I’ve been extremely low on energy lately and while I can attribute it to a lot of things (my long commute, little sleep, little exercise) I definitely feel that my new veggie diet may have something to do with it.

Friday night I met up with some friends and made a new friend, M who happens to have studied Nutrition Therapy in college.  M tells me that it’s very likely that my low energy levels can be a result of eliminating meat from diet.  He goes on to tell me that effective ASAP, I need to add the following things to my diet:

•   Almonds
•   Soy or Greek Yogurt      
•   Oatmeal
•   Bananas
•   Eggplant   
•   Sweet Potatoes
•   Chickpeas/Hummus

After doing my own research I discovered that not only are these foods high in energy but they have added benefits as well; eggplants help control cholesterol levels and are a good source of folic acid and potassium while chickpeas are power legumes providing lots of protein, fiber, zinc and calcium.

My new found knowledge has definitely helped me to make better shopping decisions ( no more Doritos and Twizzlers).  I bought everything M suggested and I’m hoping that I’ll see a significant boost in my energy.  This just goes to prove that eliminating meat from your diet doesn’t make you a vegetarian, you have to replenish the nutrients you once got from eating meat protein.  Wow, did I just call myself a vegetarian…?