*This is NOT a sponsored post! However, the products in my feature image was a gift from Fry’s Family Food Co when we attended their family braai day.*

Meat free Monday didn’t work

Meat free Monday never worked for us… The reason is very simple – Sunday leftovers 🙂 We grew up having a huge Sunday lunch with roast and curry and veg and and and… Was your family big on Sunday lunch? Even if it was just the household, consisting of four family members, there would still be enough food to feed an army. Long after Dude and I set up our home together, we carried on with this tradition. Even though it was just the TWO of us…

I soon grew tired of making a feast for two people and the pressure of racing home after the church service to get lunch ready by 12, no I lie we ate at 1pm in our house, was just too much! I opted to start a NEW tradition, and Sunday Dinner was born for us 🙂 Fast forward life and throw in two kids, who are ALWAYS hungry, and we are back to making Sunday Lunch. But on a smaller scale. Mama aint got time to slave for hours and my offspring devours hours of hard work within minutes!

A few years back we opted to go meat free during the Lent period. The shortened version according to Wikipedia – Lent is a solemn religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later, before Easter Sunday.

This was a major challenge because now we needed to find alternatives to meat! I’m NOT a big lover of red meat but my husband and kids are. The recent addition, currently two years old, definitely takes after his father here by being a meat eater.

And this is how we discovered Fry’s products

Now being new to this no meat eating schedule, it was challenging to make food that actually looked edible. My husband would look at a dish and say “where’s the meat?” I could live off veggies though! So for forty + days we ate meat free meals. Every Single Day. By the time the Lent period was done, my husband was at the end of his tether. Needless to say we have given up random things over the last couple of years. But having gone through that first meat free stint, I was hooked.

We’ve been using Fry’s products for a few years already. Man have they upped their game! They have new and interesting products. That Kasha, aka cereal, is life for my kids. Let’s not forget the ICE-CREAM. Go find it today!

I’ve tried to incorporate it into our weekly schedule. We tried Meat Free Monday! At first it worked, but after a while it was cramping our Sunday leftover style and we failed dismally. So I devised a plan. A trial for this Spirited Family. No meat on Tuesdays and Thursdays, if you can manage two days a week 🙂

Tuesdays and Thursdays are meat free days in our house. Even visitors have to adapt. Alternately, just bring your own food when you’re visiting if you don’t like our schedule.

So instead of conforming to societal norms…and you know how much I despise being put in a box- I created our norm. It doesn’t always work out but it is yielding magnificent results. For me though. I can feel my body perform optimally when it is being nourished. This might sound strange BUT my body doesn’t like me if I have too much red meat. I can have fish all the time, chicken in moderation because who in the world only eats chicken. So the combination of adding a little meat every now and then with all the meat free varieties available is working for me.

And there is a term for this lifestyle…I’m a FLEXITARIAN

My family indulges my lifestyle by simply eating what is on offer BUT these days they are loving the meals. One particular product, the Fry’s chicken style nuggets! I’ve had countless arguments over the fact that it IS a plant based nugget. There is NO chicken in there. It just tastes THAT good!

Have you tried the Fry’s chicken style nuggets?

On another note, the Fry’s products are very quick and easy to prepare. As we use them regularly, we’re experimenting with different cooking methods/adding sauces/condiments.

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Change your mindset…. It is NOT meat, so be open to new possibilities.

We are NOT vegetarian and neither are we vegan. We just made a conscious decision to incorporate small changes into our lifestyle to becoming a healthier family. A more plant based approach to a healthier lifestyle. We’ve made small changes and set some realistic goals.

Verdict from Dude – we’re moving in the right direction with our meat free meals.

Listen to your body! It knows what YOU need!

Spirited Mama

x

P.S. watch the video below if you want to find out how Fry’s Family Food Co came into existence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYUSNkeSDqk

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