Two and a half days left!

I definitely didn't update this thingy as much as I thought I would, and I barely did any of the 'detox' stuff that I always plan in my mind before starting (dry brushing, epsom salt baths, etc). But, the bottom line is that we ate really well with minimal 'cheats' and we feel fantastic.

I feel fantastic not only physically, but mentally, regarding my choice to start leading a more vegetarian lifestyle (without being absolute, or Vegetarian with a capital V). When I think about how unnatural I find it to eat meat (I know there are a lot of arguments to the contrary; I'm talking about my own personal beliefs and how it would never occur to me in the wild to come across across an animal and kill it for food), and the amount of years I've already spent not eating it, it's surprising how quickly I can fall back into separating poultry from chicken, beef from cows.

I spent the majority of my teenage years as a vegetarian (and maybe one or two of those as a mostly-vegan), and a few years here and there afterwards without eating pork or beef. It just makes more sense to me. While I don't think I can say I will never eat chicken again, I think I will feel much better about myself and my diet knowing that I eat it rarely and I will seek out local farms where I know that the birds had a decent life and a humane death. As far as mammals go, I just don't think I can do it, but again, I'm not going to say never.

The cheats that I've had while on the detox were mushrooms (once) when I went to a friend's house for dinner. She knew I was on a vegetarian detox and asked what I could eat, and I said basically anything but meat, wheat, booze, sweets, and anything pickled or fermented. So she made a chili with all sorts of delicious vegetables and beans, including mushrooms. I didn't say a word because really, it's not the end of the world. I've also had a couple of desserts from vegan restaurants that used agave nectar or possibly sugar in their recipes. I'm not too concerned.

I'm down 7.8 lbs now, putting me back down to where I was in early December (or maybe a bit lower even). I have another 10 lbs to go until I feel like I'll be at a weight where my clothes will still fit but I'll be more content to remain there. For life, maybe. I like having a little junk in the trunk.

Let's see... what have we been up to, food-wise. On Friday, our weekly "sandwich night," we made veggie burgers. We'd done groceries after work and wanted something quick. I threw a sweet potato in the cart and we put together this delicious meal:

 

















I tossed the sweet potato wedges in turmeric, olive oil, sea salt and sesame seeds. The veggie burger is store-bought (we wanted to make them from scratch but knew we'd get home late) and the bun is made from kamut flour. We used ajvar spread (red pepper vegetable spread) and goat cheese since we can't have ketchup or mustard.

Last night was Sunday Salmon Night, so we made a couple of delicious fillets with "zucchiniccine", roasted cherry tomatoes, and golden beets (I had a serious craving). This is my favourite kind of meal--simple but delicious.

We went to a vegetarian restaurant called The Table for dinner on Saturday night (one of those weigh-your-plate places). We tried some delicious things and it gave us a craving for cooking with coconut milk, so next week we'll attempt some Thai food at home. We'll be off the detox by then, and just eating vegetarian, basically. I'll try to remember to keep updating with our meal creations from time-to-time!