado dish I didn’t like. Mmmmm….