MEATLESS MONDAY

One Step At a Time....

You Can Go Meatless One Day For All Three Meals

Shift To Plant Foods for Better Health

Cut back on animal foods such as meats and cheese and shift to more organic, locally grown plant foods, including beans, vegetables and grains, to slash your carbon footprint. All the attention on climate change brings into focus the role you can play to help protect our planet through your everyday food choices.

Choosing a plant-based diet that emphasizes fruits, vegetables, beans, lentils, soy foods, grains, nuts, and seeds over animal foods has the biggest impact on lowering your carbon footprint. Meat requires many more pounds than its weight in grain feed, which has to grown, irrigated, processed, packaged, and shipped.

Choosing organically grown and raised products has less impact on the environment because fewer chemical pesticides and fertilizers are used. Organic animal products have no synthetic hormones or antibiotics.

Eating locally produced foods reduces greenhouse gas emissions by lowering the number of miles your food travels.A little research can reveal local farms, food cooperatives, community supported agriculture (CSA), and farmers markets. Of course, it doesn't get any more local than your own backyard. Growing your own food, even if it's a window box of herbs or vegetables, or a rented plot in a community garden is ideal, organic and healthy.

Healthy Meatless Recipe: Chili Stuffed Peppers

(Courtesy of Susan Voisin)

If you don’t want to go to the trouble of stuffing peppers, this chili makes a delicious filling for tortillas.

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, chopped fine
• 1 large portabello mushroom, diced
• 1 jalapeño pepper, minced (or more to taste)
• 1 16-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed well (or 1 1/2 cups cooked black beans)
• 1 1/2 cup corn kernels, fresh or frozen
• 1 15-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder* (or more, to taste)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 red bell peppers
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet or saucepan. Add the onion and cook, stirring often until it softens, about 4 minutes. (Add a splash of water as necessary to prevent sticking.) Add the mushrooms and jalapeno and continue to cook until mushrooms soften.
2. Add black beans, corn, tomatoes, and seasonings. Cook for a few more minutes to allow most of the tomato liquid to cook off.
3. Preheat oven to 400F.
4. While the chili is cooking, prepare the peppers by cutting them in half through the stem end, removing the seeds and membranes, and rinsing the insides to make sure all the seeds are out. Check to see if they will stand upright, and if not, peel a strip off of the back side. Oil a baking dish big enough for the peppers (or line it with parchment paper). Fill each pepper half with the chili and place it in the baking dish. Bake until peppers are tender, about 40 minutes.
5. Sprinkle each pepper with sliced green onions and serve hot.

*Note: I used Penzey’s Chili 9000, a chili powder that contains cumin, oregano, and other spices as well as chiles. Depending on the spiciness and flavor of your chili powder, you may need to add more or less.

Preparation time: 10 minute(s) | Cooking time: 50 minute(s)

Number of servings (yield): 5

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Healthy Weekly Motivator: Focus On Fruit

Fruits are not only delicious, but also an essential component of a healthy diet! They are full of cancer-fighting antioxidants and have enough fiber to help you stay full on less. Fresh fruit is best, but frozen and canned (without sugar) also has it's benefits. Dried fruit is nutritious as well but less filling, so be mindful of serving size!

Make fruit part of your routine this week. Add a daily dose at breakfast, as a mid-day snack, or for dessert. If you are already consistently enjoy fruit each day add one more piece to the mix! Not only will you be getting more nutrients, you'll likely have less room for processed snacks.

Are you struggling with excess weight that won't come off no matter what you try?

Do you wish you could have more energy and less stress in your daily life?

Would you like to take charge of your health so you can feel as good as you did when you were younger?

Do you know what you should be doing to feel and look better but would like someone to support you and hold you accountable for making those changes?

I'm here to help! Working together with you, I will create a personalized program that will help you feel your best and reach your health goals.  I'll support you every step of the way to help you achieve lasting changes that will make you healthier and happier. Take the first step and schedule a complimentary ½ hour health breakthrough session to find out how an integrative approach to health can help you.

Have a great week everyone and remember a better tomorrow starts with what you eat today!
Send me your favorite meatless recipe so we can share with all!    

Wishing you health and wellness from the inside out,

Lisa

Professional Wellness Coach

973-383-0955

lisaquinnwc@embarqmail.com

" Our bodies are our gardens - our wills are our gardeners."

                       ~ William Shakespeare ~