Cant believe another week is gone. I cant keep up with time anymore. Only 2 weeks left till finals and well, till we all go a little crazy in the head. On that note, how was everyone week? Did you participate in No Impact Week? Walking around campus this week, seeing all the No Impact shirts, was definitely awesome! The farmers market, as always, was yummy!
I am pretty excited for this week to come to end though... a good friend who recently transferred to Auburn, will be coming in Friday! Then, Saturday morning, I get to spend the day with my mom and aunt. I don't think I have seen my aunt in like 8 years... so... this will awesome. Gonna head up to Savannah and have a girls day :)
Lately, my vegetarian lifestyle has come up A LOT in conversation. Most of the time, with people who still eat meat, and all asking the same two questions. "WHY!!?" and "So... how do you get your protein if you don't eat meat?" I love sharing the knowledge, and well, I guess Ill share with you both of my answers.
Why Did I Go?
Hmmm. Rewind to, well, my whole life. I grew up on everything meat. Chicken almost every night for dinner, hamburgers from my favorite restaurants, and one of my favorites, BBQ. I did not go one day without meat in diet. Also, let me point out that I never really got into "healthy" living until my junior year in high school. A friend of mine, Ashley, and I, always joke about our earlier "healthy-living". a diet coke, a turkey and cheese sandwich, and maybe some Wheat Thins.... my oh my how things have changed. So anyways. Moving on to the college years. When I declared Dietetics as my major, I never had a clue how much it would impact my life. There is no way NOT to look at food the same way after you know just about everything about it. Between my major and many food documentaries, I still never thought I would make the change. Just to hard, right? Then last July, while at a fitness convention, I sat in on a lecture about The China Study. If you have never read the book or watched Forks over Knives, please take the time, it will impact you on some level. As I sat there and listened to this MD from the Hipprocates Institute, I could not help but want to change. And that very day, after listening to his amazing lecture, I made the switch. Just quit all together. I told myself, "Just try it for a month or two, and then depending on how you feel... make the decision then." ... never thinking I would actually stick to it. A friend of mine gave me maximum 2 months of sticking (haha proved you!). It just happened that when I returned home from that conference, I had to see my doctor for some blood work. She ran lipid panels on me (checks the fats in your blood/cholesterol/all that good stuff). With an official beginning number of my blood work, being a vegetarian became a little experiment for me. Would it really effect my blood, make me feel better, give me more energy? At almost a year now, I am happy to say, my good HDLs have risen and LDLs lowered, my energy has increased, I have rid a thyroid disease, face cleared up... I mean I cant describe how amazing I feel. My overall happiness with life is just incredible. Feeling good is contagious.
major+documentaries+lecture+food not being the same as it used to+more sustainable= briannas reasons.
So... what about protein?
This is my favorite question, because for the most part, people are just not educated on food. Which is fine, I totally understand, nutrition is not exactly the easiest thing to study!! So, for all you non-believers out there, this is where I get my protein!
1. Beans. Need I say more? Packed with everything a food could ever need. Minerals, vitamins, fiber, protein, good carbs... hmmm jsut a good food. 12-14 grams of protein for one cup... but lets be real, I probably double that portion haha. If you were to add lentils to that mix... 1 cup of lentils contains 18 grams of protein!
3. Tofu. I always told myself how gross tofu was and that I would NEVER eat it. Well, I take all that back. With 8 grams per serving, I add this to just about anything. Burritos, sushi, and even veggie lasagna. In my food science lab, we even made a chocolate 'silk' pie with it. Surprisingly, it was very good! YUMM
So, those are a few of my favorites, but protein in non-animal sources is not just limited to these examples. Nuts, eggs, and avocados are all also very good sources! And, each and every one of those has its own awesome benefits! So eat up!
Well, I am off to bed here soon. I went to yoga tonight with a good friend, Corey, and well, I am nothing short of relaxed. I hope everyone has a wonderful, healthy, weekend! Tomorrows Friday, TGIFFFF!
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