A Vegetarian Time
This past Wednesday marked the beginning of Lent. I’m not a very religious person in the sense of organized religion (12 years of Catholic school will do that to you!), but I do want to raise my children with a foundation of religion. We are Catholic, so Lent is a time that we will observe which involves a sacrifice or giving up of something. Of course, my choice was food-related 
I decided for the next 40 days (really 46- until Easter) to be vegetarian. I will be giving up all meat, chicken and fish, but will still keep eggs and cheese (so I think that’s lacto-ovo vegetarian). I know it will be hard, but I’m kind of excited about it!
It’s been 2 days already and I’m realizing how much thought I need to put into my eating day. A few years ago, I made an attempt at going vegetarian. I did really well for a week, then I started to get lazy about it. I discovered that pizza, pasta, cheese, bread and chocolate were all “vegetarian” and well, let’s just say that the size of my butt may have inspired the song, Baby Got Back. Beside the fact, that I was not feeling well at all. I wasn’t feeding myself the proper nutrients and I was tired, cranky and had dark circles under my eyes 
So, this time around, I know better and I will definitely eat better! I’m going to try to pay particular attention to getting in my protein and I’m going to attempt to avoid eating a lot of the processed veggie products like fakin’ bacon, meat and chicken-type foods. Yikes! A tall order, no? I will do my best!
Okay, what’s up with my babbling lately?! On to the veggie food!
Wednesday Eats
Breakfast started off with a new (to me) find: Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal…
I love the texture of this cereal! Much better to me than oatmeal.
In the mix:
- 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 drops NuStevia Liquid Vanilla Stevia
- 1/4 cup unsweetened Vanilla Almond Breeze (added at end)
- 1/2 cup blueberries
Then I hit the gym for one hour on the Arc Trainer! Booyah!
Lunch was a Cuban Black Bean Patty on an Arnold Sandwich Thin with baby greens and salsa…
On the side, some strawberries and Oikos Caramel yogurt…
Yes, CARAMEL!!!
It was perfect for dipping…
Snack was a sweet orange…
and a Banana Maple Oatmeal Cookie…
For dinner, I wanted to try something very new to me – curry!
I came across a recipe for Quick Chickpea Curry in Everday Food…
It was great use for the tons of chickpeas I made in The Crocker…
I only made half the curry recipe because I wasn’t sure if I would like it. I have to say that the smell of it while it was cooking was a BIG turnoff! Ugh, that curry smell permeated the house and I was sure I would hate this meal…
What a surprise! It was amazing!!! I loved the flavor; it tasted nothing like it smelled! I served it over whole spelt couscous and was altogether a filling meal.
I ended the night with some decaf w/ cream
Total- 21 POINTS
Thursday Eats
Another morning with Bob’s! In the mix…
- 1/3 cup Bob’s Red Mill 5 Grain Hot Cereal
- 2/3 cup water
- 3 drops NuStevia liquid vanilla stevia
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 tbsp. Peanut Butter and Co. Cinnamon Raisin Swirl
Serious yum! Such a long lasting breakfast, too. I wasn’t ready for lunch for about 4 hours!
I got in a good 30 minutes on the Arc Trainer and came home for 25 minutes of Yoga for Weight Loss on yogadownload.com. I’m getting better at the yoga. My downward dog is looking less like “shaking and having a seizure dog” 
I was excited to dig into my leftover Quick Chickpea Curry for lunch. I added some sauteed spinach and served it with carrots and a WW whole wheat pita …
I will definitely make that again!
Dinner was a recipe that I have been meaning to try for quite a while. I’ve had it in my “Recipes to Try” file and decided to finally make it. I got it from my friend, Heather at Leading The Weigh who is a Weight Watcher Extraordinaire and cooking diva! Her recipe for Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Quinoa was fabulous…
I served it with a side salad of baby greens, more goat cheese, 1 tsp. dried cranberries and a drizzle of good balsamic vinegar…
Love, love, love <3
Total – 20 POINTS
I have been a little low on my POINTS the past 2 days, but I have been so satisfied with what I am eating that I’m not looking for anything else! I like that feeling . We’ll see how it all works out; might just be beginners luck 
Have a great day, everyone! And don’t forget to Ask Me Anything!
Have you ever tried being a vegetarian? Would you? Could you?
Questions? Email me! aloserforlife@gmail.com
42 comments
We went Vegan for a whole six weeks but developed some problems from it. Main reason was, like you, we concentrated too much on things like beans and grains and too little on fruits and veggies. Don’t tell my husband but I am moving us slowly into a vegetarian lifestyle. Not hard core for there will be occasions when it cannot be followed, but there will also be a whole lot of time when it can. Yes curry can smell bad, but I ADORE the flavor !!!!
