Weigh-in Wednesday: Part-time Vegetarian

Nearly a month ago, I was feeling completely stuck in a food rut and had absolutely to change it. I was living on ground beef with vegetables (think shepherds pie without the potatoes or gravy) and chicken sausages. My snacks were often turkey pepperoni and a string cheese. Stuck. In. A. Rut. And while these things were all decently tasty and I enjoyed them for the most part, I was getting sick of them and I have never been a fan of the actual preparation of meat. I especially hate cooking chicken — raw, pink, sticky, slimy, gross chicken. Germs. Salmonella. Yuck.

So, this phobia of meat preparation is sort of a deal breaker for an easy kitchen routine and smooth cooking session for me. Like most, I like to eat a steak every now and then but I certainly won't be cooking it myself. If I have to cook it, it almost certainly turns me off of eating it altogether. So, for these reasons, the few things I was mostly okay with making (like ground beef and chicken sausages) due to the ease of package to pan, I stuck with fearlessly. Except that I was eating them all the time for months and months. Not good.

After some deliberation, meat-free weekdays seemed like they could be my answer. I would be forced into finding and trying new things and still have my bacon or prosciutto on the weekends. Win! I decided that for one month I would strip all meat from my weekday routine. It's Wednesday of week 4 and I am doing awesome! I have made some great strides in my eating and put some good new recipes in my back pocket.

The first week, I will admit, I was starving. This hunger wasn't due to lack of protein or ideas though, it was due to lack of preparation and planning. I had ideas but they weren't as quick as my usual go-to meals. I would need prep time and think time to get them done. Since then though, I have done much better and I have made friends with tofu. (I know, that scary stuff... it's okay, I promise!) By Thursday of that first week though, I got myself together enough to make some zucchini pie (the classic recipe is here). I didn't use the traditional crescent roll crust but instead made my own from scratch out of wheat germ, egg whites and some shredded cheese  — it worked and tasted amazingly good! I also crumbled tofu into the mix and sauteed it with the zucchini and onions. Perfection. I would totally recommend this idea in you're interested!

The second week things got even better. Chobani tweeted out a recipe for a crustless kale and feta quiche. This idea was pretty intriguing to me and so I looked through my fridge and decided I could make some magic myself. I wouldn't use kale — I don't generally keep that around the house unless I specifically need it for something and this was not a preplanned meal. What I did have was a bag of fire-roasted peppers and onions from Trader Joe's and some Mediterranean-style feta cheese. THIS WAS THE BEST THING I HAVE MADE IN A LONG TIME. Seriously.

Week three, to be honest, I stuck with the good recipes I had found and fell into a bit of a rut again. Sorry, friends. Nothing exciting to see for that week. The one thing to report would to be that the longer I stay with this "no meat" challenge, the more I seem to want to stay on it over the weekends. At Whole Foods last Saturday, I chose the add the balsamic tofu to my salad as my protein instead of chicken or beef. I chose it mostly because I was interested to see how it would taste as the lone "entree" meat swap choice but also because truthfully, the idea of tofu appealed to me more than chewy chicken or beef.

This meal at Whole Foods actually made me rethink things for week four. I decided since the balsamic tofu cubes were pretty delicious over the weekend and they didn't seem that difficult to make, I would try my hand at them as well. On Sunday night, I cubed a package of firm tofu, seasoned it with garlic, chili peppers, and salt and pepper and then cooked it up in a hot pan for a few minutes just to sear the seasoning and brown it a bit. I have been using this to top steamed veggies for lunches this week and it has been fantastic. Tasty, good texture and it has kept me pretty satisfied all afternoon. I'll definitely be adding this to my list of easy and quick meals.

Here's the thing though; as the end of week four approaches, I have to be honest and say that I am not sure I am ready for this meat-free thing to be over. I feel like I much prefer a meat-free kitchen. I mean, I will say that I miss my pepperoni a bit and that I do miss bacon. But since I don't eat that last one too often, maybe I can make an exception? I mean, I guess I am the one making all the rules here... I can mix and match all and do what works best.

I wrote about this for Weigh-in Wednesday this week not because it has a ton to do with my weight but because it has a lot to do about me finding that elusive balance that I am always trying to achieve when it comes to eating. Not having meat during the week means I am eating A LOT more vegetables and that I am not quite as much of a slave as I usually am to the "eat lots of protein" routine. I get plenty of protein in the eggs, cheese, yogurt and tofu I have been eating — I haven't been hungry or over-indulging in these things though to meet those protein needs. I just eat what seems appropriate and there's no measuring or figuring of any kind. Just healthy, good, wholesome food and me. And that, my friends, is big-time progress.

~B

On another note, the giant bag of Swedish Fish is finally gone (I'm pretty sure I have eaten it single-handedly over the past month....) and my jeans will be oh-so-happy to see this fact. While they haven't added any weight, I pretty darn sure I could have dropped a few of those 5-7 pounds I was complaining about if they hadn't been swimming in large schools into my belly.... One more temptation gone. Rejoice!