Becoming a Vegetarian- Week 2

Happy Monday everyone!

Today was a very productive, positive day for me, unlike most Mondays.
 The sun shining all day definitely helped a lot in keeping me motivated.

So it's been 2 1/2 weeks since I've commited to vegetarianism. It's been tough at times, but I've definitely surprised myself at the effort I put into making my meals.
I have also consciously been avoiding the meat-filled ones my parents made me, even though I had said at first that I would eat meat when its for a family dinner.
I've taken it a lot more seriously, a lot quicker than I thought. And I'm proud of myself. :)

Here are some photos of some of the delicious vege meals I have made/bought these past weeks:

BREAKFAST 

cranorange breakfast pita w/jam

+fruit,yogurt,nuts

egg+cheese crepe @ Cantaloupe Cafe

+ Rose Nanane smoothie: 

raspberries, banana, pineapple

apple,jam+cream cheese toast 

oatmeal+greek yog. w/apples&bananas

nutella+banana toast <3

LUNCH

grilled veggie panini + greek&apple salad from Cultures

chickpea + spinach quesadilla

pescatarian meal:

tuna, spinach + avocado salad

vegan meal:

apple,spinach,avocado + vegan rice "cheese" sandwich

DINNER

                                                    corn,peas,asparagus w/ rice+hummus

 pepper,carrot,onion veggie pilaf

w/brown rice,lentils +quinoa

Wish me luck with coming up with even more delicious ideas.

Here's to a productive, happy week!

-M

Becoming a Vegetarian- Week 1

Hi y'all,
So yesterday would mark my first week since I've committed to taking steps to become a vegetarian.
(gosh, time flies these days!)

It was challenging, and I did eat meat a couple times because that's what was served for dinner at home, but taking it slow and getting inspired through different media and other vegetarians really helped:

My humanities class at school is one of the reasons I started seriously considering vegetarianism, and this week we watched a few bits of a documentary called "Earthlings".
I highly encourage anyone who is trying to become a vegetarian or vegan, like myself, to watch this.

After watching just a few select scenes, I don't think I'll be able to ever eat beef or pork again, regardless if my parents are cooking it for a family meal.

Truly eye-opening and quite shell-shocking. Here is the link:

Another source of inspiration for me this week has been this blog I just discovered.
This woman has truly inspired me! She is a full vegan and has a young girl who is also a vegan.
I was so surprised to find out how amazing vegan meals could be, and that it would be possible to make a young child like them too!
With all of her posts about how and why she made the decision, and how delicious all her recipes look,
 I think that after I get used to vegetarianism, I will definitely work hard to become vegan as well.

Thank you OhDearDrea!
& Have a great weekend everyone :)

Life, in mobile photos

These past few days have been pretty busy. Work, school, friends. Sometimes I just need to spend a night by myself, to recollect my thoughts and feelings without worrying about others.
Saturday night was my recovery night from the crazy week, and it seems another one is just beginning.

In the midst of all my obligations, I try and take a moment to capture the small things in the day that make me happy and appreciate life.
Here are a few photos of life recently (in iPhone form, until my bank account allows for better quality).

easter weekend:  homemade pie+the people I love = ♥

future vehicle, current vehicle :-)

Happy Monday,

to another crazy fun-filled week !

Becoming a Vegetarian

I have never been one to set big goals for myself.

    I have always done fairly well in most aspects of my life: school, relationships, hobbies, etc. 

But, I have never really pushed myself to do something amazing, 

something that would challenge me greatly. 

Turning 18 made me feel like I really need to start challenging myself, start working towards bigger and better things to begin living the life I want to live, which is far from mediocre.

 I want to start fully living the beliefs and values I have acquired through my life experiences. 

I have started this blog to document my journey on becoming who I really want to be.

 I feel it is a good outlet for my personal goals and it will encourage me to keep going with them since I want to post about my progress. 

My first step in my journey is to become a vegetarian. 

 This is something I have been wanting to do for a long time, having learnt that doing so is soooo much healthier for ourselves, other animals and the environment. 

There doesn't seem to be a reason NOT to become a vegetarian, other than my (and family's) love of the taste of meat.

So I know it won't be easy. I am going to take it slow to make sure I don't feel deprived and increase my chances of failing. 

Step 1: All meals I make or buy for myself, from now on, will be vegetarian.

I feel this is a good place to start.

 I still live at home and coming home from a long day of school or work, hungry and tired, with a hot meal (most likely including some sort of meat) waiting on the table for me is, I hate to say it, 

extremely hard to resist.

So, until I move out (hopefully ASAP!), I will most likely eat meat when my parents prepare it for our family meals. Otherwise, I can freely choose what I put into my mouth when I make or buy it.

 And from now on

 I declare on this fourth day of April, 2013, will be meatless! 

 BUT HEALTHY.

I refuse to be one of those vegetarians who nourish themselves with only chips, cheese and cookies. 

I am nutritionally educated enough to know that there are tons of extremely healthy vegetarian foods out there, and I will continue to find evermore ways of cooking them oh-so deliciously!

Wish me luck! (And feel free to dispense any vege-advice if you have some)

Sincerely,

New blogger, Miss "Wanna-be-Vege" Booth.