start of my vegetarian month...

I have decided to do a month where I go vegetarian which means under no circumstances am I allowed to consume meat in any shape or form. Note that I said vegetarian, not vegan which means I am still allowed to eat eggs, cheese, etc. With this month bound to be a difficult one for me, I will be turning to my filofax like it is a lifesaving buoy while I am trying not to drown from starvation. A weird analogy I know, but it's the best I've got!

As I am not allowed to eat meat for this month, I wrote down a list of protein containing foods, as well as iron containing foods which are vital for the well being and health of a woman (I can now call myself a woman as I am no longer a teenager!).

The meat substitutes I have so far found are: quorn, baked beans (forgot their real name! Starts with a 'c'?), nuts, eggs, fish, tofu (yummmm), soya beans and lentils. If anyone has anymore suggestions, please do do do comment! I want to eat a variety of foods this month, not churn the same meals out over and over again. I am also a fond lover of stew or a casserole in the winter months so any suggestions for what I can replace the beef with? I am thinking maybe lentils or chickpeas but still undecided.

High iron foods include brocolli, spinach and eggs and I don't really know what else... With regards to eggs, I will only be eating a maximum of two a week due to some things I have read about eating too much eggs. I'm not sure if it's true but I'm not willing to take a chance!

With this in mind, I have to be super organised with weekly meal plans and this is where my filofax comes in. On each day of this month, I will be pencilling in the protein containing ingredient I will be using for that night's dinner. I'm pretty much a health freak and last year, I cooked every single meal and when I didn't, it would be for an ocassion such as someone's birthday or something.

To aid my determination to complete a meat free month, I also have a food diary going. I have been recording what I've been eating since the 10th of August this year and I will continue to do so. My main reason for doing this diary was to see where I could save a bit on my weekly shop and also see what aspects of my diet were going wrong (maybe eating a cookie for lunch was not such a good idea due to my constant snacking in the afternoon after...). I also any unusual goings on with my body that may affect weight gain or a feeling of being bloated.

My Food Diary.
The beauty of being at home is that I can eat whatever the hell I want for breakfast!
And lunch - as you can see!