1.03.2012

Vegetarian Lifestyle {My Staples!}

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In March of 2010, I made the decision to switch to being a vegetarian...more specifically, a pescatarian. A pescatarian still eats fish and other seafood, but no meat. No chicken, no beef, nada. The decision stemmed from reading the book Skinny Bitch and being absolutely disgusted, but at the same time, I had always wanted to "challenge" myself to see if I could do it {so far I have!}. I consider myself a pretty healthy person even before I embarked on this vegetarian journey...I work out 4 or 5 times a week, don't drink pop, limit the junk food and eating out to the weekends, and watch my calories.

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With it being the beginning of a new year, I'm definitely planning on continuing this lifestyle (that quote above? so true) and I can honestly say-meat does NOT sound appealing to me anymore. Especially chicken. Sure, there are the occasional times (when boozing typically) that those BW3's wings everyone is eating looks sooo good, but 95% of the time, I don't crave meat at all. and yes..I still get full. Everyday.

It took a lot of determination to make the switch and much more meal planning than I imagined. However, this past year I've felt (not counting my soccer injury here) and looked my best, so I feel like it's the right lifestyle for me. I was never concerned with losing a bunch of weight when I made the switch..I just wanted to become healthier. I want to feel my best. If you are someone who doesn't think they could give up meat, I urge you to just try giving up red meat or limiting it. Red meat is filled with pesticides and is even linked to causing cancer. I'm extremely hard on my husband (who isn't a pescatarian) about eating red meat and he is really good about not eating it often.

So, for all those meat lovers out there, maybe you could try a meatless Monday once in a while? for me? :) Even one or two days a week of not eating meat is good for you. You would then have time to find new recipes to make for dinner and expand the types of things you cook in the kitchen!


Moving on (have I bored you yet?), the biggest part about being a pescatarian is making sure your refrigerator and pantry are STOCKED. I do make more trips to the grocery store than I used to, but mainly that is just for fresh fruits and vegetables.


Today I thought I'd share my grocery store "staples"
the things that I buy the most frequently
and can't go a week without

(from top left to right: powerade zero's, quinoa, almonds, pop chips, green beans, bananas, organic carrots, morning star black bean burgers, fruit, cucumber, sweet potato, chobani greek yogurt, larabar, and clif kid bar)

This pic was from a recent small shopping trip and so some of my other staples aren't pictured.
These staples not pictured are:
spinach (super food), strawberries, blueberries, organic beans (all types), red and green bell peppers, Vitamin Zero water, tomatoes, nonfat FAGE greek yogurt, string cheese, hummus, and broccoli.

Another small change I made was switching to almond milk. I rarely ever drink regular milk anymore (mainly use it for baking). Almond milk is a much healthier alternative!

There you have it.
The foods I eat the most often.


I'm THRILLED to report my PT has cleared me to run again. I sound cheesy, but I finally feel complete again...I can work out, run, and play soccer now! I'm easing into it all but so far, I've gotten up to 3 miles and I couldn't be happier. So is the hubby because I'm not sitting at home complaining all the time. ;)

Last word of advice?

Work out while you can.
while your young-healthy-and injury free.
...don't wait for an injury to make you realize
you need to get off your butt and work out!

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I know that some bloggers find health posts boring
but if you do enjoy them, please let me know so I can incorporate more :)

...and if you have any questions about becoming a vegetarian (or a pescatarian), please let me know!
I'm all ears!


*on Day 3 of Advocare's herbal cleanse-so far so good! will post results at the end.



58 comments

  1. Great post, I've been thinking about doing this. I don't really eat any meat anymore.

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  2. I love this. I'm a pescatarian too! It has changed my life completely. People always look at me weird when I tell them, but I don't miss meat. I actually feel so much better. Now if I could just work out like you do : ) Thanks for the inspiration!

