Leeah Williams (6)

Being introduced to an alternate way of living has opened my eyes to the impact I have on the globe as well as well as evolving my eating to live a healthier lifestyle. I was unaware that the thing we consumed had such a large carbon footprint and I really appreciate that meatless Mondays gave me the opportunity to take a step in a positive direction. I never thought that I could enjoy a meal without a meat option present but my experiences during this time has shifted my thought process. Just knowing that meat production is one of largest contributions to pollution on the earth encourages me to have meatless options at least 3 times a week.

These past five weeks have been very challenging but I feel victorious. I was able to alter my daily eating routine to something I was totally ignorant about. I did not know that combinations of non-meat products could fulfill the required amount of proteins you need to consume on a daily basis. Not having enough protein in my diet on these Mondays defiantly was a big challenge, this caused me to become hungry faster and just not satisfied. Living on a college campus was very difficult because there are limited meatless options. I found myself being limited to union salads, or creating my meals at home. Being a full time student balancing 25 credits, and a part time job made it very difficult for me to cook my meals. I was always tired, on a timed schedule, and never had time to think about what I was going to eat. This had a negative effect on my body because I found myself going long hours without eating, which caused me to feel weak and even worse. Planning my meals the weekend in advance defiantly was a major advantage for meatless Mondays. This allowed me to prep the food that I was going to cook on Monday and I was able to incorporate the proper grains and proteins that would balance out my meals. Participating in meatless Mondays would have been so much easier if I was home because my father and my brothers are pescertarians. My father would always cook either fish, shell fish or tofu for himself and a chicken dinner for my brother and I, so if told him that I no longer wanted to eat meat this would be very simple.

There was no food that I had ate for the first time during meatless Monday. I am usually the person stating that I want to try something at least once during my lifetime. The only things that were new to me would be the way I prepared certain items and some of the spices and sauces I used. For example cooking with soy sauce, I am not a big fan but once I added honey and a dash of brown sugar it became teriyaki sauce. This became a wonderful combination with the stir fried vegetables I made. I also added thyme to my rice which gave it an earthy mint flavor which paired well with the kale salad.

If I was to adapt a meatless diet I can see myself relating more to a Pescetarianism. It was hard enough not consuming meat for a day I am sure that I would not be able to live without seafood and dairy products.

For the upcoming classes that will be participating in meatless Monday I would suggest for them to get creative. This should not be an assignment that you are dreading like who doesn’t like food. You should go online, find recipes that you can follow or recreate it. Experiment, try something new. This is a time that you can put your taste buds to the test and explore alternate food options.