Ask my husband and he will tell you that I am a "gung ho" person. He says I can't just change a little bit. He says when I change that I do it up in a big way........."whole hog" kind of. Well, I can tell you that he must be right because there are changes afoot and they will affect this blog.
They are certainly turning MY life upside down (and I'm kind of dragging the family with me kicking and screaming!) I've decided to be brutally honest in my journey (and hoping that I live up to my friend *whose name I won't use!* high standards!)
I better start backward and then go forward. My daughter became a vegetarian over two years ago. That was when she was almost nine years old. (Yes, she's a very "old soul") I told my friend * about how McKenna told me. I told her all the things we meat eaters tell those "veggieheads" like "how will you get enough protein?" And, "but won't you miss bacon?" And my daughter looked at me and said, "Mom, if you eat bacon (and that was her favorite food) then you just as well go kill Gracie or Gimlie and serve them for dinner. (Our family dogs).
Well, I told her that there was a big difference between livestock and our dogs and she said, "Yeah, we KNOW them." So when I told my friend this over one of our lunches it was out of concern for my daughter's health, but I had researched the protein thing and found that there was enough information out there to safely have my baby quit eating meat.
Little did I know the impact this conversation would have. A while later at another lunch, my friend told me that she had been doing some painstaking soul searching and had decided to quit eating meat, wearing leather, and using products that did testing on animals.
So time has passed and I have taken red meat out of the equation (did you know it takes four and a half days for a person with regular digestion to digest red meat? And I certainly do NOT have a regular digestion...so DAYS for me!) ***I said BRUTALLY HONEST!**** and I was eating very little pork.
Still ate a LOT of chicken and turkey though. And I was eating pretty much anything else I wanted while still being gluten free. Fruits and veggies were not very far up on my list. Every time we'd eat out, I would have a chicken entree and my friend would just tell me "in your own time!" We do speak a LOT about our own Spiritual journey's and how we are each seeking our own "path".........but we really want some other people to walk it too. Then we realize each person has to make his/her mind up alone and in their own time.
One of my husband's relatives started posting pictures of really green smoothies on her facebook page and talking about how much energy she had. She also was looking so fabulous that I thought that perhaps she was on to something. I wanted energy! I wanted to lose a lot more weight. I was/am obese. I have lost over 100 pounds but I still have a long way to go. I thought this juicing thing and my friend's vegan-ish lifestyle might have some merit.
My friend gave me some movies to watch and I put them on the counter and didn't look at them again. We were due to have lunch so I popped one into my laptop and thought I would just play it in the background while I used my tablet to surf online. I started listening to the DVD. It got my full attention. I listened to all of the science behind following a plant based diet. I was blown away by the medical findings. I was shocked! I was ready to eat some veggies. That movie was "Forks over Knives." Even if you aren't ready: Watch it. I DARE YOU! You'll never be the same.
I had already given up Pepsi (my crack) and red meat and pork.....I could do this. Or at least eat way LESS chicken and turkey. I could eat way more veggies and fruits. I wanted my Mother in Law to see the Vitamix roadshow at Costco. I thought that getting one would really make food prep easy. She watched the guy make smoothies with vegetables and fruits that tasted amazing. He made sorbet and he made hot soup right in the blender. We walked out with a machine!
I use it at least three times every day. Being Gluten Free on a plant based diet is a challenge, I will not lie. I am not yet totally free from chicken and turkey. But I am down to eating it only a few times a week as opposed to daily. I try to replace at least one meal with a smoothie and/or veggie soup.
I have cut my cow dairy consumption down to a little cream in my coffee each morning but otherwise I am cow dairy free as well. I do use chevre (goat cheese) and goat feta a few times a week as well. I do eat eggs but they are brown organic.
I am feeling really good and I've lost my "bloated all the time" feeling. My skin is improving and my energy level is up. I want to continue changing and growing. I don't know where this journey will lead but I hope that soon I will challenge myself to start video blogging and showing my journey as well as speaking of it. We'll see! Stay tuned.
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