One of my new favorite blogs is Shining From Within! I love Julie’s energy, attitude and feelings towards health and fitness. Her blog makes me smile and one of these days I will get to meet her in real life because her boyfriend lives HERE!!!

I hope you love Julie as much as I do…

Hi Real Fit Mama Readers! I’m Julie.

I blog over at Shining From Within where I chit chat about healthy vegetarian recipes (mostly vegan, too!), my fitness (I’m training for a half-marathon – it ain’t easy!), and my goofy daily life. I live a life full of wholesome, clean foods, because to me, that’s when I feel most energized. But you can bet your bottom dollar, I am eating dessert every. single. day. Sometimes dessert means fruit and other times it means indulging a bit, but I never go a day without something sweet. It’s utterly impossible, I kid you not. And who would want to anyways?

I am a class A goofball.

I’m so happy I’m able to do a guest post for Maria! I love her blog – reading about her adventures as a workin’ mama and finding a healthy balance with food and fitness; she’s totally awesome. Especially because she lives in the LOU, where my boyfriend lives! Hollarrrr.

Today I’m going to be talking about my transition to vegetarianism.

When:

It was September 26, 2010, during my 19th birthday weekend, when I decided to take the ‘plunge’. I had never truly enjoyed eating meat, in fact, I think I just ate it because it was a protein source. Crazy how the Standard American Diet sort of cons you into thinking meat is the only way you can get protein. Anyways, it was an idea I had been juggling in my mind for awhile. I wasn’t sure about it at first, but after awhile, I committed.

And to this day, it has been the best commitment I have made to myself.

I have never felt more energy or lighter in my entire life. I used to have bad digestion issues, and now I can proudly say, I go everyday! I think vegetarianism, for a lot of people, is very misunderstood. People often don’t understand, how can you live without meat?

Well, it’s pretty simple. Incorporate whole grains and various protein sources (quinoa, beans, nuts, etc) and that’s it (for the most part).

I got a few odd comments of choice from my family at first like, “ha ha ha, you’re a vegetarian” and “you don’t eat meat? what do you eat?” and “I’m not cooking special meals for you” and “can you eat potatoes? what about eggplant? you can eat zucchini?” and “you won’t last” and “that’s ridiculous, you need to eat meat to live.”

Pretty harsh right? Luckily, they have since warmed around to the idea that I am a vegetarian and I’m not changing my ways. It took them awhile, but you kind of have to take that with the lifestyle choice you make since most people are very unaware of what a vegetarian eats (and why they choose to have a vegetarian diet) and how it is a healthy lifestyle.

Since transitioning to a vegetarian lifestyle, I have made some other life changes. In January 2011, I cut out milk and eggs (pretty much all dairy)… so I mostly have a vegan diet but I just can’t live without cheese. Especially ricotta cheese. That stuffs like crack!

Why:

Because I’m not happy with the way animals are treated.

I understand that people love their meats, but do you understand what that animal sacrificed to get on your plate? Do you appreciate it? Do you understand the process meat goes through to get from the farm to your plate? How about how they treated that animal before it ended up on the dinner table? Do you care?

I think if you can respect where the animal came from, understand how animals are slaughtered, and want to buy meats that are processed in a humane way (aka treating the animals the way they should be… access to outdoors, no hormones, wholesome foods, etc), than I can understand why someone eats meat.

But for me, I love animals. I want them to be treated as humanely as possible, and it’s just not fair to indulge in my desires when they sacrificed so much that goes unnoticed.

I understand some companies do treat animals humanely, but I just don’t think I could see myself ever eating another living being again. Maybe it’s personal. I just know that this is the lifestyle I am meant to have and I wish it didn’t take me 19 years to figure it out!

Don’t get me wrong though, I don’t have a problem with anyone who does eat meat, I just think people need to be more aware and knowledgeable of where they meat comes from, how it gets there, etc.

Respect the Earth and it’s offerings, don’t just feed into the industry.

One of my favorite quotes is ‘to eat the energy of the Earth’.

How:

What made my transition easier was the abundance of recipes out there. I wasn’t sure if there was much out there, and to be honest, I had no clue there was SO many. My favorite site to get recipes from is Oh She Glows along with other vegan/vegetarian sites such as Choosing Raw and Peas and Thank You. There’s really a TON of recipes out there for vegetarians, you just have to look! I also love Foodgawker… I check it multiple times daily to get recipes and inspiration for the dishes I make.

Once I made the transition, I stocked up my pantry with a few staples. I always have these ingredients on hand (along with fresh produce that I pick up weekly). They are full of nutrients and protein that vegetarians need!

• quinoa
• beans (chickpeas, black beans, cannellini beans)
• nuts (walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, pecans)
• lentils
• spinach and kale
• kamut and quinoa pasta
• barley, farro, rolled oats, wheat berries
• chia seeds (!!!)

I love chia seeds, they are my favorite thing in the entire world!!!

Having these staples in my pantry makes for whipping up quick meals super simple and easy.

I don’t just eat pasta and salads all day, I like to get creative.

Such as Quinoa with Fresh Garden Herbs.

A Tempting Tempeh Sandwich with Vegan Garlic Aioli. (*note: I try to limit my tofu/tempeh consumption to about 1x per month. When I do eat these protein sources, I opt for tempeh because it’s less processed)

Brown Rice with Sundried Tomatoes and White Wine Garlic Sauce.

For breakfast, I love overnight oats. My favorite are Strawberry Shortcake Vegan Overnight Oats. I am obsessed with these!

And Not Your Average Potato Salad.

Oh, and I love organic popcorn! I just pop 2tbsp of organic popcorn kernels in a pot over medium-high heat and enjoy it as a late night snack. You can even add vegan butter and nutritional yeast or cinnamon and sugar for a sweet version!

Most people think vegetarians eat a boring life filled with bagged salads but I am more creative now with my food choices than I was ever before in my life!!!

I hope I opened your minds a little wider and that you understand why vegetarians ‘are the way they are’. We, much like some meat eaters, have an appreciation for the Earth and the many gifts it gives us. Oh, and we’re not (all) hippies!

Thank you, Maria for letting me do a guest post! Don’t be afraid to come on over and say hello, I love meeting new people.

I hope you enjoyed Julie’s story as much as I did! Whether you’re considering vegetarianism, have been one for years, thinking of going all out with veganism or just made the switch yesterday – I would LOVE to feature you in my I’m a Vegetarian series. Please email me at maria@realfitmama.com.

Hope you’re enjoying the last of this lovely Labor Day weekend!!

See ya soon…