Hi All,
Well, all the freezer meals for my truck driver husband were a hit! Whew! I, on the other hand, regressed into a kind of junk food land. The last time hubby was away for a week or two at a time was about 4 years ago, and so I’m not used to cooking for one. It’s all too easy to eat popcorn for lunch and chocolate for an afternoon snack (I work from home, so it’s really easy). It was toast and jam for breakfast, or boiled eggs. I did manage a healthy-ish supper, but snacked on chocolate or popcorn later in the evening.
The result? Brain fog, moodiness, cravings, bloating, difficulty sleeping … you get the picture. I grew tired of feeling this way, so I decided on a 7 day reset. A completely plant-based diet for 7 days – Yikes! No dairy, no gluten, no sugar, oh my!
My plan was to have almond milk in my tea and coffee instead of regular milk, a green smoothie for breakfast and lunch, nuts and fruit for snacks and a plant-based dinner. Looks good, doesn’t it?
I don’t think my fridge knew what hit it! 😀 (the beers are hubby’s)
or my freezer, for that matter!
I experimented with a variety of smoothies and settled on 3 that I really liked, but you can choose any green smoothie you like. 100 Days of Real Food has some really nice ones.
Berry Crush Bowl
Fennel Strawberry
And the third one was made up from the suggestions found here.
I also started a dance exercise program that I just love. It’s a program I bought from Body Groove. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate exercise. But I really love this program. It’s day 7 and I look forward to doing it every morning. Note: I am not being paid to promote Body Groove – I just found something I really love doing.
For hubby’s on-the-road truck meals, The Mediterrean Shrimp Stew was a huge hit, as was the Unstuffed Cabbage Bowls, so I made those again and added a new recipe, Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken to the mix.
I will say that I experienced a bit of sugar withdrawal for the first 2 days. They included headaches, lack of energy, and mood swings. Fortunately, I started the 7 day reset on a Friday and spent the weekend being kind to myself by relaxing, watching chick flicks and drinking lots of water and chamomile tea. On the third day I woke up with more energy than I’ve had in a long time, my mood had improved 100%, and no more brain fog! I have come to the conclusion (something I’ve always known in the back of my mind) that Sugar is horrible for our minds and bodies.
Here are the vegetarian meals that I love:
Monday : Loaded Warm Spinach Salad (this was originally Kale, but, try as I may, I can’t bring myself to like Kale)
Tuesday : Mushroom-Stuffed Sweet Potato
Wednesday: Coconut Cauliflower Rice
Thursday: Spiralized Taco Salad
Friday: Date Night!
Saturday: Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie
Sunday: Leftovers
Leave me a comment and tell me about your journey into a more plant-based diet.
Cheers!
The Jane Effect 
About 30 years ago, I stopped eating beef and pork of all kinds and any chicken that was not raised locally, looking at the impact of the top of the food chain eating has on our planet. I rarely eat poultry now, but I cook local, organic chicken and turkey for my family, but not more than once a week. I will probably take a few bites of turkey on Thanksgiving. I do eat wild, sustainable fish and will probably always keep that in my diet, but most of our meals are vegetarian or fish based with lots of veggies and whole grains. Good luck on your journey!
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Thank you! I probably won’t go completely vegetarian, but local, organic meat is by far way better than anything I’ve ever tasted, and I can’t go back now. I don’t eat much beef or pork at all, and I don’t miss it very much either.
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It’s all about what you get used to, what your family’s habits are, or creating new habits. When we were first married, I started making a stir-fry every week with lots of colorful, delicious vegetables. I made sure to make a meal each week that was vegetarian but familiar like corn chowder, and then fiddled with lots of other usual recipes. As long as my husband gets his chicken once a week and fish at least once, he is now happy, and doesn’t even think twice about eating tofu!
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You’re so right. We also started off slowly. My trucker driver, biker hubby now loves tofu!
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It’ amazing, isn’t it? The first time I served it to him you would have thought I handed him some alien substance. Now, he actually likes it, and he loves tempeh! He also likes the local lamb my girlfriend raises, the only red meat I bring into the house.
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Haha! It just takes time for them to get used to the idea.
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