However, if you're really ready to take a look at your soul, how to put good karma into the world, and become a calmer, happier and healthier individual... please have a seat, read on and join me!!
Recently, cooking has taken on a bit of nostalgia. While most families may cook a main dish, a couple of sides, each person chooses to have different beverages and eat what they'd like.
Not my family. I've had the pleasure of dining with my grandparents on numerous occasions with two completely separate meals prepared. Although, I've noticed it is common with families with very young children that they eat something different than their parents... kind of interesting. They eat chicken nuggets and hot dogs while the parents eat chicken breast and salad or some yummy veggies. Huh... why? I digress... back to my grandparents!
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| My grandparents |
Yup. Two pretty close yet very separate dinners.
My grandmother will have the boiled or over cooked meat product, side of microwaved to gray string beans and possibly a bit of the salad my grandfather prepared soaked in french dressing and a plethora of condiments.
My grandfather will have the grilled or broiled rare meat thing with slightly steamed veggie (LOADS of garlic salt) and that salad I mentioned with lots of olive oil and tomato.
Love them to pieces. I would eat my grandfathers veggies and then pick around the fridge for something else that might be edible. Mostly, pickles... some tomato... a cucumber... Being vegetarian in my household was always difficult and a made fun of ideal. It still is for my sister who teases me that I eat organic... yes, teases me. She just sees it as something you do. You just eat it. I can't.
Fact is... I hate preparing meat. I hate buying it, handling it, thinking about it, worrying about it, trying to tell myself that it is okay to eat it. After I touch it I have to wipe everything down with bleach and wash my hands a hundred times and make sure nothing touches anything else. Ugh... It is SO much easier not to war with myself over a meal three times a day!! I still cook meat for John... but I just throw it in the crock pot and add it to things as we go. He does eat a lot of vegetarian and vegan dishes and never cares that I put tofu or other veggie meat in it. Deep down he'd like to be a vegetarian... but he can't seem to get over the 'protein' hurdle. Even though I have pointed out time and time again if that is what is so important to him, most of the veggie dishes I make him have two to three times the protein than a typical chicken or turkey thing I make him.
The idea of factory farming makes me literally sick to my stomach. I live near 3 factory farm beef feed lots... And huge hog farms south of here... you would literally vomit if you saw what I do each day. I'm mentioned this on facebook a few times... but did you know it is a federal FELONY to photograph a feedlot? Ummmm... I'm just telling you that is how bad it really is wanting to stay under wraps. It is the saddest moment of my day when I have to go by those poor animals.
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| these are animals. real animals. they become ground up bits under plastic... if you let them. |
And then there is the grocery store. It finds me begging for the days you had to leave the grocery and go to a proper butcher for meat. OR when I could shop at Apple Valley Market in Berrien Springs which is 100% vegetarian. The whole store!! I can't hardly walk near the meat section of the grocery store without wanting to scream at everyone within earshot. (Skip this if you don't want my opinion...)
"By the way... did you see that "steak" when you drove past it on the feed lot?? Or didn't you realize that is a REAL cow, it was a living breathing animal, on that styrofoam! Did you have to trick yourself into thinking that steak grew on a tree?? Are you really going to eat those 'hot dogs'... do you know what is in there?? Do you care to know?? What about that chicken you think is so healthy..."
We really do have to separate ourselves from the truth behind the cellophane. I remember my brother telling me how my nephew, he was about 5 or 6 at the time, started crying when there were bones in his chicken leg. He made the connection... He'd never eaten chicken with bones in it. Now he knew it was an animal. Scary? Sad? All of the above.
If it makes you cringe... why do you do it?
This is poignant because in high school we have 'senior elections and prophecies'. My prophecy was that I would be imprisoned for throwing red paint on a very popular girl in our school who wore fur. While in prison I would organize some kind of Woodstock event and make the world's largest peace sign out of recyclable materials. Well, I haven't fulfilled any of these YET. But I could definitely pull off one out of three... and I have yet to scream in the meat aisle yet... my time may come!! rant rant rant... off my soap box now.
