However, I am happy to report that I am still going strong in my meatless quest for the month and haven’t “accidentally” ingested anything. I am surprised and pleased at my progress so far.

While a Midwestern girl at heart, I have expanded my meat and potatoes diet this month—even sampling Maryland crab at the famous Phillip’s restaurant in Baltimore while attending our Dialogue for Action conference this past week.

My delicious room service dinner while at Dialogue. Mixed greens, apple, goat cheese, walnut salad with a pear emulsion dressing. Also had a little indulgence for dessert--I had to stop myself at two cannolis!

I’ve become much more accustomed to ordering fish, as well as other items that I normally would be interested in, but ultimately never order on restaurant menus.

I am still working on last week’s goal of incorporating more vegetables instead of carbs but it is still a work in progress. I’ve found an easy reminder in the USDA’s new guidelines that have greatly simplified the once convoluted food pyramid into a simple dinner plate. The new recommendations specify that half your meal plate should be fruits and vegetables, while one quarter protein and the other whole grains, with a small amount of dairy on the side.

Looking forward, I am trying to figure out my goals after my meatless month is over. I have severe doubt in my ability to become meatless full time. While this month hasn’t been nearly as hard as I originally anticipated, my cravings for meat have not and definitely will never go away. Some things I’ve thought about are “Meatless Mondays” (something our Congressional Families Director Lisa McGovern has instituted in her house) or aiming for another meatless month later this year.

So, for all the readers out there, do you have any suggestions for me? I want to make a diet and lifestyle change that is realistic and workable for me.

Blackened ahi tuna steaks with grilled asparagus and homemade mango salsa

So as I’m sure you all are wondering, what exactly have I been eating for the past week? Well, the other day, a friend of mine made me an AMAZING fish dinner (pictured at right). It was pretty impressive, I don’t think that I could ever cook that myself! This month would be pretty difficult if I couldn’t eat fish—it makes up for the missing protein in my diet and adds some variety. It’s pretty convenient that many restaurants are featuring fish regularly. I also tried some vegan sausage at brunch on Saturday. The texture and taste was a little different but overall very good.

One of the things I DID get to eat at the Gala-a delicious house pickled spring vegetable salad!

Our Annual Spring Gala was held this past Fridayand I passed on the rye berry crusted rack of veal in favor of the vegetarian eggplant entrée. As I said before, I’m not a huge meat eater, so this wasn’t hard to pass up. The first course, fondue and dessert were all meatless, so again, nothing too difficult.

Luckily, there haven’t been any bad meat cravings yet. There are a couple things I’ve missed a little, and as the weather has warmed up significantly, I’ve had barbeque on my mind for the past few weekends. It’s surprised me a lot—before I started my meatless month, I anticipated that at this point, I would already be dying for a cheeseburger.

The only downside so far is that I have been relying on carbs to fill up for many of my meals. My goal for the upcoming week is to adjust my diet to be more veggie focused and colorful. A healthy diet that promotes cancer prevention is rich in naturally colorful foods—i.e. fruits and veggies. The diets of many Americans are primarily brown and beige, which mean lots of refined starches, sugars and fat. Hopefully I will be able to make the necessary adjustments and incorporate more fresh produce in creative ways.

I’d love to hear what your favorite fruit and veggie dishes are! Is there anything good that you think I should try?

a. In the past few years, I’ve considered going vegetarian but giving up meat is really hard.
b. Reading about the way meat is processed freaks me out.
c. Coincidentally—the next 31 days is a test to see if I can completely fulfill my commitment.

I’ll be documenting the month through weekly blog posts, with updates on my progress. I’m not considering dairy as part of this goal, and while I rarely eat seafood, I’m going to tentatively include fish on the “ok” list.

The Prevent Cancer Foundation recommends a diet rich with fruits, vegetables and whole grains as well as cutting down intake of red and processed meats, which can increase your cancer risk. Fish or poultry are recommended over beef, pork or lamb. Preparing meat by baking, broiling, or poaching at lower temperatures, rather than by frying in fat or broiling/grilling at excessively high temperatures is a healthy alternative.

A little background on me:
I am not a huge meat eater. Both my parents have had high cholesterol and blood pressure throughout my childhood, so our family generally stuck to poultry and fish. Now, I think the hardest thing to give up will definitely be chicken—one of my main diet staples. Giving up cold cuts like turkey or ham sandwiches will also be challenging. And of course, that breakfast meat on the weekends will be missed.

My vegetarian month will also include dinner at our upcoming Spring Gala, which will be really difficult. (Last year’s menu included a sumptuous veal ravioli appetizer and filet mignon entrée)

The Goals of Meatless March:
a. Fulfill my commitment to go completely meatless for the entirety of the month of March.
b. Enrich and diversify my diet with new meat alternatives—exploring a variety of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
c. Learn from my experience, make some kind of lasting change to my lifestyle and be more aware of healthy diet alternatives.

Wish me luck and keep checking in for my weekly updates!