a confession of sorts

ok, so here it is... before i got pregnant, i was a devout pescatarian. i hadn't eaten beef in close to five years, and chicken was going on three or so. i don't know what it was (perhaps my iron levels being low), but i craved steak like no other while pregnant. and i hadn't had steak in forever (longer than those five years i'm sure; i hardly ever ate steak). so i gave in. and had steak. and had chicken. and everything in between. and my iron levels thanked me for it profusely...

after cayden got here, i just kept eating it... guiltily at times, i'll admit. and then, this past weekend, it all clicked back into place for me. i just can't keep eating like this.

so i'm back to my pescatarian ways. many people always ask why i decide to torture myself this way. it's not torture. or say, "oh, i wish i could do that." well, the simple answer is, you can do it. easily. but for those of you wondering, this is why i do it:

1. first and foremost, my health is important to me. and, with that below post about the half-marathon, being at my all-time best is very important. there are simply WAY too many fast-food joints out there that make eating meat very easy. taking meat out of the equation severely limits our fast-food intake. (thank you burger king for at least giving me the option of a meat-free burger!)

2. even though many places say "free range," it doesn't mean what you think it does. and when i think about the animals being tortured and having to live in certain conditions, it makes my heart hurt. i know god put these animals here for a reason... he did not, however, put them here for us to manipulate and make them grow bigger, faster. it's just gross.

many people might say, "why don't you feel bad for fish/seafood?" and i honestly can say, "i don't know." maybe one day i'll be a real vegetarian, maybe i won't. either way, i'm happy with my decision to return to my pescatarian ways. it was much easier to flip that switch back than i thought it would be... whew! there, it's off my chest now.

(cause i'm sure so many of you were sitting on the edge of your seats for this post! ha! as a side note, we're going to attempt smoking tofu this weekend on our smoker. and then mix in some bbq sauce. not entirely sure how it's going to turn out... i'll try to take some photos and let you guys know how it goes.)