PLANT BASED RECIPES I LOVE

For anyone who wants to try a plant based diet, I wanted to share a few of the meals I make frequently. I don't typically use a recipe but I'll link recipes for you if you need one! Pinterest is also an amazing tool for recipes just search what you're looking for in the search bar. 

1. Veggie Pad Thai linked here & here

2. Enchilada Bake here my go-to

3. Veggie Enchiladas 

4. Veggie Stir Fry w Rice here

5. Green Riot Verde: A bake with roasted bell peppers, cauliflower, quinoa, spinach with a cilantro lime sauce inspo came from here

6. Spaghetti with Meatless meatballs + blistered shishito peppers or edamame is great on the side 

7. Strawberry & Spinach Salad here

8. Indian cuisine inspired Veggies + Butter Masala sauce see my Instagram story titled #meatlessdiaries

9. Grilled Veggies - Get inspo here or search "grilled veggies" on pinterest

10. Meatless Burrito Bowls with Cilantro Lime Rice  (great to make after grilled veggies the night before) 

After eating vegetarian/plant based for the past 10 weeks (see blog post here) I've found some amazing recipes. So, those are a few! Hope this helps :)

I WENT VEGETARIAN FOR 9 WEEKS, HERE'S WHAT I THOUGHT

You might remember at the beginning of January I posted a blog post about starting a plant based diet. After 9 weeks, I'm here to share my thoughts about it- the good, bad, gassy ugly. 

Going into this I wasn’t sure how I would like it or if I could even make it six weeks which was originally my goal. 

Week one was a little rocky... Most vegetables are extremely high is fiber which is amazing considering most Americans don't get enough fiber in their diet. 

Being one of those Americans, and making a sudden change to a plant based diet I had a lot of gas and bloating. After researching, I learned this is very normal especially if you make a sudden change or if you're eating foods you didn't typically eat which was semi- my case.

After that first week of adjusting, the bloating went away and throughout the rest of the weeks I've felt so much lighter, my digestion system has improved significantly and I've grown a new respect for eating.

Figuring out what to eat really wasn't too hard for me. I made foods that I wanted and recreated foods that are classics in my kitchen. I'll share what my favorite plant based recipes are in THIS blog post. 

Here’s where I'm going from here. 

I’m going to continue with a plant based diet. To this point, I haven’t truly wanted or craved a piece of steak, chicken, pork or any other land animal. However, I have wanted sushi & fish. So I want to keep an 80/20 mindset. If I want sushi on the weekends I’ll get it but as far as eating land animals- who knows when I'll eat one. 

The main point I want to make is I'm not doing this for any other reason but to 

1. Challenge myself to learn a new way of eating

2. Invest in organic, non-processed, high quality food

Because here's the thing. Every single thing you buy at the store has outcomes. When you buy junk you are ultimately supporting the companies who produce junk. When you buy organic, Non GMO, etc you're telling the businesses that's what you want and when you buy meat you’re VOTING for how that animal or fish was fed, caught, slaughtered and packaged. 

That is ultimately what I stand behind. Not being a vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, paleo, or KETO but being mindful about what you’re eating and what you’re “voting” for.

TINTED EYEBROWS AT HOME

Dying my eyebrows has become a recent obsession. 

It's beyond easy and is way cheaper than going to the salon. When I do them I use this hair dye- get the color closest to your hair color, tweezers to shape my eyebrows beforehand and then after, I trim them with scissors. Other than those three things you'll just need an eyebrow brush (I use this one by Anastasia Beverly Hills) and you're set. 

Here are the products below 

Watch my video tutorial for a little more of the step by step process!

Little Life Update

Seems like a good time to round up some thoughts.

First of all, TTU has completely canceled on campus classes for the remainder of the semester- which technically means I’ll never go to class again. 😳 Ever. That, I’m still trying to accept because I wasn’t quite ready for it to be over😭

Next, I am trying to be as positive as possible about being quarantined. I have so much more time on my hands so I’m going get my @brayleasbazaar website completed and plan a ton of content for my blog.

Lastly, I want to share things on my profiles and that actually help you so I thought I could round up a few of my favorite podcast, books, or other things I’m doing during the time being to actually stay productive. Look forward to that soon! 

x, bray