Veggie-versary

It's almost my 1 year anniversary of being a vegetarian, and it means SO much to me.

I never considered myself the type that could live meat-less, and I think that this has not only changed my life, but changed the lives of those around me. Has it convinced anyone else to become a vegeterian? not really. BUT it has probably caused a lot of people close around me to be more concious of others food choices, and their own.


So what's different with my vegetarianism now?
Nothing really. I have absolutely no desire to eat meat.. in fact, it's almost a disgust.

In fact, I went to Ruby's diner a few weeks ago, and ordered a veggie burger. (i'm sure you know where this is going...) well my first bite into my veggie burger, and the result was a pink patty.. I was disgusted. I remained calm and polite, realizing that the waitress was mortified and visibly embarassed/upset. and then waiting about 10 minutes for them to remake the veggie burger that I no longer wanted. But, now i'm PARANOID that my veggie food is not actually what i ordered :(


I started reading up on some others views of being vegetarian, and I found SO many great opinions and justifications of why I made the choice I did.

I'm saving money.
I'm eating healthier, and feeling better.
I never get the overly full feeling.
I enjoy food more.
I enjoy preparing food more.

I love animals. I've devoted my life to helping change the world, and the way we treat companion pets. I'm doing everything I can to make a difference.

I know not everyone has the same passions I do, and that is 100% okay. But please, find SOMETHING you care passionately about, and do whatever you can in your power to fight for it.

6 months later and why am I still doing this?

More than ever, this choice to be vegetarian is bothering me. Not because I'm upset that I have made the switch, but rather that I'm ashamed it took me so long to realize why this is important.

I started thinking about how different the past 6 months of my life have been different. Mainly that i'm more cognisant of what i'm putting into my body.. I actually think about things before I eat them.. wait, what? Yeah, that was completely unheard of before. I loved meat. I loved burgers, hotdogs, steak, etc. but if I start to think now about why I loved them so much.. I can't think of a reason why. They tasted good, maybe? But does meat really have much of a taste? Seems to me that you mostly taste the marinade.. which then why not just eat marinade? I think I primarily ate meat because it was cool to eat meat.. I was used to it, I grew up on it, everyone I know ate it, it was cool. Well ...I don't think it's cool anymore.

Someone really close to me asked the other day why I'm "still" vegetarian. My response was simply this: "If I needed to eat meat to survive that would be one thing, but since I don't, why do I have to kill an animal just to satisfy my cravings?" that's awful. I don't need it, so why eat it?

Meat is not worth it, and i'm glad I finally realized that. If only I knew sooner..

30 random things that make me a happy candi.

in no particular order:

1. antique keys
2. freshly painted toenails
3. grilled cheese un-crustables
4. fireworks
5. eating watermelon out of a pie tin on a hot summer day
6. sweet tea
7. ripped jeans
8. transporting an animal from the OC Shelter to freedom
9. collecting buttons
10. snuggling with any of our kitties
11. kurt halsey's artwork
12. kevin crawford
13. sun-dried tomatoes
14. anything normal thing made into mini-size (i.e. small coke cans.. so cute)
15. kissing in the rain
16. Felicity marathons
17. vanilla lattes
18. rooting for the underdog
19. saladitos
20. fuzzy socks (that have not eaten by my cat)
21. spontaneous road trips
22. NYC
23. sleeping in
24. freshly laundered bedding
25. boysenberry frozen yogurt
26. trying new things
27. memories with friends
28. an unexpected discount
29. french fries
30. donating money to help someone in need

now it's your turn...

120 days later.. and still counting.

I apologize for the delay in writing, as my life has been a whirlwind. Between being a wife, making the hard decision to move apartments (cleaning and prepping and packing, oh my!), and the 4 or so organizations I volunteer for .. I've just about lost my mind.

Okay okay, enough about how busy I am, as I'm sure you all are too!

Officially 120 days meat free.. (insert "Go Candi!" song + dance here)

I enjoy my new found creative cooking, because unfortunately up until 120 days ago, I was only able to successfully make 2 things: spaghetti and mac n' cheese. Vegetarianism has forced me to think outside the box, to plan our meals in advance, and to REALLY think about what we're eating. We are buying/eating more vegetables than ever, and rarely eat out anymore. Our mealsconsist mostly of non-processed foods.. AND I'm cooking, I'm really cooking!!

