Tips You Need to Know from Pescatarian Mikayla Teets

Today on the blog, I am featuring my brother’s girlfriend and pescatarian, Mikayla Teets.

After reading over her answers, I suddenly have the urge to give seafood a section chance.

I’ve heard so many good things about adding seafood to your diet, but I’ve always been such a picky eater and couldn’t do it.

My husband will be thrilled the day I decide to add it. He always talks about how, if I loved seafood, the number of seafood restaurants we would go to for date night.

If that ever happens, I will be sure to cover an entire blog post on it.

(Since writing this post, I actually made a big seafood dinner for his birthday this past July. My seafood blog post is in the works!)

Anyway, keep reading to learn more about some health and wellness tips from Mikayla…

Q: Introduce yourself and tell us a little about you, your background, a little about your journey as a vegetarian (actually pescatarian), and what made you decide to start a food page on Instagram?

A: Hi, my name is Mikayla Teets, I’m currently a senior nursing student at Drexel. I first started out as being vegan about 7/8 ish years ago. I was strictly vegan (meaning no meat or dairy) for an entire year, then I slowly started to add eggs and seafood into my diet and that is how I have been eating for the last 6ish years.

The reason I started my food Instagram is because I love to cook! I learned how to cook and bake from a young age. I would spend my summer at my grandmother’s house and we would cook/bake all the time. I then started cooking on my own when I originally turned vegan. I loved creating new dishes and it became almost like a challenge (in a good way) to cook without meat/dairy. I really started my food Instagram because I would cook meals for my boyfriend and I while we were at college, I then would take pictures of the dishes I made and sent them to my mom. One day I decided to upload some of the pictures I took and then it snowballed from there.

Q: What does it mean to be a vegetarian?

A: A vegetarian diet is a diet that eliminates meat from one’s diet. My diet is considered pescatarian due to the fact that I eat seafood.

Q: What do you typically eat on a given day as a ~~vegetarian~~ pescatarian?

A: Every day it changes! I love starting my morning off with eggs along with some sort of carbs/ fats (like avocado). This keeps me full for a while. Lunch varies, could be a snack, fruits, veggies, etc. For dinner, I tend to eat a vegetarian meal or a meal with seafood. I love making dinner for my family, they all eat meat. I cook them a typical dish that includes meat then I make my own version which may include seafood. I love adding shrimp into a ton of dishes to add extra protein.

Q: If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be and why?

A: Shrimp! So easy to make, dress it up dress it down. It’s a rich source of protein, vitamins, and omega-3 fatty acids. It’s also low in calories.

Q: What is something most people misunderstand about vegetarians?

A: That we don’t get enough protein! Most foods have protein in it. And a lot of the recommended protein amounts are actually way higher then our bodies need.

Q: What are the ways you are able to get healthy protein?

A: Eggs, nuts, protein shakes, seafood…salmon, shrimp, fish.

Tip: my morning coffee cream is a protein shake.

Q: Do you follow any health experts, nutritionists, vegetarians, healthy food accounts on social media, or online that you love to learn from?

A: I don’t follow any in particular that I am obsessed over. I love getting inspiration from online and following it or creating my own rendition of the dish. I learned a lot of things from my family and over the years of cooking.

Q: What is something you believe everyone should remove from their diet?

A: Dairy! I know it’s hard, but no one ever said dairy was good. Look into it! With that being said I love me a good cheese board!

Q: What is something you believe everyone should add to their diet?

A: Seafood! It’s not gross! Not any grosser than the meat one eats. It’s such a great clean source of protein, has so many health benefits, and has healthy fats! It’s easy to cook, and can be cooked in so many different ways! You can almost add it to any dish.

Q: What is your favorite recipe and how do you make it?

A: Mmm, soo hard! One of the classics is salmon with a veggie and rice. Salmon so easy! Recipe on one of my posts!!

(Link to the recipe here.)

Q: Do you have any advice or health tips for someone who is looking to create a healthier lifestyle for themselves?

A: Aside from food another love of mine is fitness, always has been. I’m looking into transitioning my account to include fitness videos eventually. With that, exercise the best you can. One can eat right but exercising really have huge effects on one’s health. Once it becomes a habit, it becomes so easy!

My tip in regards to food… do your research!!! A lot of things people may say are good for you may not really be! And vice versa, I have done a lot of research into food and what they do to the body and it was eye-opening. Don’t be afraid to learn or have your point of view changed.

Q: What are a few of your favorite food trends?

A: Oh so hard!!! I’ll name a few. Cheeseboards, or any type of board. Breakfast boards, sandwich boards, hamburger boards. I love seeing everyone’s creativity and they always look amazing. I also love seeing how people are turning traditional recipes of baked goods (like cookies or brownies) into healthier versions!

Q: What are some top items you try and keep stocked up on?

A: Always have eggs, multigrain bread, shrimp, wild rice, canned corned/green beans. These are staples in my pantry.

Here are a few of her dishes you can find on her instagram page: