10 days of meat-free and counting

Ten days ago I started on a month meat-free to raise money for Save The Children Australia.

I was a little scared, and kind of chose this option because I could still have hot chips while my boss (who is going junk food free) could not.

So how am I feeling after 10 days?

FANTASTIC!!

Choosing to spend an amount of time as a vegetarian has forced me to think just that little bit harder about what I put in my body.

It's taught me that food does not need meat to have flavour. 

It's taught me that I can make kickass tabouleh.

I've suprised myself with how much I don't miss eating meat. At all.

(At the end of my month I might just not change back. And I don't think it would bother me too much, although I may be tempted by garlic prawns. Maybe.)

I've recently started using the SparkPeople app to keep track of my diet and exercise as well. This has been working really well for me, because I was worried that I might not get the right balance of proteins, carbs etc. Now I can see at a glance that I haven't had enough protein and grab a handful of almonds or whatever.

I've also started to bake healthier options. Using oil instead of butter in cakes and muffins. Using wholemeal flour if I can. I've even used chia seeds. That's right. WonderMan hadn't even heard of them until I gave him one of these muffins by Veggie Mama.

The one thing I do have to remind myself is to take my iron tablet EVERY MORNING with breakfast. Otherwise by 1pm I am a big puddle of wobbly jelly on the floor. I was already slightly low in iron, so this has now become essential.

And I have had my first run in with an unsupportive friend. Who insisted that being vegetarian was not a healthy option and that I would die of anaemia. But she could understand being a vegetarian if you were all hippy-la-la and couldn't stand killing animals. Because obviously that's going to make a difference when it comes to dying yourself. Yes indeed.

You should donate some coins to Save The Children. I promise not to die.