Meatless Monday: Eat More Vegetables

One Step At a Time...

You Can Go Meatless

For All Three Meals

People are drawn to vegetarianism by all sorts of motives. Some of us want to live longer, healthier lives or do our part to reduce pollution. Others have made the switch because we want to preserve Earth’’s natural resources or because we've always loved animals and are ethically opposed to eating them.

Thanks to an abundance of scientific research that demonstrates the health and environmental benefits of a plant-based diet, even the federal government recommends that we consume most of our calories from grain products, vegetables and fruits. And no wonder: An estimated 70 percent of all diseases, including one-third of all cancers, are related to diet. A vegetarian diet reduces the risk for chronic degenerative diseases such as obesity, coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and certain types of cancer including colon, breast, prostate, stomach, lung and esophageal cancer.

Here are a few reasons to go meatless one day a week:

• You’ll ward off disease. Vegetarian diets are more healthful than the average American diet, particularly in preventing, treating or reversing heart disease and reducing the risk of cancer. A low-fat vegetarian diet is the single most effective way to stop the progression of coronary artery disease or prevent it entirely. Cardiovascular disease kills 1 million Americans annually and is the leading cause of death in the United States. But the mortality rate for cardiovascular disease is lower in vegetarians than in non vegetarians, says Joel Fuhrman, MD, author of Eat to Live: The Revolutionary Formula for Fast and Sustained Weight Loss. A vegetarian diet is inherently healthful because vegetarians consume less animal fat and cholesterol (vegans consume no animal fat or cholesterol) and instead consume more fiber and more antioxidant-rich produce——another great reason to listen to Mom and eat your veggies!
• You’ll live longer. If you switch from the standard American diet to a vegetarian diet, you can add about 13 healthy years to your life, says Michael F. Roizen, MD, author of The RealAge Diet: Make Yourself Younger with What You Eat. ”People who consume saturated, four-legged fat have a shorter life span and more disability at the end of their lives. Animal products clog your arteries, zap your energy and slow down your immune system. Meat eaters also experience accelerated cognitive and sexual dysfunction at a younger age.”
• You’ll build strong bones. When there isn’’t enough calcium in the bloodstream, our bodies will leach it from existing bone. The metabolic result is that our skeletons will become porous and lose strength over time. Most health care practitioners recommend that we increase our intake of calcium the way nature intended——through foods. Foods also supply other nutrients such as phosphorus, magnesium and vitamin D that are necessary for the body to absorb and use calcium.

People who are mildly lactose-intolerant can often enjoy small amounts of dairy products such as yogurt, cheese and lactose-free milk. But if you avoid dairy altogether, you can still get a healthful dose of calcium from dry beans, tofu, soymilk and dark green vegetables such as broccoli, kale, collards and turnip greens.

• You’ll ease the symptoms of menopause. Many foods contain nutrients beneficial to perimenopausal and menopausal women. Certain foods are rich in phytoestrogens, the plant-based chemical compounds that mimic the behavior of estrogen. Since phytoestrogens can increase and decrease estrogen and progesterone levels, maintaining a balance of them in your diet helps ensure a more comfortable passage through menopause. Soy is by far the most abundant natural source of phytoestrogens, but these compounds also can be found in hundreds of other foods such as apples, beets, cherries, dates, garlic, olives, plums, raspberries, squash and yams. Because menopause is also associated with weight gain and a slowed metabolism, a low-fat, high-fiber vegetarian diet can help ward off extra pounds.
• You’ll be more ‘regular.’ Eating a lot of vegetables necessarily means consuming more fiber, which pushes waste out of the body. Meat contains no fiber. People who eat lower on the food chain tend to have fewer instances of constipation, hemorrhoids and diverticulitis.
  Go Meatless one day a week; what do you have to lose.It's a breeze. It is almost effortless these days to find great-tasting and good-for-you vegetarian foods, whether you’re strolling the aisles of your local supermarket or walking down the street at lunchtime. If you need inspiration in the kitchen, look no further than the internet, your favorite bookseller or your local vegetarian society's newsletter for culinary tips and great recipes.

Healthy Meatless Recipe:

Crustless Spinach and Feta Pie

(Adapted from skinnytaste .com)

Ingredients:

• 10 oz frozen spinach, thawed and liquid squeezed out
• 1/2 cup scallions, chopped
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup (2.5 oz) reduced fat crumbled feta
• 2 tbsp grated Asiago cheese (or Parmesan, Romano)
• 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour (Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2/3 cup fat free milk
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• fresh cracked pepper to taste
• cooking spray

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 400°.
• Lightly spray a pie dish with cooking spray.
• Mix spinach, scallions, dill, parsley, feta cheese, and in the pie dish.
• Sift flour and baking powder in a medium bowl.
• Add remaining ingredients to the bowl and blend well.
• Pour into pie dish.
• Bake 28 to 33 minutes or until knife comes out clean from the center.
• Let it stand at least 5 minutes before serving.
• Serves 6-8.

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Healthy Weekly Motivator

Mindful Eating

Mindful eating involves taking a minute to slow down to enjoy your food and includes the following:

• Sitting down to eat in a place where you can focus on your food (not in front of the TV or a newspaper).
• Slowing down and taking your time—put your fork down between bites.
• Thinking about the food: what does it smell like, look like, taste like?

• Enjoying it—regardless of whether you are having the perfectly-portioned, well-balanced meal or you are indulging in a piece of seven-layer chocolate cake—really enjoy it!

By contrast, mindless eating usually takes place when we’re on the go or distracted. It does not involve taking the time to really focus on and enjoy food. Our hectic, fast-paced society lends itself to mindless eating by providing us with many ways to eat on the go such as fast food, grab-and-go foods, and the ever popular “working lunch.” When we eat mindlessly, we often overeat for a couple of reasons. First, by eating fast, we are not giving our stomachs time to communicate with our brains that we are feeling full (this takes about twenty minutes). Second, we don’t think about the food, our minds are elsewhere, and we can easily forget that we just ate.

Remember Green Goes With Everything

Five Green Hot Tips

1. Go into your bathroom and take stock of all your lotions and potions.
2. Read the labels. Start with your shampoo, makeup, or moisturizer.
3. Notice how much fragrance is in your products, and ask yourself, “Do I really need scent in these products?”
4. Pick one product a week to replace with a safer, greener choice, or make a clean sweep.
5. Look in the mirror and see yourself glow... just not from the chemicals!

Contact LQ Wellness for wonderful green, safe, natural personal care products.

Have a great week and remember a better tomorrow starts with what you eat today!

Do you have a favorite meatless recipe you would like to share with us? Send it my way!

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

Lisa

LQ WELLNESS

Professional Wellness Coach

973-383-0955

lisaquinnwc@embarqmail.com

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“To eat is a necessity but to eat intelligently is an art.”

~La Rochefoucauld~