Meatless Monday: Reaches Out To School Children and Administrators

One Step At a Time...

You Can Go Meatless

For All Three Meals

School is back in session and, in many schools, so is Meatless Monday.

School systems such as the Albuquerque Public Schools in New Mexico, the Ann Arbor Public Schools in Michigan, and the Arlington County Schools of Virginia have all implemented Meatless Monday programs.

Now Meatless Monday is in hundreds of public and private schools, offering weekly lessons in healthy eating. With more school cafeterias joining the movement all the time, Meatless Monday is becoming a resource to help kids develop a lifetime of good eating habits.

School districts like San Diego Unified School District have implemented the program. Thanks to advocates like SDUSD Trustee Kevin Beiser and President John Lee Evans a county where 28 percent of the children are overweight or obese will have the chance to improve their diets and avoid heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and other chronic preventable conditions.

Now school districts like Philadelphia Public Schools which serves 85,000 meals daily, serves only meat-free options on Monday which serves 650,000 meatless meals daily—as one of the largest school systems in the United States—goes meatless on Monday. So hundreds of thousands are reducing their meat intake and increasing their consumption of whole foods—fruits, vegetables, and grains.

And very recently Wyandanch, NY  and South San Francisco Unified School District joined Bellevue School District in Washington,
Granite School District in Utah, Miami-Dade County Public Schools in Florida, and the 100+ schools and school systems involved in the meatless movement

How can you get your local school involved?

• Attend a school board meeting in your district and tell them about Meatless Monday, point to successful examples like San Diego Unified.

• Submit a signed petition to your school board president supporting a Meatless Monday resolution.

• Talk to a teacher at your child’s school, ask them what’s the best way to get an audience at the school explain to them the importance of Meatless Monday, make them your ally.

• Check out the K-12 toolkit on MeatlessMonday.org for more resources and ideas.

Take positive action and get your children's school involved.

Adapted from MeatlessMonday.org

Healthy Meatless Recipe:

Rustic Tomato Zucchini Pie with Cornmeal Crust

(Adapted from Completely Delicious)

The ingredients are flexible; you can use any seasonal veggies for the filling made with vegetables, ricotta, and herbs. It is a great savory pie that uses up summer vegetables. And don't worry if your pie-making skills are not that advanced; this recipe has fantastic instructions for making pie crust in the food processor.

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornmeal
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed
• 2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
• 1-2 tablespoons ice cold water
• 1 egg + 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash

Filling:

• 3/4 cup ricotta milk, whole or skim
• 1 large egg
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
• 1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 cup parmesan cheese, divided
• 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium zucchini, thinly sliced

Directions:

To make the crust:

1. Add flour, cornmeal, and salt to a food processor.
2. Pulse to combine. Add the cold cubed butter and pulse 3-4 times until the cubes are broken up a bit.
3. Combine the egg yolks with 1 tablespoon of the water. Add to the food processor while it is running. Continue to run until mixture begins to come together into a ball, about 5-10 seconds.
4. Add more water, if necessary. Shape into a disk, cover with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours.

To make the filling and assemble the pie:

• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Combine the ricotta cheese, egg, garlic, salt, pepper, basil, thyme, and 3/4 cup of parmesan cheese.
• On a lightly floured surface, roll the crust dough out into a rough 12-inch circle. Spread the ricotta cheese mixture in the center of the dough, leaving about 3-4 inches clear around the edges. Top with the sliced zucchini and tomatoes. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup parmesan cheese. Season with more salt and pepper.
• Fold the edges of the dough up and over the filling. Brush with egg wash. Bake on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper until crust is golden, 40-45 minutes.
• Let sit 15 minutes before serving. Can be served hot or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
  
  
  
  
  

Enjoy and Bon Appetit!

Healthy Weekly Motivator

Focus On Lifestyle Changes

Many people really struggle with working healthy habits into their lifestyles. Keeping a positive attitude is the first hurdle for most folks. One way to be proactive is to allow a little room in your expectations for less than perfect behavior.

By focusing on permanent lifestyle changes rather than fad diets and fitness trends, you will increase your chances for success.

Here are a few suggestions to keep you on track:

Don’t torture yourself with things you don’t like and won’t stick with.

Write down what you want to accomplish and be as specific as possible. When your motivation is low, review what you wrote. Your own words are very powerful.

Solicit social support. Know what kind of support you need to reach your goals. It might be one friend to confide in or a larger, more structured support group.

Set realistic and flexible goals.

Remember Green Goes with Everything

Going Green Save You Money

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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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“Good habits formed at youth make all the difference.”

~Aristotle~