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  3. I love this! I jsut finished reading Skinny bitch after Raven did her post on the book and milk. I no longer drink milk after that i have switched to Almond milk. I think anyone can totally do it if they jsut make little changes at a time.

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  4. I love the picture at the very end. I am going to work out RIGHT now! No really, I need to get off this dang computer and get to the gym... :)

    Post more inspiring posts like this, I need it!

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  5. First and foremost I love that you're a vegeterian! I would SO do that except I am type O [blood] and I literally HAVE to eat meat. I'm not a meat fan at all.. I mainly eat chicken and venison. So, I applaud you for your lifestyle!

    Secondly, I printed out your workout photo and put it on my mirror! AWESOME!

    Now.. go enter my giveaway! (:

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  6. OK. So. I'm one of those meat lovers you talked about. HAHA there is NO way I could give it up. Cheeseburgers are literally my favorite food. BUT. I commend you for doing it, and wish that I could do it (no I don't. I love burgers too much! HAHA) However, I do like the idea of a Meatless Monday or something. My problem is the hubs. He doesn't think it's a meal without meat. Give me recipes that will convince him otherwise! K Thanks. :) LOVE YOU!!!

    YAY for working out again!!!

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  7. This was a great post and just the boost I needed to start out the New Year right! :) I would love to see some of the meatless meals you make!I'm always inspired when I find new things to cook Hope you have a great week!

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  8. Loved this post.. Please tell me why fish? like why you do eat it? I can see why no fish or red meat but whats the difference?I'd love to know more..

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  9. Katie, you are so inspirational. I need to get Skinny Bitch and read it. I heard it's hysterical but totally gross.
    I'm glad you did this post, I need to know how to acheieve your bangin' bod woman!

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  10. I love health/fitness posts from anyone bc it keeps the thought in my head on a daily basis! I say the more the merrier!

    Congrats on the 3 mile accomplishment! I did the same last night, for the first time in a while, and it felt great!

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  11. Wow! I am so happy to have found your blog. I, too, am (or am trying to be) a pescatarian. My hubby is a big meat eater. I can't get him to go without meat, and I really don't like to eat it, so how do you make dinners? Do you make 2 separate meals for dinner, or 2 "variations"? I would LOVE to talk more to you about this, as I think it would make it much easier for me to go 100% pescatarian (I've been falling off the wagon lately just because it's so hard to make dinner for just two of us when he eats meat and I don't).

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  12. when i was a freshman in college till i was a junior (when i dropped out) i was a pescatarian. only i cheated and ate eggs (a lot) and i will admit i felt healthier then. i constantly think about going back but haven't made the leap yet.

    but i love reading health posts. like easy healthy meal ideas and other ways of working out.

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  13. I love that you eat so healthy! It is a lifestyle! I've never been a big meat eater so I hope to cut it out altogether!

    xo

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  14. this is actually perfect timing for me to read this! my family is HUGE on eating red meat and i've been cutting back a lot recently. Now that i just moved out on my own i can really try harder to cut it out completely and give myself a new food plan. some of your staples are things i want to, or actually do buy regularly so this is really helpful! i may definitely be asking you for more suggestions!

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  15. Love this! I do not find health posts boring! I think they are interesting, motivating, and educational. I was vegetarian in high school but very unhealthy about it. I would contemplate going veggie again but, let's face it, I'm married to a hunter and he'd probably divorce me at the mention of going meatless. But I do buy the black bean burgers, they are a staple in my freezer too, and guess what? He LOVES them! Haha!

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  16. I love posts on healthy eating and recipes. Keep it up and thank you!! :)

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  17. This is my first time commenting -- hi, there :) Please keep updates on the Herbal Cleanse. I am very interested to hear about it... it could influence my decision of whether to participate in one!

