Meatless Monday #2
This Monday was much harder than
last week. My friend had to constantly remind me that it was Meatless Monday
and I could not eat any form of meat. It put me in a really bad mood because I
was hungrier throughout the day and my options was
limited. Especially at the fact that I spent most of Monday on campus so made
my options even more limited.
For breakfast I had a brown sugar
with bananas oatmeal from Jamba juice along with a 16 oz. Caribbean-Passion-fruit
smoothie. I technically did not get to drink my entire drink because I had
asked my friend to hold on and she threw it out in the garbage by accident. She
thought she was throwing out the garbage in her other hand but instead threw
out my smoothie. So I was a tad bit hungry after that meal. I ate that at
around 11:30 am. My next meal was at 5:00 pm, this was my hardest meal because
I was extremely hungry and I could not eat my normal chicken salad. I was also
at the library around this time trying to get my work done. I decided to go to Capen Café and I bought
myself a pecan-banana-nut muffin and a small French vanilla coffee. I was still
a little hungry from that but it would have to suffice. My last meal of the day
after the gym was a veggie burger that I added avocado, tomatoes, lettuce, and
onions and I also ate that with an orange.
My lunch meal was the most affected
because I was hungry and could not eat meat which I knew would stop my hunger.
It also irritated me that I could not eat a salad with chicken in it. I refused
to pay for a salad without any meat. Meatless Monday just made me appreciate
the rest of the week because I was able
to eat meat. I am currently on a diet and my trainer says that I have to eat 50
grams of protein, meatless Monday made that goal more difficult for that day.
Meatless Monday made me realize how dependent I am of meat in my daily diet. I
have the mentality that eating meat will suffice my hunger and I believe that’s
why I am having more difficulty trying to adapt.
I spent more money on meals this
past Monday because usually I will go to my house and eat cereal or a turkey
burger. The reasoning for me spending more money was not because of
meatless-Monday but more so because I was on campus. My friend Daisha was the
only affected just because she saw that I was hungry and complaining. Other
than that no one else was affected by meatless-Monday.
I used the resources I had around
me. For example, I used the fact that I have dinning dollars to buy food on
campus also the environment I am in. The student union and Capen Café are
available to me where I can purchase food from.
I hope next week can be easier since
I will be on spring break and my mom can prepare a vegetarian meal for me.
I think you could really benefit from planning your meals out ahead of time and prepping them the night before. Especially because you have a goal with your trainer each day to meet a specific amount of protein, not being able to consume meat would make that a pretty difficult challenge. Try to start with a plant protein and then build your meals around it. That way you know your getting enough protein and that your substituting meat for another form of protein, not just cutting it out. I think that's why you were so hungry. Beans, lentils, tofu, and quinoa are great plant-based proteins. And if you make sure to balance your meals with a protein, carbs, and healthy fat you'll start to feel much fuller throughout the day. If you need some recipe ideas check out these sites for some awesome dishes:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.cookforyourlife.org/ingredients/proteins
http://cookiemonstercooking.com/category/main-dish/vegetarian/
http://ohmyveggies.com/category/make-it-meatless/
hope this helps!