Busy week

Hey followers!  Or should I say follower cause I only have 1 (thanks Ottav).

Another busy week.  Knockout roses and foxglove planted.  Check.  Kids survived another week of school.  Check.  Beth has no after effects of the half marathon.  Check.  Fighting off the weeds in the yard and the kudzu bugs in the air.  Check.  Pressure wash the house.  Half check since the sides still need work but big thanks to my dad who supplied the pressure washer and was a huge help, without him this would be unchecked.  Convincing Ali that vacuuming is awesome.  Check.  Cooking all vegetarian meals for the fam.  Check.

Still sticking to the plan, we had lots of good food this week with only minor complaints from the kids for homemade hummus and also for avocado.  Here is the meal rundown.

Monday - Veggie plate with homemade hummus and ranch (for the kids).  Hummus is pretty easy to make if you have a good food processor and you like hummus.  I use a can of garbanzos, cannellini beans will also suffice and seem to make a smoother hummus.  Either way make sure they are rinsed and drained but reserve the juice in case your hummus is a little chunky and you want to pour some in to smooth it out.  Juice of a lemon, couple tablespoons of tahini (they sell it in a can at Publix or Kroger), couple of cloves of garlic or roasted garlic out of the jar, tablespoon of cumin, dash of paprika, salt and pepper to taste, and let the processor rip.

We followed that up with a vegetable paella.  Similar to your usual paella but replacing the meat with asparagus, broccoli, and garbanzo beans.

Tuesday - Fettuccine Primavera.  Just a fettuccine with low fat alfredo with some veg including peas, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. 

Wednesday - Mexican triple corn squares.  This was a hit.  Took a can of cream corn, a small can of kernel corn (drained), and a box mix for corn bread (I used one that was a little sweet) with a couple tablespoons of melted butter and 2 eggs.  Mixed it all together and threw it in a 13 x 9 pan at 400 for about 15 minutes, until it all looked set.  Pulled it out and let it slightly cool.  Cut out squares and threw it in the bottom of a bowl and covered it with all kinds of good fixins like black beans, spanish rice, fresh salsa, sour cream, cheese, avocado, etc.  Super delicious.

Thursday - Roasted eggplant and red pepper sandwich with risotto florentine.  Risotto was really good, used vegetable broth as the liquid and added garbanzo beans and spinach and finished it with some freshly shaved parm.

Its still fun to try all these new recipes although it does take a lot more time to meal plan, buy the ingredients, and cook things fresh.  If you want any more info on the recipes let me know and I can be more exact with the ingredients and directions.

As for me, I am feeling really good about it and looking forward to using more ingredients from the garden.  We will have some yellow squash in a week or so with zucchini soon to follow.  We have some tomatoes on our upside down planter but those are still a way off.  I am feeling pretty healthy as well.  I had been running on the treadmill pretty regularly but was getting bored with it and I am shifting back to lifting weights, something I haven't done seriously since college.  I am fairly sore and I am curious to see what kinds of gains I can make without the help of protein from meat.

Be good!
Otto

  

Health Risks of Red Meat

To start, I wanted to apologize for the lack of updates this week.  Beth has been training for her half marathon and has been extra busy with work which has left me with lots of dad time and little free time to post.  She ran the half this weekend and did very well, even in the downpour that covered most of the Southeast today.  We are very proud and hopefully the increase in whole grains, organic fruits and veg, and lower intake of meat helped.  Her weight is down, too.

I have felt pretty good and managed to get through the week with only one meal with meat.  I took the kids to the zoo with some friends and we went to Zesto afterwards which is an old school drive in kind of place, without the ability to drive in, and without a lot of meat free options unless you are going for ice cream.  I had some great chicken and the kids had burgers.  Otherwise, it was easy to avoid meat.

I wanted to talk about the known health problems connected with consumption of meat.  There have been countless studies done by groups on both the pro and anti-meat sides of the issue but many of the same health issues seem to be linked to eating meat.  Cancer has had a great impact on people in our family and many studies have seen a correlation between eating meat and a higher risk for cancer, especially colorectal cancer.  Increased risk for heart disease are also related to eating meat.  People that eat a lot of meat also eat a lot of refined grains and deserts so while its difficult to determine the exact cause of increased risks for this health problems, it seems clear that substituting whole grains and fresh fruits and veggies in the place of meat products can lessen your chances of cancer.  Underlying causes for cancer with meat include saturated fat, carcinogens formed when the meat is cooked, and over-consumption of iron.

If you do choose to eat meat, try to stick to cuts with loin in the name to cut down on harmful fats.  Tenderloin and sirloin have lower fat contents than other cuts of meat.  Grass fed beef is also lower in total fat and has higher levels of omega 3's which are helpful even though they are found in relatively small amounts in any red meat.  Vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds are better sources for omega 3's.  Many hormones and antibiotics are also used to raise the animals that we get our meat from so try to choose organic, local meat if you can.