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  18. I love this! I am about to go on a 3 week Standard Process detox, with no beef... Vegetabele recipes would be great ;)

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  19. I LOVE health posts and thought this was great! I was a vegetarian for a few months in the summer of 2009 and like you said, it's really not that hard. I have gone back to eating meat since then, but can go days without it and not even notice. Red meat has essentially been cut out of my diet {I don't crave steak and use ground turkey instead of ground beef!} Great post...I say keep it up! So glad to hear that you're cleared to run!

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  20. I love health and workout posts mixed in! I totally vote doing them more often. Talking more about vegetarian recipes, workout tips, stats on workout classes, etc. I love it! Also, saw your little note about the cleanse. I want to do one but I'm nervous for some reason...I can't put my finger on why, though.

    I read Skinny Bitch last March as well, and that's when I started running and stopped drinking soda (I've since started again, but in more moderation and with more guilt than i used to). It's a great book, and I loved learning all about the ways that government is involved with our bodies and the foo industry. I'll try being meatless with you! I already bought my groceries for this week so I can't do it this week (it would be a waste of money) but I'm going to do it next week. I've heard there's a lot of weight loss benefits to going vegetarian as well. And if pescetarian is the same, I could ABSOLUTELY do that. I don't know if I could give up my sushi, though.

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  21. I love health posts. This is totally something i could do. I am not a meat person at all! But how do you make it work when you are not cooking for just you? I often times skip the meat and just eat sides but other than that how do you make it work? I cook for me and my fiance every night and he likes his meat.

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  22. Not boring at all!! Another friend of mine read Skinny Bitch and she really changed her eating habits. I think I need to read it, ha. I'm so glad for you that the PT cleared you for exercise!!! I know it was killing you sitting at home :)

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  23. These posts aren't boring - I love them! Thanks for posting the list/photo of your food "staples," it gives me some good ideas! I make my own black bean burgers all the time - LOVE them:)

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  24. katie i LOVE this. You have such amazing determination!

    its weird...im not a vegetarion or vegan but i dont find myself eating meat a lot either. i feel like I wouldn't miss it if I stopped (except ok i love beef chili and ribs) BUT...ive read books/articles/seen movies about meat an its process and all that and it legit grosses me out!

    I like the meatless monday idea! And I deff follow the no meat on fridays during easter time!

    Kurt is MEATHEAD. And I dont mean like a juicy jersey shore guido (though he is from jersey...but not that 'meaty' hahah) He LOVES steak/burgers/hotdogs everyting so I think it would be so awesome to find new recipes that don't include meat for us to try!

    and cliff bars...I see you in that pic! SO DELICIOUS!

    xoxoxo

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  25. I loved hearing about how you make being a pescatarian work for you. I don't eat much red meat, and Shawn and I eat turkey and chicken on occasion - him moreso than me. I just got done ranting to him the other day about my growing aversion to chicken! Maybe this lifestyle could work for me? You have certainly given me something to think about...

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  26. I love this post! I have wanted slow long to stop eating meats (for animal cruelty reasons)! I actually have started working out and eating healthy to lose weight by summer time and this helped me a lot. Switching from eating not healthy to healthy was such a change because i just had no idea what to eat! my goal is 50lbs by summer time. if you have any tips or food ideas for me i would love to hear it! where do you get lots of protein from if not from meat?

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  27. I just switched and I am putting my boys on this diet as well! I want my babies to be as healthy as possible. I any so thrilled with the change so far. I am only a few weeks in, but honestly, I just feel better! I will be posting some great recipes on my blog. Im sure you have found some great ones as well, but if you like to check some out you can follow me her: hanlonfamily2.blogspot.com

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  28. Loved this post. As you know I have been trying to incorporate more meatless meals into my diet and I have really loved the challenge. I don't think I could ever go completely meatless, partially because I'm anemic and my body sometimes needs the red meat (as recommended by the dr.)..but I really try not to eat it too often. Hoping to put some new meatless recipes up soon, so look out for them! :)

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  29. I have to say i don't think i could ever give up meat completely... BUT i do have the book Skinny bitch on my kindle so kinda tempted to read it now!!

