You're a WHAT?

I thought I'd post a little something on what all these terms floating around mean - you know, what's the differences between a Vegan vs. Vegetarian vs. ??? I have heard a lot of these terms lately, but didn't know until recently what they all meant. My guess is there might be a few people like myself out there that don't know exactly what they mean either. Is a Vegetarian the same as a Vegan? Let's clear it all up with some simple definitions:

Vegetarian: Is someone who eats no meat (beef, poultry, pork, fish) or no meat by-products (including gelatin, soup made with meat stock).

Lacto Ovo Vegetarian: Is someone who still doesn’t eat meat like a vegetarian but will eat eggs and dairy products.

Semi-Vegetarian: Is someone who cuts back on their meat intake on a daily basis.

Pesco Vegetarian: This is someone who eats fish but no other meat.

Pollo Vegetarian: Is a person who will eat poultry but no other meat.

Vegan: This is a strict vegetarian, who also has no dairy - NOTHING that has come from an animal. Vegans typically also avoid all animal products, including wool, silk, leather and any other item made from an animal.

So as you can see, there are MANY definitions, for many types of eaters. I'm a believer that you don't have be a vegetarian to make a huge difference in this world and the environment. Be a meat eater! But if you can, try to select meat that has no added antibiotics or growth hormones. Even better, buy meat from a local farmer you trust. It's easy to build those relationships. Most towns have Farmer's Markets, so grab yourself a coffee or tea to go, and strike up a conversation on Saturday Morning with a local farmer! Bottom line is, if you simply eat one less meal with meat each week, you too can have a huge impact on your health, our water, our soil and pollution as a whole. After all, it really does matter!

Meat Free Mondays

As many of you know, I am a fairly new vegetarian... going on 5 months now. And truly I have never felt better. I chose to do this for many reasons, but it isn't my goal to convert people to this lifestyle. I do however support making a positive change in the health of our planet, and ourselves by limiting the amount of meat we do eat.
Maybe you are familiar with the environmental effects industrial animal farming produces. It is a HUGE contributor to the CO2 footprint of our planet.
Meatless Mondays, or Meat Free Mondays refer to the movement of going one full day without eating meat. Some cities have actually done this! I urge you to give it a shot. Your family may not even miss the meat! It is a great way to get more fruits and veggies in your diet!

Some tasty ideas to try:
Roast some veggies. Try Onions, Cauliflower, or Asparagus - my favorite!
Try a new pasta dish with diced veggies in it!
How about some meatless meatballs! Trader Joe's brand is super tasty!
A simple dinner of grilled cheese and tomato soup is always a great choice.
Fruit, granola and yogurt parfaits for breakfast
Avocado, Tomato sandwiches

What ideas do you have for meat-free dishes? Share them!

Sugar = EVIL?

I'm sure you've been hearing or reading a lot about the dangers of Sugars. Are you confused about what you should or shouldn't be eating? Manufacturers and Marketers are adding to this confusion, with names we don't recognize, or believe are good for us. I am pretty passionate about Sugar, and I am completely convinced it's the reason I've packed on the pounds, as have others in our country. It's addictive and deadly. The old addage of 'everything in moderation' holds true, but really look at the labels of what you are eating, and you will see with all the different names sugar goes by, we are all getting too much of this food! The list of sugars just seems to go on and on.

I found this article today on the dangers of sugar and just really wanted to share this with all of you. It's a long one, but worth the read. Check it out and tell me what you think.

Become part of the Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver has a show on TV now, Fridays, 9 pm on ABC, highlighting the epidemic of child obesity in our country. He is working in one school district in the US, to try to change the way America eats. It's pretty enlightening. Part of his mission is to obviously reach out to other areas and get us to pledge to become part of the food revolution, and offer our children better food - both at home and in our schools. Check out his site, and possible sign the petition to become a part of the Food Revolution. I have signed it, won't you? Please pass on the info as well

More GMO info

I found this information in my inbox and just had to pass it along. I subscribe to Dr. Mercola's newsletters, and he just wrote about GMO's... Very timely since I just wrote about them too. So if you'd like to learn more, please check out this link: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/04/03/jeffrey-smith-interview.aspx

At the end of the article, under the section called, "What you can Do NOW!", there is a link titled "non-GMO shoppers guide" This guide will give you brands that are NON-GMO and brands that may contain GMOs. I know this is a lot to take in, but it's worthwhile to begin educating ourselves on.

