Day 31!

I have officially made it a whole month of being a vegetarian! Well.... I guess if you want to be nit-picky I am now a pescatarian, since I had to start eating fish and shrimp in Mexico because they didn't have Anything to get the protein I needed, I almost never found rice or beans while in Mexico... MEXICO! What up with that?! (just had to add that link in, since I kinda love these silly SNL skits.) I still don't really love fish, I never have, though I do like shrimp, but I am not as morally opposed to the way fish are raised as I am to the way cows/chickens/pigs are, because fish don't have the same mental capabilities as the mammals and birds do. Maybe my logic is all wrong and I'm just trying to make myself feel better while eating them, but oh well. Being a pescatarian is still much healthier than eating all that meat and it works for me, plus it's not like I'll be eating fish and shrimp for every meal, it's still maybe once a week, usually less.
I think since this first month of my veggie diet was so easy (I have felt great and normal all month) I will shoot for another month , I'll just continue to see how I feel and I could probably end up staying this way for a long time... but we shall see.

Day _____

I got sick of writing about my daily eating habits, especially since no one reads this blog anyway, plus I'm going on vacation and will not be inclined to post while there. But I'm still a vegetarian, feel great after almost two weeks, and look forward to the rest of the month.

And in other news. I just got an internship at the Audubon Zoo in New Orleans!! It is an AZA accredited zoo and actually one of the top in the nation, so it'll be amazing on my resume. Also the best part is that I'll be working in the Asian Domain section with: Tigers, Amur leopards, Malayan Sun bears, Babirusa, Asian small clawed otters, Lions, Camels, Barasingha, Elephants, several species of Asian tortoises and 2 species of cranes, Bar headed goose, Indian porcupine and Milky storks. I start in March, and will be there for at least three months, maybe longer. If anyone has family or friends there, please let me know, I'll need a place to live!

I'M SO EXCITED!!!!!!!

Day 7

Another day of work, sitting on my butt alone in my room, booking flights, getting yelled at, and wishing I wasn't so bored all day. At least my desk is up against the window and I get to stare at the amazingly beautiful mountains and watch bald eagles and a great blue heron fly by all day long and land in the trees in my back yard. Today for my vegetarian meals I had a breakfast of raspberry yogurt mixed with granola, an apple as a snack later, for lunch I made a really good taco salad with my flavored tofu and some salsa, my spicy blue chips, wingers sauce, and some other amazing things. It was really really tasty. After work I went to Applebee's with Julie and didn't have many options there for anything without meat, so I just got this pasta without the meat, which was really bland and not worth what I still had to pay. Then went and played with Colter and we watched Bruno which was really disgusting and completely hilarious. I'm still a little disturbed by it actually.. but there were some really funny parts.
And I have officially made it a whole week as a vegetarian, no problem at all. I wonder if it'll get easier or harder from here... I guess we will see.

Day 6

Long long day today. I worked from 8:30 in the morning till 9:45 at night, with a couple short breaks mixed in between. For breakfast I had cereal again with almond milk, an apple as a snack, and then for lunch I had my left over mu shu stir fry (which was still really good). After work ate some left over thai curry with rice, but since there wasn't that much I decided to try one of my veggie burgers as well, and boy was that an interesting experience. I reheated it in my toaster oven and then fried it on the stove since it was still pretty soft and falling apart a little bit. I made a lovely burger with great toppings, lettuce, cheese, and lots of sauce. But upon biting into it I discovered that the texture was just too weird. The taste wasn't too bad, since the ingredients are mostly just vegetables, I think carrots being the main ingredient, but it was just too squishy and weird. I mean I could maybe get used to it (I'll have to since I bought a box that has 6 patties), but after these I probably won't be doing veggie burgers as a meal... at least not on a bun, maybe just cooked and eaten with some rice or something, or crumpled up in a salad.
Later that night I munched on some great chips and wonderful salsa and guacamole before taking a bath and going to bed early.
Again, another easy day being a vegetarian... I thought this was supposed to be hard?!

Day 5

Today was another great and easy day. Started with my usual cereal and almond milk and a cappuccino to keep me awake during my review session. Then went to Saigon Cafe with friends and got this amazing moo shoo without the pork.

Had an apple later as a snack, and went to SLC with some other friends and had some really great/fancy mac & cheese at this place that I forgot. I also had a scare when I took a bite of my friend's salad and was chewing and realized I had gotten a piece of chicken, so I promptly spit out the whole mouthful and just picked through the half masticated blob to pick out the lettuce and avoid anything that could be meat.
After dinner we went to see An Education at the Broadway, which was really great. and drove home in the snow.