    I will try your No Meat Mondays though, I think i could do that!!

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  30. Good job woman! I am trying to get better at using more wholesome and organic ingredients (meat included--sorry). I am so impressed by your dedication, I definitely need to adapt some of these healthier tricks.

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  31. Katie, I love today's health post and hope you keep them coming! I've thought about trying to become a vegetarian for a while but it's SO hard for me because my fiance is SUCH a meat eater, grew up on a farm and thinks it's weird that I would want to stop eating meat. I've been doing "meatless mondays" though and suprisingly he hasn't complained yet. Sadly, if I try to make meatless meals multiple times a week he ends up going out and getting himself fast food for dinner, yuck!

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  32. I love these type of posts!

    I do love a good cheeseburger but other than that we do not eat a ton of red meat. We do eat quite a bit of chicken but I would prefer not to. I'd say our staples are close to what your are and I am always trying incorporate more veggies and fruit in to our meals. Sweet potatoes have been our new best friends lately!

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  33. love this! that is exactly what i did after reading the book. I did a post on it also.
    I haven't eaten any meat for about a month and a half now. but i have continued to eat seafood.

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  34. I really enjoyed this post. I love reading fitness/diet posts, because it gives me new ideas. I was wondering what types of things you eat for lunch? Like what would a complete lunch be for you? I need some new ideas. You can email me at RandaFaith@gmail.com if you need to.
    Thanks! I really enjoy your blog:)

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  35. I love these kinds of posts.. you should check out this girls blog on tumblr.. she has a blog fully dedicated to a healthy lifestyle.
    Her blog is http://undressedskeleton.tumblr.com/ - she is such an inspiration to so many people.

    Post more healthy post.. even when people don't like reading them, everyone should be educated on it :)

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  36. Well that first picture is motivating. You are a great advocate for vegetarianism. People just don't know how easy it can be, or the benefits. I know first hand because my number one pet peeve used to be...I'll admit it- vegetarians. I couldn't stand them! Ha! What a hypocrite I am. I am happy with the way I eat (and the indulgences I take) but I do wish I worked out more often. I stay active in the summer and fall months, hiking and walking, etc, but it's never usually regimented for longer than a few weeks other than that. I used to work out with a trainer 3 times a week for 2 years, but alas, I was pregnant right in the middle of it so I never really saw excellent results. Sometimes you inspire me and make me want to run and that's saying something because I hate running!!!

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  37. Well that first picture is motivating. You are a great advocate for vegetarianism. People just don't know how easy it can be, or the benefits. I know first hand because my number one pet peeve used to be...I'll admit it- vegetarians. I couldn't stand them! Ha! What a hypocrite I am. I am happy with the way I eat (and the indulgences I take) but I do wish I worked out more often. I stay active in the summer and fall months, hiking and walking, etc, but it's never usually regimented for longer than a few weeks other than that. I used to work out with a trainer 3 times a week for 2 years, but alas, I was pregnant right in the middle of it so I never really saw excellent results. Sometimes you inspire me and make me want to run and that's saying something because I hate running!!!

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  38. I'm on a 20-day no carb or alcohol binge. HA ... bings is so not the right word. Basically salad with veges, lean mats and egg whites. Girlfrand. I don't fit into my BRIDESMAID DRESS. Like it's BADDDDDDDDD. I need a 20 day miracle. Where is that skinny fairy???

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  39. binge* and meats* not bings and mats. I need to re-read before I hit submit.

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  40. I love the health posts and can't wait to hear about the cleanse! I don't eat much meat without really trying not to and have been considering cutting it out except for maybe one or two days a week. Recipe ideas would be great!