I hope you find this information as useful as I do! I believe it all really does matter!

An easy quick recipe - snack

Well, I am a fan of Crunchy, Salty Sancks... so here's one of my favorites!

Kale Chips

Ingredients:
Curly Kale - 1 bunch or more
Olive oil
sea salt

Wash the curly Kale. Tear the Kale into pieces, but do not use the center stalk area. I tear my pieces into quarter to half dollar sizes. Pat the Kale dry, place pieces in bowl and drizzle some olive oil over it - a little oil goes a long way so use it sparingly! Rub the oil onto the leaves. Place the pieces on a baking sheet, and lightly salt.

Bake in oven at 350 degrees, for about 15 - 20 minutes, or until the pieces turn brown on the edges.

Enjoy! This is a super crunchy, great snack! I can't seem to keep this in the house for more than a day!

What is a GMO?

Every time I shop, I see signs, for "All Natural", "Organic", "Free Range", "Grass-Fed", "No GMO's"... all of these terms sounding important! Are they what I want? They sound healthy - but are they? Shopping was becoming more and more overwhelming - how was I going to decipher it all? I could blog for days on what I've learned, and I have alot left to learn. It seems like everyone had a different interpretation for the same thing. I have read quite a bit on these terms, but for today, I want to start with one that I find a bit disturbing. GMOs... What is a GMO?

GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism. The EPA defines it as: "A term that refers to plants that have had genes implanted to improve their performance by making them resistant to certain pesticides, diseases, or insects." I found that here: www.epa.gov/oecaagct/ag101/cropglossary.html

It is a product of genetic engineering, and allows for the introduction of specific genes into an organism in the hopes of it developing special strengths. But do I want that?

An example of a GMO includes, Roundup Ready seeds. Roundup Ready seeds have been engineered to survive pesticides - heard of Roundup? "Normal" seeds can only take so much toxic weed killer, before they too dies. Round up seeds (GMOs) can survive these pesticides, even though all the other plants around it die. And where do all those pesticides go next? Answer: Into our food... which goes into us.... Hmmmm, not exactly what I want to be eating.

I heard a farmer once say that some GMO corn plants could withstand the pesticides, even though the weeds and worms were being destroyed! And the GMO plants actually thrive under these toxic applications. Is that really what you want to eat? I know I don't.

Now for some more bad news. There are currently no laws in the US requiring companies to label if their foods contain GMOs. What makes that such a sad, horrifying statement, is that most of the corn, soy, wheat and rice sold in this country (as well as in the processed foods made with these ingredients) is genetically modified - and none of it has to be labeled!

Q: So how do you avoid buying GMOs?
A: You have to buy organic foods.

One last thing to ponder... the company that makes Roundup herbicide, also makes the Roundup seeds - coincidence?

There ARE some things you can do..
1). Write to your congressman... ask for GMO foods to be labeled.
2). Buy organic and avoid the GMO all together!
2). Continue to Educate yourself... there is a lot to learn about GMOs and the food we eat. The book - The Omnivores Dilemma by Michael Pollan is eye-opening. It describes the corn industry in this country - simply amazing. And it goes into much more about our food chain.
3). Learn what you can about Monsanto, the company making these toxic chemicals and seeds that can withstand those chemicals. Learn what they have done to the farmers who use and don't use their seeds....

I will write more in future blogs about other labels and the confusion they are causing. I just wanted to start off the label discussion with something I am passionate about. After all, it really does matter...

Quinoa

One of my favorite blogs, peaceful daily, featured Quinoa today. Here is a portion of that note:
Very few people know about an amazing grain called quinoa (pronounced keen-wa). Quinoa comes from the Andes mountains in South America. Quinoa has been grown and harvested since ancient times. It was actually one of the first foods eaten by the Incas. Some nutritionists call it the "supergrain of the future." It has more protein than any other grain, with most varieties of quinoa clocking in at a mighty 16%. Some varieties even have 20%. The protein in quinoa is considered complete because it has all 8 essential amino acids.
I just started eating Quinoa around December. It's easy, easy to make, and so far, I haven't made a dish I don't love with it. One of my favorite uses for it is a warm heaping serving on a baby spinach salad, with some feta, pine nuts, beets, cucs, tomatoes and some balsamic! It is super filling! Try it out, replace some brown rice in your next dish and try using Quinoa instead, or instead of orzo in that salad, try quinoa... it's a perfect grain. It's a simple swap, that really does matter, for your health!