Meals without Meat or Dairy?
For many of us, the thought of eating meals without meat (or fish) and no dairy leaves us thinking, 1) Why? and 2) What would I eat then? These are legitimate questions if one has spent the last 50+ years as a dairy-loving carnivore.
I recently watched a documentary on Netflix called The Game Changers. The film strongly advocated for the benefits of a vegan diet claiming that plant-based eating increased overall longevity of life by improving heart health, decreasing the risk of multiple diseases (e.g. cancers, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, Alzheimers, etc), increasing physical and mental energy levels and more.
While the film was certainly lacking in some areas (e.g. several biased studies and very male professional athlete-oriented) it did inspire me to do some experimenting of my own. I’m not ready to give up meat but I am willing to try to throw in a few plant-based diet days here and there to see how my body feels.
My motivation to conduct this experiment included the following desires:
To decrease my visceral fat (the dangerous belly fat that surrounds our internal organs)
To decrease inflammation in my body (because inflammation is linked to joint pain, heart disease, diabetes, dementia and Alzheimer, cancer, etc.), and
To notice whether the plant-based dieting days did in fact increase my energy levels
I committed to one day and have to admit I felt pretty good.
As a personal trainer I do eat very healthy food, but I also eat way too much and I hate to admit it, too much dairy and animal products. Any given day I probably have meat or dairy in almost every meal I consume, especially since “cheese is my chocolate”!
Today I was motivated to complete a second day without meat or dairy. Why? Because I honestly felt better than usual yesterday.
I had more energy all day, I slept better, my workout was easier and my digestive system was working even better than usual. I had to admit to myself that there was something to it.
So let’s get back to the second question, what do I eat then?
Yesterday I started the day with black coffee, green smoothie, half a piece of homemade wheat bread with almond butter and a pea protein shake. For lunch I had a vegan burger (made of chickpeas and vegetables) and sweet potato fries out with a friend, and dinner was a combination of sauteed vegetables and quinoa. There was also a snack of homemade low-sugar granola with almond milk.
It wasn’t the most amazing food day, but the way I felt was worth it. Today I had my coffee and green smoothie with steel cut oats for breakfast. Lunch will be brown rice, black beans, avocado and salsa and I will have the leftover quinoa and vegetables for dinner.
Final Note:
There are so many recipes online to help us to eat more healthily but we have to have a reason to look.
If you’ve ever thought about eating a bit less meat, why not start with one day per week? “Meatless Mondays” are a thing!
If you decide to try it, pay attention to how you feel on the days you eat more vegetables, fruits, and whole grains. Please try to avoid eating processed foods and lots of extra sugar on these days as that will defeat the purpose of your experiment.
