My friends and I love to cook and we all cook daily. We all are on Instagram and decided that when we post pics of our meals we would use the hashtag, #prettygirlscancook2. You are probably wondering why we chose this label as our hashtag on meals, but come on folks we all know there is a hidden stereotype for women aka DIVAS, who are career oriented, dress up and are what some say “prissy or girly” with high heels, manicured nails and toes, etc. Most people at sight think, “oh she definitely wont get her hands dirty” or cook for that matter. Welp, I am here to shed new light!!! You do not have to be a homely dressed housewife to cook up a great meal. Pretty girls can cook too!!!! My thought is, “hey we have to eat too, right?!” So now over several months our hashtag has grown from just a few posted pics of meals to over 200 posted pics and videos of delicious seafood and vegetarian focused meals. I now post pics on my Instagram @tangeesworld (follow me) to share fun and healthy ways people can eat by allowing them a sneak peak into what I am cooking in my own kitchen. Here is just a screen shot of what comes up when you click the link to our #prettygirlscancook2 hashtag:

I now will be featuring healthy seafood and vegetarian dishes right here for you to take heed and start cooking in your kitchen. I have not eaten red meat, pork, or any other fleshy animal with the exception of fish for about 7 months now. It all started back in March when my hubby and I were sitting talking and he asked me did I think I could go without any meat including seafood for a month. I was up for the challenge and agreed. After 1 month, we agreed we would at least include a moderate amount of seafood into our diet. A moderate consumption of fish or fish oils, which are high in Omega-3 fatty acids, is necessary for optimum health, although vegetarian alternatives, such as flax seed oil, are available, I love seafood and could not say goodbye just yet. I did my research and although I am not a complete “Vegetarian” there is a term called, “Pescatarian” for those of us who have said goodbye to the majority of meats but not to seafood.  Wiki defines Pescetarianism /ˌpɛskɨˈtɛəriən/ (also spelled pescatarianism) as the practice of a diet that includes seafood, but not the flesh of other animals. A pescetarian diet typically shares many of its components with a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet and includes vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, beans, eggs, dairy, and insect byproducts (such as honey, carmine, or shellac), but unlike a vegetarian diet it also includes fish andshellfish. The Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the origin of the term “pescetarian” to 1993 and defines it as: “one whose diet includes fish but no other meat.

Here’s just a few snap shots of some of my meals to include but not limited to, Seafood Boil, Roasted Veggie Baked Ziti, Pomegranate Smoothie, and Curried Tofu over Jasmine Rice:

I love this lifestyle change. I feel healthier and lighter!! No longer do I finish my meal and feel stuffed not able to budge. I finally see how it feels to be Full! I can affirm that increasing my meals with veggies has really worked wonders for my skin. It appears that I am glowing non-stop. I am more active and really just feel better knowing what I am putting into my body. Fresh vegetables and wild caught seafood create a number of meals, salads, and fresh smoothies you have probably never thought of. The vegetarian dishes I have made have been so delicious that I can not even believe no meat or seafood in some cases has been added. I am very much on this eat clean and eat a home movement. If you have not taken the challenge, try it now. Try to not eat meat and see how it affects you. I am on this path now and it is safe to say, I am not going back!!

Related articles

• The Most Importent :Healthy Vegetarian Diet (inpeak.wordpress.com)
• My 2 cents: Vegetarians urge: Try it before you judge (readingeagle.com)
• Vegetarians live longer than meat eaters (foodconsumer.org)
• I’m a Vegetarian… I Think. (emiliemfortin.wordpress.com)
• Study Finds Vegetarians Are Thinner Than Meat-Eating Peers (ecorazzi.com)

What do you think about the challenge? Will you try to go without meat? Are you a vegetarian? Share your story.