Vegan, Vegetarian, or none of the above?

You know, I have never been a big Oprah fan, but since she is retiring (or whatever she is calling it since she is opening her own network.) I have decided to record all of her shows and pick and choose the ones I thought were pretty interesting.

So far, I have watched several episodes that grabbed my attention, such as...

1.) The Super Model Episode-This chronicled the lives of supermodels that were in thier 40's and beyond and they still looked more gorgeous and tinier than me. Sigh...
2.) The police officer from the O.J. Simpson Trial-I can understand why so many people disliked him...ick.
3.) All of the education stuff that was related to Waiting for Superman-Charter Schools here we come.
4.) American Idol judges-Awesome, Steven Tyler is my fave.
5.) The Episode where the whole audience was full of men who were molested-That one made me cry like a baby.
6.) And countless others that are too embaressing to mention on the blog

However, the one that actually made me consider changing part of my life was the episode that featured the Oprah staff committing to one week of a vegan lifestyle.

Of course, the episode was about more than 300 something people going Vegan, it was more about where our food comes from and what exactly we are putting in our bodies. It featured a beef processing plant (which was disturbing) and chronicled the lives of people who embarked on this challenge.

It was soo sooo interesting!

Watching these people struggle with making choices about what they eat from day to day made me contemplate about my daily food choices. I mean, I think of myself of eating pretty healthy (this is because I lived with 3 very calorie conscious people in college which were Jen, Dana, and Ellen), but I could definitely be doing more. I mean let's be honest...I don't exactly eat healthy from day to day and temptation usually gets the best of me.

Some of you are probably thinking, what do you mean temptation?

Don't you work in a school?

The land of no vending machines and not a drop of soda to be found?

That is partially true, but you all are forgetting one thing...I am teacher and if there is one thing that is continuosly given to educators to show that they are doing a "good" job, it is food.

For example, just this week I have been offered the following:
1.) Cookies with a rasberry center
2.)Panera Bagels with cream cheese
3.) Coffee and regular creamer/sugar
4.)Candy, Candy, Candy
5.) Chocolate Cake Balls
6.) Doughnuts

Now have some of these things everyday, the poundage can add up. Eat a lot of these things because you are stressed to the max and then you understand why some teachers are so overweight. So there is definintely some room for me to make healither choices.


Also, not to mention, that um, I will be turning the big 3-0 in like two years so it is time for me to "up" the healthy food since I definitely do not burn calories like I used too.

Anyways, back to the Oprah episode...

Watching these people change the foods they eat inspired me to make a change on my own.

I have decided to embark on some healthier choices and I am toying with the idea of "becoming" a Vegan or Vegetarian for one week (Like on the Oprah show.) After having lunch with my parents, I turned to Henry to inform him of my idea and he just laughed.

He said that if I did this, then he would eat steak during the same week to just tempt me even more. I just laughed and said, thanks for the support, but that he knew better. I am the one that does the majority of the cooking so if I eat tofu then he would too.

Or he would starve.

He just laughed. :)

I know he is kidding, but he does kind of have a point. Is it worth it to truly embrace this lifestyle for just one week?

I mean, I really don't have an interest in completely changing my food lifestyle ( I do enjoy meat, eggs and cheese), but why spend a few extra bucks at whole foods to get what I need? Why look up new recipes that I might never use again? Why put in this extra effort?

Well, I came up with some answers to those questions...such as...I might actually like this lifestyle better than my current one.

Maybe it will help me lose weight?
Maybe it might make me feel better than what I feel right now?
Maybe it will help me run the half marathon better? (I am running the one in Nashville in April.)

And then the big maybe...

Maybe I might actually like the food better?

So, I have decided to embark on this food journey, but I haven't made my decision between Vegan and Vegetarian.

They both have their positives and negatives and I will take a few days to decide.

Right now, I will do some research and figure out which one would be easier to bring in to my busy lifestyle.

Also, if any of my readers would like to try this with me...I am open to the idea.

Whenever I start it, I will chronicle it on the blog because I am sure it will be very entertaining and interesting to read.

Anyways, I will end with this web link that I found when I was researching Vegan vs. Vegetarian.

It is recipe for Vegan Lasagna and it has gotten some great reviews!

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2666