Beef, it's what's for dinner...not really

Day two and I'm doing great (which is more than I can say for the last 15 times I attempted to renew my healthy living lifestyle)! Instead of munching on anything and everything that can be instantly inhaled, I am putting forth serious effort into cooking well balanced meals. I figure that if I take the time to cook, not only will I make healthier decisions but I will also enjoy the food to a greater extent.

For dinner I decided to make vegetarian fajitas. I used a whole wheat tortilla (1 skinny point), cooked lots of fresh veggies on the stove (2 skinny points), made my own corn and avocado salsa (3 skinny points) and mixed soy veggie meat with fresh cilantro (4 skinny points!). I was literally radiating beams of pride as I watched my family reach for seconds. Below you can see a couple dishes, as well as the brand of soy meat I used.





Although I'm not a vegetarian, I do eat a lot of vegetarian meals. Not long ago I decided to eliminate meat and poultry from my diet for a year. My reasoning?
*I've never been a fan of most meats.
*I sometimes feel bad eating animals that didn't necessarily have to be eaten.
*I have grown a bit concerned with the health ramifications of regularly consuming the typical grocery-found chunk of meat.
I should probably add that I continued to eat fish and eggs throughout this process. Hypocritical? Get over it. To be perfectly honest, one of the few reasons that I returned to my carnivorous ways is simply convenience. And cost. And, okay, I do acknowledge certain benefits of eating some meats (iron in turkey, etc etc etc).

I love and highly recommend the Skinny Bitch book by Rory Freedman and Kim Barnouin, both of whom are vegans. Take their dietary advice with a grain of salt, as they hold strong opinions on many commonly eaten foods. If you don't want to read about veganism, I still advise you to read their books. Their in-your-face style of writing and ruthless tone is absolutely hilarious.

Another book I really enjoy is The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook by Diana Shaw. Not only does this book contain tons and tons of simple recipes, but it also acts as a guide for maintaining a well-balanced diet. There are lots of instructions for things like food preparation, grocery shopping, food storage, and explanations on various ingredients.

While many meals I will be blogging about will be vegetarian meals, many will also contain meat. And dairy. And maybe some will contain sugar. Speaking of sugar, I have a minor confession: Last night at around 3 o'clock in the morning I snuck out of bed and binged on almost an entire roll of Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies! I blame it on temporary insanity...

Love and cupcakes,
Coley