I've been asked a thousand times about what made me decide to follow this diet (pescetarian + minimal dairy as much as possible), hehe :) Though majority of the people who adopt this kind of diet (up to the extent of being a vegetarian/vegan) say that their love for animals and/or advocacy against animal cruelty made them stick to their diets, my reason was mainly for my health :) I am blessed to have an uncle (including his girlfriend) who led by example and showed me that it is possible to enjoy one's meal without meat. At an early age, I've tried dining in a lot of vegetarian restaurants in the metro as well as accustomed to a household that respects "our" kind of diet.
To celebrate my 6th year anniversary, hehe, I will be mentioning some of my favorite vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants:
1) Good Burgers. This is where I go to when I am craving for a burger :) Though it is not a vegetarian joint, they offer veggie patty :) A little pricey especially if you are a student BUT definitely worth it!
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| taken from the site above |
2) Blissfull Belly. I happen to "live" in Katipunan ALL MY LIFE before i started working abroad :) When I say "live", I meant I spent my college life + 6 years working life there! However, I only "discovered" this vegetarian restaurant when I started working along Katipunan Avenue. This place is jam-packed mostly during lunch time because they already have regular customers :)
MY Must-trys: Sisig and Carrot Cake! I remember this time when I brought their sisig in my workplace and asked my colleagues to try it without telling them first that it is vegetarian sisig. After a few minutes of eating with much gusto, they suddenly remembered that I do not eat meat and asked me if I went back to eating meat. They were so surprised when I told them that it is vegetarian! One point, hehe! :) They have the best dairy-free carrot cake too!!! That was actually the first time I started appreciating carrot cake! :)
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| taken from here via google.com |
3) Pipino Vegetarian Food (by Pino). This vegetarian restaurant is known for their creative dishes as well as pleasing-to-the-eyes interior :) I've eaten here a couple of times (given its location, hehe) and I must say that apart from their yummy food, the place also uplifts your mood instantly! Thanks to the very creative person behind it, Ms. Alessandra Lanot. I don't know her personally but I know some things about her because of her blog :)
MY Must-trys: (their very famous) Watermelon steak, (all flavors of) Ice Cream and Lemongrass, Ginger & Cucumber Cooler!
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| taken during one of our visits :) |
As always, I've only tried their branch in Teachers Village, Quezon City but I've heard that they opened a new branch in Jupiter Street, Makati a few months back :)
You may check their site for more info :)
4) Greens Vegetarian Cafe & Restaurant. This is one of the first vegetarian restaurants that I've been to (courtesy of course of my Tito Aries and Tita Tessa) :) I must say that this restaurant was sort of a deal breaker for me! I suggest that if you have plans of bringing a non-vegetarian friend and introduce him/her to vegetarianism, this is the BEST place to be! The foods are NOT intimidating because they are patterned after the regular food that we know (examples are Relleno, Escabeche and Embutido among others). The place is also very relaxing because of the bountiful plants surrounding the place :)
MY must-trys: Relleno, Barbecue skewer and Baklava.
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| taken from the site above |
5) This is not a restaurant but a site that will give you the information of all the vegetarian/vegan restaurants ALL OVER THE WORLD. This is what I visited when I was having a hard time looking for a vegetarian restaurant in Jakarta, sad but true :(
Presenting.....
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| welcome page of happycow.net |
Now, you can search for a veggie restaurant near your place! Just click http://www.happycow.net/
Lastly, allow me to share my before and after experiences and the frequently asked questions as a pescetarian :)
1) The most frequently asked question question is "Did you lose weight?". The answer is NO! I did not lose weight. Actually, not to discourage those who want to lose weight, I gained weight upon adopting the pescetarian diet. However, the weight that I gained was brought about by my love for RICE. Yes, I do eat too much rice. Ika nga nila e "karpintero" rice. I admit that this is still a continuing struggle for me, huhuhu.
2) So why then did I continue with this kind of diet if I keep on gaining weight? In my opinion, not everything is about WEIGHT. Yes, it matters but one should not be equating being healthy with being thin. I know some people who are thin but have bad health :( Exhibit A: You will be surprised to see a "thin" person trying to catch his/her breath after a few steps on the stairs! I am not saying that I am almost-like-an-athlete-I-can-do-full-marathon healthy but I am happy to say that with this kind of diet, I am still able to run, bike and do other physical activities :) So yes, for someone who is "picky" with food, I am actually healthy :)
3) I feel lighter. During my meat-eating days, I can almost feel my tummy bursting after eating too much. Consequently, I feel so sluggish! These days, though I feel full after eating I do not feel the sluggishness that I used to feel. How do I know that I am gaining weight? Not because I feel heavy but because my clothes are getting smaller!!! :D
4) Where do I go from here? 6 years ago, I wanted to be a VEGETARIAN. Meaning, no meat (including seafoods) at all! However, upon the advice of Tita Tessa (who has been a vegan for almost 2 decades now) I started with being a pescetarian. She told me that I can use this as a transition to being vegetarian because it will be very difficult for me to change overnight. Today, after 6 years, I am still a pescetarian, hehehe :) I want to slowly end my transition and ease into vegetarianism, hopefully soon (since Jakarta is not a vegetarian friendly city and I live on my own now, I have to be prepared with this).
5) Is it expensive? I am not going to lie and say that adopting this kind of diet is cheap. Just like anything that we give importance to, it comes with a price. But if you will think about your health as an investment, then it will be easier to accept. Let me just clarify that this kind of diet may or may not be expensive depending on one's lifestyle. Vegetarian restaurants in general are slightly more expensive than a "regular" restaurant so if you happen to eat out A LOT, it will really be expensive. BUT if you will manage to prepare your own meal at home, it will be way cheaper! Vegetables and fruits are definitely cheaper than beef, chicken and pork so please do the Math! :D
We are very fortunate that Philippines has A LOT of vegetarian and vegetarian-friendly restaurants so let us use it to our advantage! :)
Happy HEALTHY eating! :)
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