Hopefully you can try to put some of these tips into practice when choosing meat, or choosing to avoid meat.  Our family history includes cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and strokes to name a few health issues.  If lowering our consumption of meat and replacing it with high quality grains, nuts, dairy, fruits, and vegetables can help to lower the risks of these afflictions for my family, we are going to give it our best try.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to comment.  I have had communication with friends that has forced me to do more research and really think about all the benefits and reasons for choosing to make this lifestyle choice.  Hopefully this info strikes something in you that makes you look at even some small changes that can benefit you and your family.  If I have time tomorrow, I hope to put up some recipes for people to try.  And if you have a favorite meat free recipe that you would like to suggest, please do so.

Eat good, feel good,
Otto

Surviving the Weekend

We made it through the work week meat free!  If you are interested in trying one of the recipes we ate here it is:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/eggplant-rollatini-recipe2/index.html

I served it with a side of spaghetti to keep the kids interested.  Ali had seconds.  Will mostly ate the cheese mixture out of his and left the eggplant alone.  In his defense, the eggplant was a little undercooked, if you make this recipe definitely give the eggplant some more time when you cook it so it softens up.

We were invited over to eat with some friends Saturday night.  We worked in the yard pretty much all day and we were famished.  I had not told Josh and Julie that we were flexing, that is the beauty of it.  You don't make friends cook something just for you, you eat what they make.  You don't sit on the sidelines eating an empty bun with a side of sad face.  Julie made a delicious chicken dish served over rice.  We definitely didn't go over board on the food.  Fresh tomato and cucumber salad.  Strawberries they had picked earlier in the day at Cottle Farms (yes it has been warm enough for strawberries) served with some ice cream.  Good food and good friends helped us survive the weekend.

So I'm feeling good, the kids haven't complained, and hopefully Beth's craving for hot dogs has passed.  Tomorrow I am going to write a little for Ottaviano who still wants answers on why I'm avoiding meat.  I'll outline the health implications for him and anyone else interested.

I'm smarter for having taught your son, he's raised some issues this year that I've never dealt with.  But its not always in a bad way, I've just always got to be on my toes.
- Mrs. Dottie, Will's preschool teacher who has been teaching for 20 years

Accountability

Thanks to all who looked at the page and took the time to comment.  Got some good posts on my Facebook page too.

I am hoping to use this page in part for accountability.  I want to let you guys know about Flexing and share lots of recipes that I find that are easy and delicious.  I also want to keep up with what I eat and track my weight.  I think that I will use Thursdays as the day that I report on how the lifestyle is going, how I am feeling, what my weight is, etc.  So here goes:

I haven't eaten meat since a hamburger on Sunday night after we got home from traveling.  I feel pretty good and haven't had a craving for meat yet.  I'm not vegan and not opposed to using animal products so I have had butter, milk, cheese, and eggs.  Egg salad sandwiches and pimento cheese sandwiches have filled the lunch meat void admirably. 

Last night I made homemade broccoli, cauliflower, and cheese hot pockets which were good but not great.  Not nearly worth the effort.  And I won't post the recipe since I probably won't make it again.  Tonight is eggplant rollatini in tomato sauce with a salad and a side of spaghetti.  So far the kids are still interested in the food and I know the pasta will help.  If its good, I'll share it with you.

I weighed in at 186 after all the Easter candy, birthday cakes, and gluttony but was already down to 184.6 this morning.  I made it to the gym this morning as well for some treadmill running which is always fun.

Going to eat with some friends on Saturday night at their house and haven't informed them about te Flexing.  And I'm not going to either.  If the meal is built on meat, I will definitely eat it and enjoy myself.  Looking forward to it.  Check back tomorrow for an update on the rollatini and I'll also provide more information on the Flexing book I am reading if you are interested.

Be excellent to each other,
Otto

Your Last Meal

I am starting a blog about the fundamental principles and advantages of eating as a Flexitarian.  Its for people that want to have all the health benefits of a vegetarian diet but can't imagine a life completely void of meat.  Basically, you eat vegetarian meals most of the time but if you are out at a baseball game and want a hot dog, you eat it.  If you are at a bbq, you have a hamburger.  As someone who has made their own bacon and stuffed their own sausage, I am a huge fan of meat and can't imagine going totally without it.

I am still learning about it myself so I am hoping that the blog will grow as my knowledge and experience grows.  I want to use this blog to track my own weight and health.  I will try to post ideas and share recipes almost every day.  Tomorrow I would like to post some of the guidelines behind the diet for people that might be interested.

My question for you today: If you could only eat one more meal, what would it be?  I'm thinking mine would be a chicken fried steak smothered with sausage gravy with a side of crispy hash browns covered with cheese.  Much like the ideas behind Flexitarianism, its not something you would want to eat everyday if you want to be healthy or at an ideal weight.  Let me know what you would want for your last meal!

Otto

PS - Please pass this blog on to anyone you think might want to learn about eating healthier, finding new recipes, or anyone else you see fit.  Thanks.