Vegan and Sugar Free

Disclaimer: I am not a food expert, but I like to think that I am because I do spend a lot of time thinking about food, reading books about food, researching food....

What?
No animal products. Not just meat, but no honey, eggs, dairy, leather, etc.

I have decided to try to go Vegan and Sugar free for at least a month. I am still debating about what I will do after a month.

Why?
-Health
-World hunger
-Environment

I've been researching food and learning about different food lifestyles for a loooong time. I've read lots of food and health books the past few years some being, 

It Starts with Food
Salt, Sugar, Fat
French Kids Eat Everything

I really love food and I am fascinated by what people eat and how people eat. I love learning the benefits of different food and how food affects and heals our bodies. I am on a journey to find the best way possible to fuel my body and to also enjoy food. 

I really love this article

Meat sells and makes companies money. Fruits and vegetables don't. You never see advertisements for fruit and vegetables. You see advertisements for more meat. I personally feel like most food industries want to make more money. They don't care about your health, they care about money. 

Food companies want us to be addicted to their product so we buy more of it and they make more money, so they add salt, sugar, and fat to EVERYTHING.

I want to help world hunger. I think it's so sad that some people go hungry. There is no reason someone should go hungry. Here are some good articles about this.
Article 1
Article 2

How?
Start small. My food journey started almost 8 years ago when I was pregnant with my first baby. Make little changes, that eventually turn into big changes. For example,
-keep a food journal
-make goals
-be creative
-try new recipes every week
-think about fueling your body vs. giving into cravings
-eat at least 1 vegetable at every meal. Add veggies to breakfast potatoes/eggs/omelette, etc.
-eat at least 1 fruit a day
-make smoothies
-stop buying processed food or food in packages.
-READ LABELS. I started reading food labels years ago and it always amazes me at what is in some food products. Don't you want to know what you are eating? Read the label.
-if you want to go sugar free, start by switching your dessert to dark chocolate and then slowly stopping. I also really love Martenellis because they are sugar free! Just fruit juice and carbonation. And it tastes like a treat to me.
-substitute your pasta for veggie pasta, or edamame noodles. My husband actually likes edamame noodles better than normal noodles.
-eat more salad
-try new fruit/veggies
-take your kids to the grocery store and have them pick out a new fruit/veggie that they want to try
-teach your kids about food
-go to a farm and learn about food
-go fruit picking
-schedule meals. I like to eat 4 times a day. 8am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm. I never feel hungry and I always feel satisfied because I eat enough at each meal to fill me up.
-don't eat empty calories that are just going to make you more hungry
-take it one day at a time
-make a plan or plan to fail. At the beginning of everyday I decided what I'm going to eat for the day. I log it into my loseit app. I don't always follow it exactly, but when I am feeling hungry I can see I already made a plan on what to eat and not just grab junk food.
-It doesn't have to be expensive. For me, it's actually been cheaper.

It really is easier than you think. Eat real food that grows in the ground. Eat vegetables, fruit, nuts, bread, etc. If you do eat meat, eat better meat. Find local meat, or grass fed, or cage free, etc. Do your research. Start looking up companies and seeing how they treat their animals/products.

Some Ideas:
Breakfast:
-potatoes
-granola with almond milk
-toast with avocado, or peanut butter and banana

Lunch/Dinner:
Salad with an oil based dressing. I usually just do a squeeze of lemon/lime and olive oil on my salads
Pasta with oil and veggies
Bean Burritos
Veggie Sandwiches
Smoothie Bowls

Google/Pinterest are your best friend when looking for food ideas and recipes.

Results?

You feel AMAZING! You don't feel addicted to food. You feel full. You can eat more and weigh less. You don't get as sick. You sleep better. You have more energy (not at first, but eventually). Your kids are benefitting from it because your actions speak louder then your words. Instead of telling them to eat their vegetables, they see you eating lots of vegetables and they ask for bites and actually love vegetables. 

Other thoughts:
What will we eat in heaven? This is a little deep, but I've been thinking about it a lot! This is just my opinion, but I don't think we'll eat animals in heaven. The animals will all get along in heaven, so I don't think we'll be eating them either. I dunno, maybe. Just a thought.

Supporting the good instead of protesting the bad (not in every case). I've been wondering how I'd like to continue after this month of vegan is up. My husband thinks we should support the farms that do it right. And I agree, if you are going to eat animals/animal products the best option is to support local farms that do it right.

I still do believe that animals are here for our use. I do not believe they are here for us to abuse, over indulge on, etc.

I do love the mediterranean diet, vegetarian diet, and pescetarian diet as well.

I'd love to hear your comments and thoughts if you have any. What are your eating habits?