So, after all that fun... I am going to offer up some veggie resources for you to try out a meatless Monday!! Tofurky Tuesday? or even a Vegan Wednesday?... yeah, not as catchy but still can be worked on!! Thing is... most of us have a choice. We don't live in Nova Scotia where seal and some kind of fish gut is about the only thing you can get in the dead of winter. That next to the potato you grew that summer. I'm not being unreasonable here. I know you eat pineapple, avocado, raspberries and god knows what else ALL year long and even if you live in Duluth, Minnesota!! So, put down your steak knife and pick up a fork and a spoon. There are some veggies out there that want to meet you.
And my all time favorite... if some fool asks you,"Where do you get your protein?"
Ask them where they get their fiber.
Seriously!
Seriously!
Just some facts... Protein is essential for mending our bodies. You need protein, no denying that. However, it doesn't need to come from an animal. Unless you don't live near a grocery store within a few hundred miles. Here is a range for how much you should take in each day: Our protein needs depend on our age, size, and activity level. The standard method used by nutritionists to estimate our minimum daily protein requirement is to multiply the body weight in kilograms by .8, or weight in pounds by .37. This is the number of grams of protein that should be the daily minimum. According to this method, a person weighing 150 lbs. should eat 55 grams of protein per day. Got that??
You could achieve 56 grams of protein in this example in Fitness Magazine:
Breakfast: Souffle Omelet with Zucchini, Artichoke, and Cheddar
For less than $3 a serving and in under 300 calories, you can have a nutritious dinner. Take eggs (or egg beaters or scramble tofu), vegetables, and cheese (vegan cheese works too!) to make a filling omelet with 30 grams of protein to keep you full and energized.
Nutrition facts per serving:
282 calories
14g fat
10g carbohydrate
1g fiber
30g protein
Lunch:Thai Peanut Noodle Bowl
Craving Thai food? Whole wheat pasta and vegetables load this dish with fiber to keep you full and fit with less than 500 calories.
Nutrition facts per serving:
498 calories
17g fat
72g carbohydrate
12g fiber
26g protein
Oh wow!! Look you haven't even eaten dinner yet and you have all the protein required for the day... Have we debunked this myth enough for you?? GOOD!! Let's move forward then!!
So here are my favorite resources... Come on, YOU CAN DO THIS!! Think about being responsible for what your putting in your mouth... In the words of the Queen -
"You see how picky I am about my shoes,
and they just go on my feet!"
-- Alicia Silverstone (as Char Horowitz in Clueless)
Alicia is also my go to gal on veganism. She rocks and rolls all kinds of recipes with her husband and for her son Bear. Yup, she was vegan her entire pregnancy and is breastfeeding. So once again, healthy babe, healthy mum... no animals were harmed. Alicia also has a wonderful book, website and pins on Pinterest!! I'm excited because she is writing a new book for vegan/ vegetarian mamas. Not to mention she knows all of the kind retailers and where to shop to be cruelty free in every aspect of your life.
Not going overboard... just a couple of ideas.Take what you'd like...
Movies:
Vegucated - In this documentary, three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover the hidden sides of animal agriculture. You can watch it on Netflix.
Forks Over Knives - www.forksoverknives.com
The Kind Life - http://thekindlife.com/
Nutrition Data - http://nutritiondata.self.com/
And here are some awesome blogs with recipes to get you started tonight!
Awesome Blogs
Post Punk Kitchen - http://www.theppk.com/
Vegetarian Times - http://www.vegetariantimes.com/recipe/
Healthy Bitch Daily - http://www.healthybitchdaily.com/
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| Post Punk Kitchen - Siracha Tofu |
If I could raise my own chicken for eggs... and possibly even butcher it... I might not be a vegetarian. However, I have an idea that I might become too attached to the little hens. If you do chose to eat meat, vote with your dollars!! Do your research... organic, grass-fed {cows can't digest corn btw... remember that image from Forks over Knives?} small farms are the best farms. Support your local economy FIRST! Don't shop from out of state stores... And Tyson, Monsanto, their subsidiaries... EVIL. PURE EVIL. Maybe I can be Becky the GMO Slayer. Okay. I will work on that.
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