Looks like you are doing great !!
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:12 pm
shhh, secret’s safe with me
Wow, Marisa, I’m impressed. I’ve given up red meat for quite a while, but I need my chicken, turkey & FISH. We love fish so giving up meat on Friday is never a big sacrifice to us when Lent rolls around. (uhh, sorry Jesus) Totally hear you on the curry – In college, the neighbor in the apartment across from me cooked curry all day long and the smell was hideous! Even my roommate, a vegetarian, couldn’t stand it.
Good luck with this. Sounds like you are off to a great start.
Go you and the ARC Trainer! WooHoo!
The meals look delicious
But I don’t know if could maintain vegetarian for very long. I’ve tried before, and lasted maybe 3 weeks. I did do pescetarian for 6 months though, that wasn’t so bad 
Have a great weekend!
I eat very little meat and have been thinking about giving it up completely for a while now. But I’m not quite there yet… Plus, the “boys” enjoy some meat once in a while, and I really don’t want to cook completely different dinners… Sounds like you are doing great!
Happy Friday!
That curry looks yummy! I love curry. I would never be a vegetarian completely. I like meat. We do, however, eat vegetarian meals frequently, just because we like them.
We do buy our meat from local farms, so that we know the animals were treated well – and it supports the local economy.
Hey there.. I seen that recipe for the curry as well. I will give it a whirl.. Thanks for reviewing it…
Hi from a blog follower but until now silent lurker! I too have gone veggie for lent so will be even more interested to follow your blog now and get some tips as to what you are eating! I find the idea a bit daunting at the moment, but lent is all about sacrifice after all! Good luck with it, hope we can both say at the end that we succeeded!
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Hi Sue! Thanks for being here and de-lurking! Good luck with yours, too. We will succeed!
Caramel Greek yogurt?!!! I’m still stuck on that. Can’t move forward. Must find some.
I’ve gone vegan for a while when I did raw food diet. It just wasn’t something that I would want to do forever.
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:15 pm
Wait, Kel…they make a CHOCOLATE one ,too!!!!
Goat Cheese and Sundried Tomato Quinoa looks very yummy, I’ll have to try it. I think you are being very brave! I have thought about giving up meat but I know I would have a hard time of it( I like the taste far too much). I do however rarely eat red meat maybe once a month, but chicken or fish….I’d struggle.
Yeah, I have tried being vegetarian. One of the worst and most unnecessary decisions in my life.
Chickpeas, however, can be quite tasty
.
That Quinoa looks delicious! I once had a Quinoa #FAIL. So I blamed it on the Quinoa and decided to hate it forever. I better give it a do-over. Yes??
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:16 pm
Yes! I hated quinoa the first time I tried it. This…you will LOVE!
Hi Marisa – I met you many years ago through Jenn Maguire, she is my roommate from college. You look amazing and I just love your blog. I too am a big WW fan and have lost 51 pounds since last March. I love the program and the lifestyle change I have discovered. I get so many ideas from you – thank you for such an entertaining and extremely useful blog. Look forward to reaading it everyday!
All the best to you – Kristen P.
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
Hi Kristen!!! So cool to hear from you! Congrats on your awesome loss! That is a wonderful accomplishment!
Thank you for reading and your nice words!
I think it’s great you’re going vegetarian for Lent! I became a vegetarian a few years ago and find it fun, actually. Fun as in I’ve stretched my culinary wings far beyond what I would have if I still relied on meat for protein. Can’t wait to read what food finds you discover.
I love the arc, too. I got on it today for the first time in months! I’d have one at home if I could fit it in the door
Yum! Those recipes look sooooo good. I love that chick pea curry thingy. I’ll have to try that one–definitely. We’re curry lovers, and I know exactly what you mean about the smell. Hmmmm. Weird how it could smell like feet, but taste really good. Go figure.
Yay about the yoga! I’m glad your downward facing dog is getting easier.
And BTW–I feel like fake bacon and fake “chicken nuggets” just ain’t right. I liked your solution much better! Can’t wait to find out how you feel at Easter after 6 weeks of meatless living.
