First Day Evaluation

Yesterday, I completed my first day of living environmentally, and I am proud to say it went well (minus all the packaging that I realized all food comes wrapped in). I am even contemplating going more Eco-friendly by adding in two days of going meatless. I think this will help benefit my body and the environment by partaking less in the meat industry wars. So here is a final breakdown of my day.

Morning Time: I woke up to the bright sun streaming through my window. It was hotter than Hades in my room, but instead of turning up the AC I retracted my shades and pulled (with all my might) the rusty window open. Then I presumed to go about my morning per usual; brushing my teeth, washing my face, and brushing my hair. During this time I used very little water, only turning the faucet on to rinse off my tooth brush and wash my face. Then I remembered that I could no longer buy a Dasani downstairs so on my way out the door with a breakfast of an organic Pink Lady apple and a clementine (packaging free), I grabbed my Camelbak and ran for the sink in my lounge. I completed my two classes for the morning by 11:35am and then decided it was time for some lunch which ended up being a healthy portion of organic baby spinach with mozzarella cheese and a boca burger. I had unintentionally gone meatless by this point in my day and it was not until after I had finished my meal that I realized what had happened. It is a rare occasion to see myself not eating meat with a meal, aside from breakfast. After this I hunkered down to finish a four page paper before a 4pm class. I was done within two hours and had managed to stay away from facebook and twitter that whole time. The only problem was that I had to print out my paper and it was not double sided :(. I also grabbed a greek yogurt before I left for class (more packaging, but at least that is recyclable).

Afternoon:
After class I walked with my friend to Rite Aid and did not buy anything! It was very empowering. I even walked past Starbucks and didn't even hesitate to keep moving and not enter into the heavenly world of overpriced and decadent lattes. After this I decided to turn up the tunes and go for a 25 minute run/walk by myself before I had to meet my friend for dinner. This was a great way to collect my thoughts and just be by myself. I will say that Lady Gaga's song, Born This Way is my current anthem. After this I returned to my dorm, ate a banana from TDR, which must be a sin but at least it was a "raw" food.

Nighttime:
We walked to dinner at the new pizza place next to Chef Geoff's. There I didn't order a single meat product either. I was shocked by myself. Although I saw steak, chicken, and fish on the menu, but I decided upon a spinach salad with a delicious margarita pizza. Then my friend Hannah and I decided to walk off and digest all the food that we had just consumed. During our walk I realized that my whole meal was probably packaged at some point. From the spinach salad to the ingredients of the pizza dough. It is almost impossible to eat out without eating something that does not originally come in packaging. This is upsetting, but the real question is, how do we transport large quantities of food without packaging at the risk of damaging the produce?

Overall, I believe that I can introduce meatless Tuesdays and Thursdays into my diet and still do it in a healthy way, being sure to get the nutrients I need. I might look into tofu before the end of this week - it seems like a viable option for a protein source aside from eggs and beans. In one day I used no mode of transportation other than my own body, which felt great. I got the best night sleep I have ever had and my body feels energized. Also, I filled my Camelbak at least three times from the tap water. This is a big improvement from the multiple water bottles I used to buy in a day. I am looking forward to the rest of the week!