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I went vegetarian over a year ago because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. My sister-in-love, Dianne gave me a DVD from the RAVE diet and it changed my mind about food and health. As a result, I went "all in" and completely revolutionized my lifestyle. This blog will be in part about my journey and the results I achieved. It will be about encouraging you to achieve similar or better results. It will be a forum for ideas and recipes. It will be a resource for folks that want to embrace the vegetarian lifestyle, but also want to eliminate refined foods from their diet. I am a very practical girl. I will apply common sense to what I'm doing and will not be fanatical. I did not go vegetarian because of my love for animals although I am an animal lover. I'm not strictly vegetarians as I will eat fish once every two or three months. I just want to be the healthiest that I can be. Period. I invite you to join me on our continuing journey.

AOL Health Article that ran on 1/12/09

Eating less meat is a proven way to lighten up on the scale. Research shows that vegetarians weigh an average 20% less than nonvegetarians. George Washington School of Medicine researchers found that women who followed a vegan diet for 14 weeks lost 2 1/2 times as much weight as those who limited fat intake. There's no need to go cold turkey--just eating less meat can make a difference. In a Brigham Young University study of 284 women, 53% of those who typically averaged about 10 ounces of meat a day were overweight, compared with 16% of those who ate less than 6 ounces. Plant-based foods are naturally low in calories and high in nutrients and satiating fiber, so you feel full without overdoing it, says Gabrielle M. Turner-McGrievy, RD. A cup of lentil soup, a small handful of nuts, or 1/4 cup of chickpeas tossed with whole-wheat pasta and veggies are all good protein-rich swaps. Not ready to nix meat altogether? Start by trying three vegetarian dinners a week for a month to allow your tastebuds to adjust. (Trust us, they will--in another weight loss study of new vegetarians versus low-fat dieters, a third more of the vegetarians had stuck with the diet a year later.) Courtesy of AOL Health

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Let's do lunch! Ideas for a quick nutrious lunch

Veggie Wraps
If you do your roasting in advance, say, enough for dinner with rice or polenta the remaining will make a terrific lunch re-heated...
Roast a platter of onions, red peppers, green peppers, portabella mushrooms, carrots, and cauliflower at 400* for 45 minutes – make sure the veggies are cut to the same thickness 11/2 to 2 inches thick.
Warm flour tortillas in the microwave with ½ ounce of feta cheese/ or/ spread with hummus.
Wrap the roasted veggies into the tortilla with fresh spinach, raw shredded carrots, and bean sprouts. Serve right away.

Hummus Sandwich
2 slices of Ezekiel sprouted bread toasted spread with hummus. Top with tomato slices drizzled with balsamic vinegar. Optional top with bean sprouts.

Cheese Sandwich
Two slices of Ezekiel bread toasted.
Mix ¼ cup of fat free ricotta cheese with 1 heaping tablespoon of parmesan/asiago mixed cheese. Serve with a tomato and herb soup - I use V8 herbed tomatoe!

Black Bean Burgers
I use Morning Star burgers
Heat them according to directions
Place the burger on an Ezekiel English muffin half
Top with tomato slice, avocado, salsa, low-fat sour cream, and shredded salad.

Peanut butter banana smoothie
Cut up one banana per person into small bites and freeze for 30 minutes or longer. When frozen, add to a blender with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter per person and ½ cup of Vanilla flavored rice milk. Blend and serve immediately. Cold and creamy on a hot summer afternoon.

Apples and Organic peanut butter
The thing with this is to limit your portions of peanut butter but sometimes this simple meal is just enough and just delish!

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