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
Bawahaha! I crack up every time I see (yoga lady)! You funny lady! With smokin’ guns
i also am going lacto ovo veg for Lent. started into it a couple of weeks before (had fish a couple of times) and i absolutely LOVE it and have had no issues (so far)..
i never really ate meat anyway, cept for ground turkey and chicken. i figure at the most i will be classified as a flexitarian, eating meat on occasions when it is beyond my control or a strong craving
good luck!
you going vegetarian is a very good thing for my diet..lol, because I love your recipes!
just teasing. good luck!!
I had a friend when I was younger that was ‘vegan’..aka potato chips and Oreos (makes you wonder what that ‘cream’ is made of,huh?) I always thought vegetarian/vegan would be daunting because I didn’t want to fall into that trap, but it’s so easy to find healthy recipes!
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
LOL! Glad to help you out Andrea!
I would consider myself 90% vegetarian and 80% vegan. Occasionally I eat salmon, cheese, and even less so……meat or chicken . I feel better. It has become part of my lifestyle now and it does not seem to be hard to do or plan meals. I think you will get more used to it! Keep it up……It is a good thing!
You may already know this about me but I eat mostly meatless as it is. Very rare forays into the red meat world. I never eat pork except for the odd piece of bacon and I don’t eat chicken hardly ever. I probably eat meat less than once a month. You probably don’t need as much protein as you think you do either. And there is hidden protein in lots of foods.
I love curry so much! I can’t believe you’d never eaten it before. There are lots of different versions of it so keep experimenting. Try a curry/light coconut milk broth slightly thickened with arrowroot or corn starch. It’s good over any kind of rice, great over cauliflower, amazing with chick peas or better yet, dried yellow peas. Google Dal or Daal. This is an amazing nutritious side dish that you will love. Curried food (beans, veg etc.) also make great wraps a la burritos. Serve it with raita on the side! plain yogurt mixed with minced red onion and cucumber seasoned with cumin. Delish!
So excited for the curry adventure!
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I didn’t know that about you, T! You will be my curry go-to girl for my next adventure!
This is great, Marisa! I am excited to see what you will be eating from now until Easter
Very admirable that you are giving up something that you enjoy like meat. Do you like tofu? I forget. That will be a lifesaver, I imagine 
Marisa Reply:
February 19th, 2010 at 5:23 pm
I love tofu! I’ve already stocked up, too!
haha, you read my mind with the caramel yogurt. when i saw that first picture, i literally was like “caramel?!!” all excitedly and then i scroll to the next picture where you say “Yes, Caramel!” haha and it made me laugh. You got me on that one!
Good luck with Lent! (I’m doing no sweets!)
Best of luck during lent.
I actually decided to give up meat for Lent about 6 years ago. After the 40 days, I had my favorite ribs… but they just didn’t taste as good as I’d though. I gave up meat and became a lacto-ovo-pescitarian. It was really really hard at first but now, I hardly miss it. Now that I’m more conscious of my food choices, I feel like I get more benefits from a vegetarian diet (while I was in college, I ate hash browns, fries, fro yo… yeah. Vegetarian for sure, but not healthy). Good luck!
i would love the recipe for that goat cheese quinoa! looks delish!
good luck on going veggie for lent. in theory i really dont eat much meat at all but i think it’s always a surprise when you actually cut it out! especially because like you said, there are so many non meat options that are pure carb or sugar. sounds like youve already considered that tho
im excited to see what you come up with over lent!! i bet you will get a lot of good recipes out of this.
oh that quinoa looks delicious! A couple years ago my husband and I decided to drastically decrease our meat consumption (mainly for environmental reasons); at first we had A LOT more pasta, pizza, etc and then it became fun to find new recipes! We actually LOVE this decision and how far we’ve come and how good we feel! I’m sure you’re only going to continue finding new recipes you’d never otherwise try!
I totally respect people who give up things for lent. I just couldn’t do it! I admire the strength to stick to stuff, no matter what it is lol.
anyways, I am new to your blog, but its great! will be checking back often now!
x
Good for you! I gave up meat as well but keeping the fish and cheese but no eggs. I am not into organized religion either and couldnt tell you the last time I went to mass but every yr I give up something for Lent…..and every yr its food related.
i’ve gone on/off vegetarian since i was a pre-teen. now i’m married to one, so i eat mostly veggie at home but throw in some meat for myself. i can’t limit myself from anything!!!
hey!
i just found your blog and i can’t wait to continue reading!
i would love it if you could come check out my blog and follow as well
Jenna
I have been a vegetarian for over 11 years and I don’t miss meat at all. I have more energy and I don’t get sick as much. I also think I have more variety in my diet because I can’t fall back on the old chicken breast or hamburger stand bys. Use this time to explore all sort of new tastes and style of cooking.
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