As we focus more and more on creating a light-filled world based on compassion, love, and unity, many of us have felt called to modify our consumerist habits. Since our bodies and spirits are pure energy (after all, even solid matter contains electrons), it makes sense that anything we consume can affect our personal energy levels. And because all animals have consciousness, eating meat and seafood — especially if it’s not sourced well — can leave us with an energetic hangover. How can you get rid of this feeling? By making diet changes to aid ascension.

Here are three suggestions as to how you can change your relationship to meat and seafood in a way that will aid your ascension process without depriving you of the food and drink you currently enjoy.

1. Reduce the amount of meat that you consume.

Even though vegetarianism is on the rise, many of us are reluctant to give up our meat, and often we see vegetarianism as part of a dichotomy: either you never eat meat and seafood, or you eat meat all the time. At least, that was what I thought before I read Jonathan Safran Foer’s creative nonfiction book Eating Animals. Foer makes it clear that vegetarianism is not a black-and-white landscape, and that one of the first things a person can do is to intentionally limit how much meat they consume.

While limiting your meat consumption has energetic benefits, it also has physical ones. Recent research shows that consuming meat frequently has been correlated with a greater risk for breast, colon, and prostate cancers. Likewise, people who eat more meat (especially red meat and processed meat) also have a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes.

Ideally, we would all be vegans or at least vegetarians, but for many of us (myself included), that’s a difficult diet to sustain. Instead, try eating meat only at dinner. It’s easy enough to eat eggs, oatmeal, toast, cereal, or fruit for breakfast, and you can make PB&J or salads for lunch instead of ham or turkey sandwiches. You can also opt for Meatless Mondays and create plant-based variations of your favorite meat-based dishes, like lentil meatloaf. If you’re eating out on Meatless Monday, use it as an excuse to try a new restaurant, maybe one that specializes in vegetarian and vegan dishes.

You can also opt for Meatless Mondays and create plant-based variations of your favorite meat-based dishes, like lentil meatloaf. If you’re eating out on Meatless Monday, use it as an excuse to try a new restaurant, maybe one that specializes in vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Regardless how you change your diet, be sure it works for you and your family. Be flexible and adaptable, and above all, listen to your body.

2. Consider eating only wild-caught fish and/or humanely raised meat, when possible.

Because food is energy, where it comes from can affect our bodies a great deal. The meat from a cow that was miserable its whole life and slaughtered inhumanely will have a much lower vibration than that of one that was raised by a caring farmer who treated it well. For this reason, if we do choose to eat meat, it’s important that we do the best we can to make sure that it’s sourced well.

It’s much easier nowadays to purchase ethically-sourced meat and seafood. For example, Whole Foods has a scale for both its meat and its seafood that indicates how the meat was raised or the fish was caught so that consumers can make an informed decision when shopping.

In Madison, places like the Underground Butcher and Conscious Carnivore offer other, more local options for people to purchase their own meat. And if you buy in bulk from a butcher (e.g., a quarter of a cow), then the price often decreases dramatically and, per pound, may only cost as much as the conventional meat that you purchase from your grocery store of choice.

While establishing these habits requires intention, eating more ethically sourced meat and seafood will have positive health effects in the long run.

3. Investigate delicious non-meat, protein-hearty alternatives to your favorite dishes.

As someone who has consumed a limited amount of meat for more than 3 years, I know that there are a few big deterrents or concerns that a person often has when they consider limiting or eradicating the amount of meat and seafood in your diet. The first is the fear that a person won’t be able to enjoy many of their favorite dishes. The second concern is getting enough protein since, in the U.S., our protein often comes from meat.

To address the first concern, yes, it’s easy to feel deprived if you eliminate all meat from your diet in one go. But vegetarianism is always a choice; you can choose from meal to meal whether or not you will eat meat. Gradually bringing plant-based variations of your favorite dishes into your diet will help you limit your meat intake without you feeling deprived. And if these plant-based variations include beans or legumes, you’ll also still be getting plenty of protein.

Try some of these amazing protein-hearty options:

• Jackfruit BBQ sandwiches with avocado slaw.
• Jackfruit carnitas.
• Lentil meatloaf and/or meatball mixture.
• Black bean burgers.

The Takeaway