well october is over, and officially my semi-veg trial period has ended too. thoughts & observations:
-no meat = less eating out. i found myself looking for online menus of chili's and other places to make sure there were veggie options. if not, i didn't go. this saved lots of money. or came the other result...
-no meat = more snacking. possibly also just because semi-veg was concurrent with midterms, but i snacked a LOT. like the night i had hummus for dinner. and when i didn't want to prepare fresh veggies, i ate instant ramen. a LOT of it.
-no meat = much better skin! my skin significantly became clearer last month. this past weekend i ate some meat and already broke out.

today i ate veggie curry and ran to trader joes to stock up on salad supplies for the week. haha.
-it's really not that hard to be semi-veg. if you allow seafood & eggs, there are so many options available! if you're not a moral vegetarian, just get things and pass the meat to a friend. let's face it, meat flavors things deliciously.
- i hate quail eggs. there were two preserved eggs in a can of chinese veggie something. it was all good except that.
- basil FTW. just add it to your life & be happier.
- eating less meat, should be balanced with more fresh food/veggies. if i substituted with like veggie frozen pattys and all the other junk at trader joes, i don't think my skin would have been as happy.
- farmers market FTW. their fruits are pricey, but buy right & get your veggies at a steal.
- not a new thing, but cooking big meals and pre-portioning them as lunches and whatever for the rest of the week seriously saves so much money.
- i didn't spend more or less money than i did eating meat. it can be expensive to eat healthy, but somethings you honestly don't need to buy all the time. shop around. buying cheap also lets you change up the menu.
- kashi go lean cereal in the morning is AMAZING. highly highly recommend. there's like a quadrillion grains in there that keep you full for at least 3 or 4 hours. it doesn't sound like a long time, but for a chronic snacker like myself, it was good.
-drink water. a ton. i average about 8 cups a day i think. it's good for snackers since you can keep yourself busy sipping on water instead of eating munchies. plus it moves all the fiber and veggies through your system, a major plus.
- people think it's impossible. when i refused or gave away meat, my friends would remember my semi-veg and ask how it was going. they always were shocked that i wasn't dying.
- i lost 4 lbs, btw. i plan to gain it all back in ice cream, which is on sale at albertsons.
conclusion:
LOVED being semi-veg. not really a big deal. on halloween i went to a vegetarian restaurant with my fam, which i thought was good, but boring. veg shouldn't mean exclusions or making special circumstances. just do what you want. if you want the meat, who cares, eat it.
currently, meat does not especially appeal to me. i don't hate it, but i'm not craving it or anything. i AM craving leather and fur clothes and boots and accessories, though.
[side note, isn't it weird that some veg-people don't eat meat to save animals, but still wear leather?!

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