Day 4

I feel great today! Got a long night's sleep, and after class this morning I went to zumba for a great workout. After the gym I went to Walgreen's to purchase some new eye drops and some other stuff, then went to Sunflower Farmer's Market to buy some needed groceries.
WOW
I don't think I can afford to be healthy, it's Expensive! They have so much to choose from, and a great array of items for vegetarians, but man, some of the stuff costs a lot. I purchased: salsa, guacamole, tortillas, yogurt, superfood 'green machine' juice, granola, hemp-milk ice cream (sounds weird, but really really good) hummus, blue chips, feta cheese, carrots, broccoli, apples, veggie burgers, imitation ham (nervous about how that tastes, but I REALLY love sandwiches), and some tofu: some flavored, and some just plain that I can cook with. I ending up spending almost $100 bucks, and hope that this stuff lasts me a while so I don't go broke by trying to cook more at home. I will say though, my salad for lunch today was wonderful, and the garlic and herb flavored tofu in it tasted pretty good.

Tonight I think I'll have a southwestern veggie burger, with some of my salsa and guac... mmmmm

*Update* My veggie burger was in the toaster when I was invited to the hospital cafe (the same one I had just spent the night in) for dinner. So of course I popped it back into the freezer and opted to spend time with friends and eat gross unhealthy food instead. Well my grilled cheese was good, just not very healthy.... neither was the strawberry shake I had after, but it sure was tasty. And another day down without meat, and still doing really well, it's actually been quite easy.

Day 3

Today I woke up after a grueling night writing my paper, and made it to class at 9 to turn in my paper. I had a bowl of cereal after class, and then drove to SLC to pick up my parent's car from airport parking, and on the way back I stopped to get some cat food at Petco and then got a cafe rio salad for lunch/dinner. The salad was great of course, but I was tempted to get it with pork like I usually do, since their pork is amazing.

Day 2

Day two was rough. But only because I was at school literally ALL day working on my final paper and then had to take pictures for and have our last chamber choir concert. I had a great salad in the cafeteria, it's build your own and only costs .30 cents an ounce. But while I was enjoying my salad with a couple friends from choir (love you A and HT) A's friend joined us, and then That kid and his friend proceeded to interrogate me on my new vegetarianism. I had quite a few points on which to defend my new decision, and did so quite well with what I have learned this past weekend, but I still have a lot of things to research so I can have a better basis to back up this new switch. I didn't really have any cravings for meat at all, but got a little sad during lunch and again at dinner when HT mentioned sandwiches and some other things that I really love. Usually it's not the Meat part of the food item I like, but many things I love wouldn't be the same
without the meat. Top item: cheesy gordita crunch and chicken quesadilla from taco bell.... I'll miss you.
After my concert I went back to the library till it closed at midnight and then at my friend's suggestion I went to finish my paper at the Provo hospital's Cafe West which is open all night and has good cheap food (though limited veg items). My greasy grilled cheese and fries were perfect to keep me going until I left at 2:30 in the morning.

Day 1

This morning started with my favorite cereal and some almond milk
(which I already love). And now this wonderful salad for lunch. I was
giddy while making this salad, thinking about all the animals I'll be
saving (or at least not contributing to the meat industry and their
deaths) by this new life choice. I have a feeling this change will
actually be really easy. Bring it on!

This shirt is from jr high and has always been a favorite, so since it still fits I wore it to my presentation in ethics today on animal rights. I also brought my cute dog Tink along, to more easily sway the audience to my side. The presentation went really well.

Go Veg

After studying for a presentation on Animal Rights for my ethics class I decided I am going to be/NEED to be a vegetarian. It's the right thing to do, since animals are treated horribly and abused on factory farms. Also the amount of grain that is used to feed these animals could be used to feed Africa. The farm animals are also heavily contributing to global warming from their carbon emissions (burping/farting). Overall I know I will be a healthier and happier person by respecting nature and the creatures that reside with us. I am really excited :)

Cool quote from philosopher Jeremy Bentham:
"Other animals, which, on account of their interests having been neglected by the insensibility of the ancient jurists, stand degraded into the class of things. ... The day has been, I grieve it to say in many places it is not yet past, in which the greater part of the species, under the denomination of slaves, have been treated ... upon the same footing as ... animals are still. The day may come, when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The French have already discovered that the blackness of skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor. It may come one day to be recognized, that the number of legs, the villosity of the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum, are reasons equally insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the same fate. What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or perhaps, the faculty for discourse?...the question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer? Why should the law refuse its protection to any sensitive being?... The time will come when humanity will extend its mantle over everything which breathes... "