MEATLESS MONDAY

One Step At a Time....

You Can Go Meatless One Day For All Three Meals

Heart disease is the number one killer in America today. Should all people try to give up meat one day a week and go on a plant-based diet? Absolutely and this is why. Autopsies were done on the deceased bodies of the battle casualties of the wars in Korea and Vietnam. These young men were an average age of 21 years at the time that we examined their coronary arteries and already 80% had gross evidence of coronary artery disease. Of course a doctor had not diagnosed these young men with coronary artery disease but their arteries were already loaded with it. What was going to happen to them 20 or 30 years later?

Another consequence of eating the Standard American Diet is that at the age of 50, most Americans begin developing unidentified white spots in their brain that we now know are tiny little strokes. We see this repeatedly when people come in for MRI tests. Even if someone doesn’t have symptoms of coronary heart disease, these little strokes can begin to develop until the memory goes sour when they reach age 70 and they lose their cognition. These strokes come from too much cholesterol and fat from meat protein and dairy. There are so many other diseases besides heart disease that you are going to encounter if you continue to eat the Standard American Diet. Why do you want to have the opportunity to go into your senior years and not have all your cognition, all your intellect right on top? Why would you want to be someone who has severe personality changes, multiple strokes, in a rest home or nursing home? Eat a plant-based diet so that you can be there to enjoy your family, your children, your grandchildren and ideally your great great grand children!

Let's all try to go meatless one day a week for all three meals! Your body will love you for doing so!

Meatless Monday Recipe: Vegetable Enchiladas (courtesy of Judy S.Gosnell) Your typical vegetarian enchiladas are mostly cheese. That's not the case with this version, loaded with fresh spinach, corn, carrots, orange bell pepper and two types of beans.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 3 qts. baby spinach
• 1 cup frozen corn
• About 1 can (19 oz.) enchilada sauce
• 9 all-corn tortillas, quartered
• 1 cup refried beans
• 1/2 cup shredded carrots
• 1 orange bell pepper, chopped
• About 1 cup cooked rinsed black beans
• 1 cup plus 2 tbsp. shredded Monterey jack cheese
• 6 tablespoons chopped green onions

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add spinach and cook, stirring as needed, until almost completely wilted. Add corn and cook until hot. Set aside.

2. Put 6 ovenproof baking dishes* (each about 12-oz. capacity) on a rimmed baking sheet. Working with one dish at a time, spoon in 2 tbsp. enchilada sauce. Top with 2 tortilla quarters, 2 rounded tbsp. each refried beans and black beans, 1 tbsp. cheese, and 2 more tortilla quarters, pushing tortillas down gently as you layer them over cheese and beans. Spoon in 1/3 cup (packed) vegetable mixture, then 2 more tortilla quarters, 3 tbsp. enchilada sauce, and 2 tbsp. cheese. Repeat layering with remaining dishes.

3. Bake enchiladas until bubbling, cheese is melted, and tortillas are starting to brown on edges, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions.

*Or use a 9- by 13-in. baking dish, spreading one-third of sauce over bottom; top with one-third of tortillas, the beans, one-third of cheese, one-third of tortillas, the vegetable mixture, remaining tortillas, remaining sauce, and remaining cheese.

Enjoy!

Healthy Weekly Motivator: It's Good To Go Bad

A food's expiration date is a good indication of how processed it is. If your food takes years to expire, it's probably full of preservatives and artificial ingredients. Fresh produce, on the other hand, takes just days or weeks to meet its demise.

Pick up good health this week by choosing foods that go bad. Start today by selecting some recipes that include fresh foods. If you have a plan you'll be able to enjoy your ingredients while they're fresh!

Do you have a meatless recipe you would like to share with us? Send it my way and I will post it !

It is much easier to win a battle than to try to win an entire war! It is also much easier to prevent a battle in the first place. Support your body and practice going meatless one day a week! By doing so you will keep your body well fed and strong!

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

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

Lisa

LQ WELLNESS

professional Wellness Coach

973-383-09955

lisaquinnwc@embarqmail.com

"Sugar is a type of bodily fuel, yes, but your body runs about as well on it as a car would."

                                        ~ V. L. Allineare ~