I’ve slowly become more and more anal about eating healthy. I’m by no means calorie counting or choosing low fat alternatives. I just try to eat food that is nutritionally substantial.

I recently decided to become a vegetarian. Technically, I’m a pescatarian, as I will occasionally eat fish or other seafoods. However, I generally only eat seafood if I’m out to eat and there are no other vegetarian protein options.

I decided to change my diet after (stereotypically) binging on a bunch of documentaries relating to the food/meat industry, our relationship with animals (and the environment in general), and nutrition. I came to the conclusion after reflecting on my situation:

1). For folks with SMA, animal protein is difficult for the body to convert into energy. We actually function better on a vegan diet, but I really like cheese! I’m not quite prepared to give up dairy, but I am definitely consuming much less animal protein since cutting meat from my diet.

2). I asked myself: “If I had to kill and slaughter my own meat for food, would I?”
I wouldn’t. As a kid, I remember watching my mom prepare burger patties and being pretty icked out. The same goes for any raw meat even now… I can’t touch it, let alone skin it. Also, I could never see myself taking an animal’s life. I accidentally ran over a caterpillar once and it saddened me.

3). The conditions that so many animals must live in in order to provide meat, a food the human body does not require, makes me feel guilty enough to not want it anymore. There’s also the environmental effects…

…It’s simply a personal choice though 🙂 I don’t judge those who eat meat, as I expect meat eaters to not judge me for my diet choices.

Thanks to my generous parents, we now have a Vitamix! It produces the most amazingly smooth smoothies, ice cream (made from bananas!), and soups. I eat A LOT more fruits and veggies now that they can be emulsified into a filling drink. In one smoothie, I can eat 1+ servings of multiple types of fruit, veggies and protein (generally in seed form: flax, chia, hemp, etc.) You can even add nuts or quinoa (both loaded with protein)! I couldn’t consume close to that many raw veggies in a day before this wonderful device! Many fresh veggies are difficult to chew, so in order to consume 2 smoothies worth of raw fruits and veggies, I’d have to eat constantly, all day long. Now I can be sure that I’m getting all of the nutrients I need.

I’ve been trying to snack better too. If I get hungry between meals, I often opt for Naturebox snacks or something that isn’t pure sugar or salt. I figure if I take the time to eat a snack, it should provide some benefit other than purely tasting good.

I love how energized I feel now. Becoming mindful of what I eat has kept my mind and body functioning fantastically and I haven’t been sick at all (no colds, nothing!) for over a year!