that girl jen

We are officially at the half way point of LENT, so I wanted to do a little check in to let you know how it’s going.

Yesterday, I threw in the towel, I’m off the wagon. I went to McD’s and got a cheese burger. I’m not going to say that it’s been an easy challenge for me, not at all!

I will say that I’m still going to attempt to eat less meat over the next few weeks, but I know I’ve not completed the challenge or task at hand as a complete success.

So yes, I failed. (and I’m ok with that.)

Here’s what’s been happening at the Sherman House:

For starters, the whole reason we decided to go meatless during lent was brought on by just being in a “food rut”. I was bored with cooking dinner, and pretty much fell into making the same kind of meals. Nothing horrible, but also nothing exciting or noteworthy. This eating vegetarian thing was merely a way to get way out of our comfort zones, to HAVE to find new things to prepare for dinner… and get a few new ideas on what to make.

THANK GOODNESS I FOUND A LOOP HOLE.

SO although this was to be a 30 day meatless challenge, as you probably read in my previous post, we chose to do this challenge during Lent since it gave us a definitive beginning and end point. Lent is 40 day, so we thought an additional 10 days of eating meatless wouldn’t be too difficult. THEN I DID THE MATH… The season of Lent is actually 46 days.

The loop hole: Sunday is a feast day.

We began our vegetarian journey on Wednesday 6 March 2019.

We ate meatless for our anniversary on 10 March… opting for a delicious spinach salad (minus the bacon) and it was really good. Of course I would have loved a steak, and had I known about the Sunday MEATDAY loop hole, then that celebratory meal could have been a bit more bacony!

Fast forward to Sunday 17 March and LP and I finally utilized said loophole and got some actual meat. We went to a local bar where I opted for a burger, which was lackluster, and she wanted chicken tenders. Nothing major, but I did add bacon to the burger, which was the highlight! That evening I opted for chicken pad se-ew and that was pretty darned tasty.

Then back on the vegetables!

By the middle of the week LP was done. THURSDAY 21 MARCH, we decided that she could opt out and go back to her more normal eating habits.

Sunday, 24 March, I had a few chicken nuggets for dinner. Nothing major and they weren’t delicious like the ones from Chick-fil-A…

Then more non meat foods… until yesterday!

Now that it’s the midway point, I’m not happy. I’m kinda cranky. Others in the house are a little more crankier than usual. I don’t want to point that out, and site that they probably would be a bit happier if they would just eat a damn burger- however, I foresee him managing to get through all the way to lent without issue.

Now for the positive stuff. Here’s what we’ve learned from this challenge.

My new favorite protein for taco night is a “meatless crumble” from a company called LightLife. It also makes one heck of a believable faux-meat-loaf. Also fried rice with tofu, although a lot of prep work, is a family favorite. Our friend raises chickens, so we’ve been buying eggs and making a weekly quiche and that’s been a hit.

We have another 3 weeks of Lent, and since one of us is still eating meatless, I’ll be making dinners as a meatless meal, and have meat, at lunch if I have a hankering for it. Hopefully a few new favorite recipes will be added to our ever growing dinner ideas.

It’s definitely been a little extra work in the kitchen, but it’s been an interesting experience. Just not for me.

I think, If we weaned ourselves off meat, but cutting one protein out at a time, or gradually went meatless every other day, I would have had a more successful outcome. But I knew this was going to be difficult. The headache yesterday still lingers. Maybe I need another burger.

Truthfully though, I’m ready for it to be done. I’ve actually gained 5 pounds with all the extra beans and rice + a bit of bloating… totally not a fan. I also have been noticing that I’m craving more snack foods, especially salty stuff… again adding to the water retention and my increased weight gain.

Main take-away is we’ll be making sure to continue sourcing more meatless meal ideas; and will be eating meatless (hopefully) 2 days a week.

So if you’re reading this and have tried going vegetarian or have some meatless meal ideas, feel free to share with me! 🙂

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