How to Stay Full on a Vegetarian Diet

If you've recently converted to being Vegetarian, how do you stay full? Most people who are not, usually eat meat 2 to 3 times a day. And that keeps them full along with breads and other foods. So for those of us who prefer to eat healthier, what can we do to make sure we get enough nutrition as well as the feeling of being full for more than 5 minutes at a time?

Here are 10 ways to make sure you will feel great about eating healthy and feel full at the same time.

1) Drink water before and after your meal. Water is a great filler-upper. Even though it seems empty, it contains volume, so it will trick your brain that it is filling up and kills hunger pains.

2) Add protein to every meal. It can be from beans, soy, tofu, yogurt, milk, egg whites, or cheese. Or make have protein shake with whey isolate, berries, and vanilla yogurt ice cream.

3) Eat more frequently. Instead of having 3 meals a day, go for 6-8 meals spread out every 2 hours or so.

4) Drink Decaffinated coffee after you eat. You might say why Decaf? It's not really so much the caffeine, it's the taste of the coffee and the signal it sends to your brain that makes you forget you are hungry. For some strange reason, coffee does that whether with or without caffeine. The less the better.

5) Add soup to your meal. Just make sure it doesn't have any heavy creams. It will fill you up and be satisfying to your tummy since it's warm.

6) Add salad to your meal. It's another healthy filler that won't cause any damage :)

7) Eat slowly. Savor the tastes of what you are eating so it gives your body time to realize, "hey, I'm full!"

Since the brain doesn't know it's full until after eating for a 1/2 hour.

8) Smell your food. Another brain signal to make us realize we ARE eating.

9) Drink water with your food. This is probably the best ways to make yourself feel full fast. And no guilt at all since it's just water.

10) Use a smaller plate. Since we eat with our eyes, if we use a big plate and we put a little food in it, we may think we are not eating enough already and in our minds we are already not full before we finish eating!

Almond Milk, Soy Milk, Rice Milk...which tastes better, which is least Processed?

I personally am not a big fan of milk. Only on rare occasions I will have it if it's with cocoa or some other mixture. So with that said, what are the substitutes that I can make that will satisfy my craving and also give me the nutrients I need that milk has?

In the market, there are 3 types of popular milks: Soy Milk, Almond Milk and Rice Milk. This article: HERE is pretty good at talking about the differences. But I also did my own research.

Out of the three for me, I found Soy Milk to taste the best and have the best consistency closest to milk.
Rice and Almond milk are a bit more watery in the consistency I've noticed. All three have natural flavors (which are not detailed) and sweeteners to make them taste better. Make sure the brand you buy does not have Aspartame or Artificial flavors or Preservatives. Almond Breeze brand seems to taste the best for those who like to get less calories and carbohydrates. Soy has about the same calories as regular nonfat milk.  Most brands also have added A & D Vitamins in them so you can get your servings as if you were drinking a glass of milk. The big bonus with Soy milk is the protein and fiber that comes with it.
My favorite flavor in the Soy Milk is from Walmart's Original Great Value Soy Milk. It tastes better than any other brand I've tried. And it's a lot cheaper too.

Transitioning from Meat to Soy

I am not a vegetarian, but since my husband's recent issue with liver problems, I have been making a lot of meatless food lately. And I have to say, it really feels good. Even though I am not a vegetarian, I'm also not a big meat eater either. I rarely eat beef or turkey and occasionally I will have chicken or fish. So making a switch to meatless nights really didn't freak me out. And honestly, I feel a lot lighter lately. You know how sometimes when you eat a heavy meal you feel so heavy and tired? Well, since being on this type of diet, I feel light and comfy and eating has been a lot more enjoyable knowing good things are being consumed. I have found some really good stuff at Whole Foods Market that taste truly amazing! And the best part is, there is no artificial preservatives or colors or additives so mainly we are eating soy and spices. I love it. It does cost more to eat healthier but I think in the long run it will be well worth it.

There is another part to this as well. Can eating too much soy be a bad thing? Well, according to this article, it can. So if you are one that needs to not eat meat, don't replace everything with soy made products and make sure they are not processed soy products. 1 item a day that's soy is enough.

My Raw Food CRAZE!

I know you've probably heard it somewhere. But, yes RAW foods are what amazing! And there is so much nutrients in them.
I've heard people feeling better than they ever thought possible, thinking better, having more energy and glowing!

Well, I've started incorporating this RAW FOOD in my diet at least 3 times a week to start with. This includes a full day of any vegetable, fruit, juice, nuts, grains. Only thing is....most of the stuff I am used to involves heating then eating. Including bread, eggs, etc...So by doing this I think it will be some kind of cleanse and maybe the kidneys and liver will get a break. I'd love to hear if anyone out there has tried this and how they stick with it?

Why I skip certain vaccines

Ok, Ok, I know some of you who read this might get a bit upset with me when I say I skip certain vaccines for my child. Well, let me tell you the reason, then you can judge me however you wish. Firstly, I am not someone against vaccines. I think that we are lucky in this day and age to have them. And I am so thankful for that. Especially for so many diseases that can be prevented, there is a way to stay healthy. The thing I'm against is loading up a child on so many at one time even those which are not really necessary.

Autism is on the rise, so is depression and so many other mental illnesses. And even if the media says there is no link to them and vaccines, it doesn't mean it's true. Nobody knows why Autism is on the rise but there are some people who swear on their lives that before they took certain vaccines their child was just fine. So I want to be careful and won't give him the ones that I don't think he really needs like the flu shot (which has mercury in it) or the Hepatitis B (a sexually transmitted disease) shot which has so many side effects linked to it and so many additives in it. And if I do decide to give him vaccines I will do my research on companies who use lesser chemicals then others. For example one can have Formaldahyde in it and one does not. I'll go with that one. You see what I mean?

To me, the fewer chemicals shoved into my kid the better. Thank you. If you would like to read a good book about some hidden information about vaccines : Click Here!

Hello World!

I have decided to start this blog to keep track of my daily encounters with "Chemicals" and what I do to bypass them.

Have you ever thought about the "STUFF" they add to our food in the grocery store to make it last long? Or how about the medicine we take to help us feel better when we are sick?
For the most part, all we care about is if it does it's job, right? Make us full or make us feel better.
That's all good and dandy except when too much of that "STUFF" gets loaded into our bodies and then repercussions result. Then what? You really don't want to know. But let's just say you will be going to the doctors a lot more.

I've got to say one thing. Science is great and for those who find cures and help people I have nothing against that. I am only against those who use STUFF for their own personal gains and could care less how it affects us. So with that in mind, I am going to write as much as I can about how to NOT use those products and DO use the GOOD products that would benefit us instead. :)