I'm so proud of myself.. and I think my husband is too. He loves all the new things I'm making, and even though he's not planning to convert to vegetarianism anytime soon, he is eating less and less meat (go me!)

The Un-Traditional Thanksgiving.

I have to admit, this vegetarian thing is easy.. in fact so easy, it's scary. Why did I ever need meat in the first place? It's been 2 months and so far my life is great, my health is great, and I haven't once felt the urge to cheat, because it's not that I can't have meat, it's that I don't want to eat it.

Thanksgiving was a breeze.. we spent the day with the Crawfords. I brought over an appetizer (details below), creamed corn, and a fruit salad. It was a good meal.. lots of meat-less things to eat. The only thing I wasn't able to eat, was the Turkey, and eh, so what! Turkey Shmerkey.. and NO ONE noticed that I had a plate without turkey.. so no questions, no problems.

So let's talk about this appetizer I made. Mmmmmm!

Bronco Bob's Roasted Raspberry Chipotle Sauce + Cream Cheese.. and Multi-Grain crackers. Delish!

Thanks be to Nicole for this amazing concoction :)

T-Minus 16 days until Turkey Day... eek!

I just realized we are only 2 weeks away from Thanksgiving… and Kevin and I haven't decided how where we are going to spend each holiday this year yet.

If we decide to do Thanksgiving with my family this year, I'll be forced to share my new found vegetarianism with my ENTIRE family. Our thanksgiving celebration is huge… my grandparents each had 5 children when they married (before I was born).. resulting in my 33 cousins. My favorite cousin, whom I've been best friends my entire life with is a vegetarian.. but since we haven't talked in 6 months (*tear), I most likely won't have that support by my side. The rest of my family is filled with carnivores.. and not just your average meat eating American, but Italian, meat loving, hunting fanatics. I'm not worried that I will want to eat turkey, but I'm nervous about the potential criticism that I'll be facing... ugh.

The decision I've made is only about me, it only affects me (and technically Kevin, but he doesn't care at all!), and therefore it should only be my business, right? Other people just don't seem to understand that… and feel the need to interject their opinion about my every move. Here's the deal: the decision has been made and there is no turning back, so back off. And yes, yet again, I'm getting enough protein people!

My plan this year is to create a DELICIOUS meat-free dish to take and share. My family socializes around good food and good wine, so a nice dish, a nice bottle of wine, and then hopefully they won't ask too many questions. In fact, maybe they will be understanding and even be curious about this change in my life?

I found some delicious thanksgiving family feast style recipes in Martha Stewart's Living magazine and also in Real Simple this month.. but I'm always open to others :)

The plunge..

Well, here I am: The girl who said she would NEVER give up meat.. a vegetarian.

It's been almost a month, and honestly I don't miss meat at all. When I ate meat, I loved it.. but over the past year my feelings towards it have changed. I love animals, and the more I love animals and help them, the less I want to eat them. It's a pretty simple equation when you think about it actually. And although I no longer have a desire to eat meat, it really doesn't bother me that others eat it. In fact, there is meat in our house because Kevin is still eating it, and I am completely fine with that. He's been nothing but supportive throughout the process, since he's known for awhile how I felt and encouraged me to take the final step and cut it out altogether. He's amazing. I couldn't ask for a better husband.

And don't worry Mom, I'm getting enough protein!

I'm still eating cheese, eggs, and drinking milk.. I'm not vegan. Seafood I'm not opposed to, but since i've never really like it anyways.. I'm not really eating that either.

The best part is that it's 2009 and A LOT of people are vegetarians or vegans.. so there's some really great products that are meat-like, without being meat. I'm loving Trader Joe's soy meatballs, delicious veggie patties, veggie sausages (I love you MorningStar), and tofu! So anytime i'm getting a craving for something I used to eat with meat, I can find an easy substitute and work it out. I made soy meatball sandwiches for dinner last week.. yummy!

Life is good.. and I've never felt so healthy in my life. I've lost a few pounds (and haven't been to the gym in almost 2 months).. and overall I feel good about my decision.

So if you want to keep up with my journey, the good and the bad, stick around :)

what's for dinner this week? maybe some tofu and veggie Yakisoba.. mmm! (thanks to Meghan for teaching me this one!)