2 days ago I wrote about 30 Day Challenges and why I do them. So now it's time to share my February’s Edition which was to give up chocolate and meat for 30 days, starting on the 1st of February.
Why?
January’s been kind of a naughty month. I’ve been away travelling for half of it and the other half... let’s just say, I didn’t exercise as much and in general was feeling kind of lazy, still finishing up my Christmas treats from last year...
So I thought it would be a good idea to do a bit of detox from:
a) chocolate (even though I don’t like chocolate that much, I’m more of a savoury person), and
b) meat (which I try and eat less of but certainly haven’t done so when I was in Bahamas).
Exceptions
Liam, on the other hand, decided to cut out alcohol and fizzy drinks as part of his February's challenge. However, we both agreed that on two occasions we will allow ourselves to eat and drink anything we want.
Those two exception days were:
- Valentines Day (because Liam planned to cook an entire 3-course gourmet meal at home), and
- Alla’s 30th Birthday (because my dad was in town and I booked a bunch of amazing restaurants...) 😳
Let’s see how I did. I kept a diary so all of my notes and thoughts were captured real time.
Day 1. Thursday
I decided on my challenge. A few mins later I remembered that I had chocolate mini eggs in my bag. I really want some mini eggs. F*ck
Day 2. Friday
Think this is the first time I cooked my own white fish. Thanks 
Day 3. Saturday
Liam and I went to the Natural History Museum and I was desperate for some water. Little did I know there were plenty of insane looking chocolate desserts too. Damn it.
Plus later that evening he made us gnocchi with mushroom sauce and I had to miss out on pancetta. Whatever. 😒
Day 4. Sunday
Deciding on a take away wasn’t too hard - we got some ramen and other bits and bobs. We did have to miss out on our favourite dish though: spicy chicken katsu buns...
It’s almost been a week and I feel fine. I don’t have any cravings and my resistance towards sweet things is holding up pretty well too. So far so good.
Day 8. Thursday
I saw Alla bought some roasted chicken. I really would have liked to have a piece of that chicken... All good though, she made me and 
Day 9. Friday
I was super excited about mine and Alla’s night in - catching up and watching rubbish TV series. I was good and had a fish pie for dinner.
And then…, then Alla asked me to get them eclairs out of the fridge. So I have one. And then a second one. And then about an hour later I sort of realised that I ate a chocolate eclair. Two in fact.
I meaaaan... here goes half my challenge out of the window. FFS. At least I haven’t had any meat yet and eating those chocolate eclair(z) was an utter accident! I honestly don't even know how it didn't hit me! Ask
I had to call Liam up and confess about this. He claimed that this was it and that I failed but I would like to think that it’s half a fail and I’m allowed to continue a meat free month.
Day 11. Sunday
I took Liam out for lunch to my favourite dim sum place in China Town. It was relatively easy to not order any meat. I did want some pork buns though...
Day 12. Monday
Alla made me a banging dinner. Protein glass noodles with stir fried veg and honey glazed white fish. Come on!
Day 13. Tuesday
Liam and I went to see Kendrick Lamar and had MAD munchies once we got back home. He warmed up his pork slices and then ate them in front of me as I was waiting for my cheesy toast in the oven. Dick.
Just look at that face! 😠 😠 😠
Day 14. Wednesday - Valentine’s Day
Yes, I made it half way through the month and tonight is the night! It’s my night off as Liam prepped a three course gourmet meal at mine.
For starters he served seared duck foie gras and for the main course we had beef wellington with some bacon cabbage and hasselbeck potatoes. It blew my mind! If you missed my post about this dinner, check it out here.
Oh, and I also had some chocolate. Lol
Day 15. Thursday
It’s funny because you wouldn’t think that 2 weeks is a long time for your body to feel any different but I swear, after eating a good chunk of red meat last night - I immediately felt all clogged up in the morning. I didn’t have the same light feeling in my stomach like I did for the last 2 weeks. Or gas. It just makes you realise that meat doesn’t digest as quickly and it just sits there in your stomach, rotting…
Day 18. Sunday - Alla’s Birthday
Yay, my second exception day. It didn’t feel long enough since the Valentine’s but I ended up booking Duck & Waffle for Alla’ birthday brunch where I obviously had some duck. And foie gras creme brûlée... which was beyond this world (sorry guys, I couldn't help myself)!
Our dinner was at Dinings SW3 (a fine dining Japanese restaurant) and though we mainly ate raw fish, I also tried wagyu beef tartar chip (which was the best thing on that menu). And then Liam and I also shared wagyu beef slices for the main... 😳
I mean the portions were so tiny that you couldn’t really consider it as an actual dinner.
Day 20, Tuesday
I organised a catch up dinner with a few of my friends from Uni at this Italian restaurant called Pulia. I went for home-made 'pasta with fresh prawns, courgettes cream, cherry tomatoes, garlic, olive oil and parsley' which sounded way better than it looked or tasted. Nothing special and doesn’t even compare to Padella (which is an absolute must try Italian restaurant in London Bridge).
Day 21, Wednesday
I was working from home this morning and Alla was in so she made us lunch. She baked haddock with some boiled veg and couscous which sounded delicious.
As I was a third into my meal I realised that I have already bitten into bacon that was wrapped around the fish. I mean, this is it, isn’t it? I failed. I didn’t even realise I couldn’t eat that! Can I blame
Maybe it’s because I trust her and wouldn’t even think twice about challenging her food choices? Lol
Anyway...I can’t return from this now. I survived 3 weeks (minus the two exception days). The important thing is that I genuinely want to try and consume less meat. Or let’s just say when I do decide to eat it - I want it to be the highest quality. In other words I will only eat steak at a top notch steak restaurant (which I have done for a while now), but I want to apply the same principle to other red and white meat too.
Major Learnings?
- Don’t trust professional chefs with food when you’ve taken something out of your diet, haha
- Being pescatarian was harder than being vegan (or let’s just say, eating fish every other day was a bit too much for me and I got fed up with it a lot quicker than when I was a vegan for a month).
I haven't decided on my challenge for April yet so maybe you guys can help me? The following ones are still on my to-do list:
- Cook a new dish every day (in collab with Liam)
- Listen to an audiobook or a podcast every day
- Reconnect with an old friend every day
- Compliment someone every day
- Listen to a new song every day
But feel free to also suggest a completely new idea in the comments below! The challenge with the most upvotes wins (and I will do it as long as it's reasonable) 😳
Thanks and love,
Inga x