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  41. i'm so scared to read that book because i know a lot of what i eat is crap. perhaps i'll do it soon :)

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  42. I really appreciate your post! I have been considering becoming a vegetarian for a while and have slowly been eliminating meat from my diet. I already notice I feel more energized! xo

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  43. girl, I'm a veggie too! I've never really had the taste to eat meat to begin with. I think you are being smart and not loading up on carbs (which can be a downfall for vegetarians). Keep up the great posts!

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  44. You are so inspirational! I've been toying with the idea of becoming pescatarian. I am reading Skinny Bitch right now- so far I am completely turned off to any kind of meat. My problem will be balancing meat-free meals for myself and also cooking for my meat loving fiance. Any suggestions?

    I've been loving reading your blog over the last few months! Keep it up!

    Brigid

    overthethresholdblog.com

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  45. Katie -

    This post came at the right time. I just was visiting my mom in Arizona for the holidays and she too is a vegetarian. We watched a movie called Forks Over Knives that literally changed my ENTIRE viewpoint on eating meat. I have decided that I am too going to go completely vegetarian and am glad that there are other bloggers out there too.

    Any great recipes that you have found please share! If you have not seen that movie yet PLEASE watch it - and make the hubs - it will really help your case ;)

    xo

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  46. I love this! Definitely keep up the health posts. I'm a pretty healthy eater on a regular basis, but a love the junk food too lol. I got out of running for a couple months, for other reasons, and I've actually lost weight. I think I've been so much more conscious of what I'm eating. But this year is starting with getting back into running and half marathons again! Staying and eating healthy is a huge part of that! thanks for this post!

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  47. I love this post. I am far from a health nut, but I am looking for ways to make my life more healthy. I definitely couldn't commit to going completely vegetarian/pescatarian, but certain days without meat would not be so bad.

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  48. Thank you for this post! I am not a vegetarian or a health nut, but I have been actively changing my lifestyle & this is such a boost!
    Thank you!!

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  49. I had no idea you were a vegetarian ( I had to look up how to spell that word. Sad, I know!) ... That's awesome! Great discipline and determination! I have never eaten red meat (Well until THIS past April) when I ate my first and last hamburger. No other red meat. But some other meats, I totally eat. But I'm going to challenge myself to 48 hours meat free. Hey, at least you still drink. Drinking is important! :)

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  50. I love health posts! Do you think you could post some of your really good vegetarian recipes? I would have to have something hearty for my husband to go along with this or I would just have to make my portion without meat!!

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  51. Sweet new ride. Steph wrote a pretty funny blog for you Tom. Is that you in the top picture? Jk

    Tubby/BBFT

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  52. I read this also, and wanted to puke. Good for you girl, I grew up vegetarian, my mom has been for 30 years! love you!!

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  53. I would love more health posts! I'm always looking for healthy meals to incorporate and I love the meatless monday idea. I don't know if I'll be able to go completely meatless (have a serious meat lover in my house) but if I have more delicious options available, I might be able to make some progress!

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  54. Ha, what a great venn diagram- always feel better after a workout, getting there is half the battle! Thanks for including us in your staples, our protein-packed cups are a great part of a vegetarian (or pescetarian!) lifestyle and help keep ya feeling full. Please feel free to email me at lindsay(dot)kos(at)chobani(dot)com if ya ever need a fresh supply!

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  55. I love this post. I just bought Skinny Bitch yesterday and I'm so excited to read it! I'm seriously the complete opposite (never work out; always eat out) and I'm ready to do some changing!

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  56. This is the third year my husband and I have done "no meat January.". It started as a way to start clean and expand vege options. After January, I'm going pescatarian (with a couple exceptions) as well though! Your tips are helpful! I'm glad to know there are other pescatarians out there too :)

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  57. I LOVE Morning Star. The black bean or turkey burger patty is usually packed in my lunch every day. Yum!

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  58. My son LOVES the Clif KidZ Bars in Chocolate Brownie and my hubby is a huge fan of the Chobani greek yogurt... You are kind of inspiring me to go pescatarian here! ;)

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