Have a little more R-E-S-P-E-C-T

As many of you know, I am and have been a vegetarian for almost six years. The reasons behind my choice to skip out on the meat are a perfect blend of common sense, empathy for animal and my own health. 

Bottom line is, I care about what goes into my body...deeply and am not okay with tens of billions of animals being killed to make the majority of America fat. If you need more reasons please feel free to visit my good friends at PETA  to find out some shocking facts about where your precious chicken nuggets come from. I promise, it's disgusting, and your thighs hate you for it.

Since having Nolan, my diet changed tremendously. Even when I was pregnant I was hyper-vigilant about what I put into my body because of the little life who depended on mine. That carried out through his infancy and into today.

He is lactose intolerant-- he gets these angry red hives around his mouth and anywhere else milk has come into contact. He itches and whines, it isn't fun. 

Milk no more! I cut back on my dairy intake BIG TIME and I felt awesome doing it. 

Come January I will becoming a vegan. Slow and steady wins the race so be kind, friends. I might have a day or two where I indulge but knowing my competitive-ness, probably not. My family members are probably rolling their eyes... sorry ya'll! Salad bar it is :-P But seriously there are more places to eat as a vegan.... I hope???

I guess that will be another blog post to come. See what I'm doing??? Making my life difficult for the sake of page views. I've become a slave for you... 

I made this awesome concoction today for lunch. It was easy and delicious, as always. 

You're welcome.

What you need

Eggplant, sliced
Quinoa (any kind will do)
Vegetable broth
Red and yellow bell pepper
Kidney beans
Lime
Zucchini, sliced
Olive oil
1 shallot thinly diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Cilantro to garnish

What you need to do

Brush the eggplant with olive oil, salt and pepper and set aside

Preheat a skillet or turn on the grill

Grill the eggplant until it is tender and has pretty lines on it

Cook quinoa according to the package -- once the water has boiled out, add some vegetable broth and let it simmer a little longer

Drain kidney beans and run under cold water

In a separate pan, start cooking the shallot, veggies and kidney beans.

When the quinoa is done add that into the mix and squeeze some lime juice on top

Remove from head and slap it on top of the eggplant slice

ENJOY!