For the past three months, I've been a pescatarian; basically consuming fish and other seafood, mainly shrimp as my source of protein. I've abstained from all meats except the occasional chicken dish.

Honestly speaking, I became a pescatarian for all the fad reasons you'd expect such as to lose weight and all other superficial reasons. However, as time went on, I noticed my culinary palate and cooking interests expand beyond the width of classic Nigerian and American foods.

In becoming a pescatarian, I've found my inner voice when it comes to cooking and exploring different cultural cuisines and flavors. I've been diving into Asian and Caribbean flavors, and trying my hand at things like Escovitch red snapper, roasted salmon heads,  flounder ceviche etc. 

In addition to being a pescatarian, I've also been dairy free for about a year. Months prior to becoming a pescatarian, I gave up dairy and being both dairy and meat-free has been quite the journey, especially in such a dairy and meat-obsessed society.  The accesibility of alternative milks such as almond, cashew and coconut milk helped make the switch more seamless. Despite being non-dairy products, they do a great job at mimicking the feel and taste of regular milk for me.

In being a dairy-free pescatarian, I've learned a number of things about myself:

1. My body doesn't process meats and cheeses very well.

In the event that I must have some meat or dairy products, organic options will always be best. Also, a little bit goes a long way...and too much makes me feel sick. Honestly, most people don't need to consume dairy and meats as they do.  My body just isn't made to process large amounts of those compounds.

2.  Just because I am a dairy-free pescatarian doesn't mean that I'm "healthy".

True health comes with nourishing my body as it needs to be, not depriving it of items in order to shed a pound or two.  I believe the main problem with a lot of exclusionary eating lifestyles/diets is that they tend to revolve around weight loss and a projected body image.

While you may lose weight if you cut out dairy, meat or go completely vegan, you're not necessarily healthy because you are still harboring a negative self image towards yourself and towards all others that enjoy the foods you've chosen to leave behind.  One thing I've learned as someone with eating issues is that ultimately, dieting and changing eating habits for the wrong reasons do nothing but take the fun out of food and ultimately threaten any sort of positive and healthy relationship you'll have with food.

3. Vegan food is delicious.  

I used to be one of those people that would decry vegan foods as disgusting while simultaneously having little to no experience and knowledge of them. It just seemed like something only hippie-dippie yuppies ate and I ain't no yuppie. However, when I began living dairy-free, that basically meant I had to become more open-minded towards vegan foods because those were the safest bet for me. In doing so, I've experimented with many vegan baking recipes. 

4. Seafood is f**king expensive.

One huge tip I'd give for anyone trying to go pescatarian is to do your research and find out the cheapest fish markets with the freshest seafood. It'll truly amaze you what a little research will show. Currently, my neighborhood favorites are Shabbos Fish Market and  Son Fish Market because they're fresh and affordable.

Obviously, if you want to score massive savings, you have to hit up Flushing Avenue in Queens but it's literally super far unless you live in Queens or drive.

In the second quarter of the fishy life, I'm hoping to get into grilling seafood and learning appropriate seafood substitutes for meat dishes, eat primarily organic seafood and produce, and increase my vegetable intake to about 50% of my plate. Eventually, I'm just tryna turn into the healthy living zen mama I was truly meant to be y'know. 

I'm out here tryna make my Goop empire;  one salmon filet, tumeric mask and dash of black girl magic at a time. 

Til next time,

Rachel.