One Meal at a Time

My parents came over for Easter dinner yesterday.  And as we were sitting in the living room, visiting and waiting for the Ham to cook- we started talking about food.  I'll summarize for you, but basically- my Dad, who does all the grocery shopping and cooking was stating how the price of meat (not organic meat) has gone up.  How it's difficult to feed all 8 people in their household with the rising costs of food in general.

I totally get it.  Food is expensive.  And good food is extremely expensive.  Sadly, the cost of organic is out of reach for many.  And yes- I know you can coupon, shop the sales, buy in bulk....yada, yada.  I know how to save at the grocery store.  So let's just put that aside for now.  The fact of the matter is that organic food costs a shit ton more then conventional.  There are less coupons and less sales on these items and typically the packaging is smaller.  So not only are you paying more, but you're also getting less.

For my parents, and I'm sure many others out there, eating 100% organic is simply out of reach.

So as the conversation progressed, I expressed to my parents that instead of stressing out about the rising costs of meat, how about simply eating less of it?  This will save you money, I said.  Plus it's better for you!  I went over some alternatives that are healthier and cheaper- foods like lentils, barley, beans and quinoa.  These items are very easy to make, most people like them and they are cheap.  Even the organic versions are fairly inexpensive.

Now, my Dad, who is a MEAT LOVER- said this will simply not work at their house.  Everyone in their household eats meat daily, almost at every single meal.  Is your house like this?  I'm sure you can relate....bacon or sausage with breakfast, ham sandwich for lunch, chicken at dinner and then repeat.  Day in and day out.  Trust me- I know.  I grew up eating this way and for the first few years after moving out, I continued eating this way.

So here's the question that I posed to my Dad and I want you all to really think about what your own answer would be.

If you knew 100%, without a doubt, that eating meat every single day would give you cancer, would you continue to eat it?

Then I followed up with this question-

If you knew that reducing the amount of meat you eat would drastically cut your risks for getting cancer, would you eat less meat?

Now, you may be thinking....geez, that's a pretty crazy question.  But the reality is that eating lots of meat, especially conventional meat, will increase your odds for disease, especially cancer.  Google it- no joke.

So here's what I challenged my parents to do.  Simply start by making one day, one meal without any meat.  Do not add meat to the side, do not center your meal around meat and do not cheat and go eat a turkey sandwich later.  Just make the decision that you will make one night per week meatless and stick to it!  You have to start somewhere and there is nothing wrong with taking baby steps.  That's how my husband and I did it, so I know it works!

I sent my parents home with a fool proof recipe, Quinoa with Black Beans, Corn & Cilantro.  It combines yummy Mexican flavors with beans and quinoa for a protein packed, satisfying vegetarian entree.  It's easy to make and can easily be doubled or tripled to feed a larger household.  And best of all- it's cost efficient!

They said they will give it a try and I hope you will too!  Challenge yourself and your family- making positive changes doesn't have to be difficult, it can be as simple as making one meal.

Want to read more?

• So You Want to Eat Less Meat?
• An Organic Cow is a Special Cow

Interested in finding out more about the amazing benefits to adopting a more meat free life?  I highly recommend you check out the documentaries, Forks Over Knives and Vegucated.  And of course, if you haven't watched Food Inc yet- you simply MUST!  Here's a short clip below from Forks Over Knives.

So You Want to Eat Less Meat?

Yay!  Let me do a little happy dance for you!  I'm SO excited you're here!  But let me guess- you're confused?  Overwhelmed?  Concerned?  Am I right?

So how exactly are you going to eat less meat?  Well, let me share my story and my family's story with you.

First you should know that my husband LOVES red meat.  Loves, loves, loves it.  And I was pretty much a vegetarian when I met him.  At first, his eating habits rubbed off on me.  We spent the first 5+ years of our relationship eating lots and lots of meat.

Then my "awakening" happened.  For many people I meet, this usually happens about the time you are starting to feed your own child.  There's nothing like introducing your precious baby to solid food for the first time and worrying about all the chemicals and pesticides.  This is exactly what happened to me.

Below is a breakdown of how my family changed our eating habits and drastically reduced the amount of meat we eat.  I've separated it out for you in easy to tackle monthly sections.  My suggestion is to just focus on each month's tasks before moving on to the next.  So even though this is a monthly list, for some of you- it may take longer.  Perhaps each section will take two months, maybe 6 months, maybe a year.  That's ok- take all the time you need to make this stick! 

By the end of this, you will only be eating meat occasionally, should be eating more organic foods, considering going vegan, visiting the drive thru less often and eating much more fruit and veggies.  Oh yeah- and you'll feel SO much better!  Good luck, I know you can do it!

Month 1

• Start by making one day per week meatless.  My suggestion is Monday because I love how Meatless Monday sounds and it's super easy to remember.
• At the same time, find one meat that you can reduce or better yet, eliminate from your diet.  For us, this was pork.  But I have to admit that this was easy for us because I haven't eaten pork in almost 20 years.  And since I'm the cook in my household, I just didn't buy it.  My recommendation is to figure out which meat you eat the LEAST and just stop eating it all together.  Note- that occasionally my boys do eat bacon or ham.  Usually if we are out and they order a bacon burger or at someone's house and they serve ham or something.  But for the most part, there's no pork in my house, ever.

Month 2

• Add another 2 days per week that are meatless.  If you've already been doing Meatless Mondays, then Wednesdays and Fridays are easy enough to add in and easy to remember.  M, W & F- all meatless.
• Eliminate one fast food restaurant that you know does not have good quality meat.  My suggestion is Taco Bell or Burger King- both of which are notorious for using horse meat.  Eww!
• Add in one new restaurant that you don't usually eat at that has healthier options.  We like Panera or Chipotle.  Note- I said healthIER.  I fully realize it is not health food but it is guaranteed much better then Taco Bell or Burger King.

Month 3

Did you know?

• Continue with your 3 days per week of meatless meals at home.  If you're feeling brave, shoot for another day.  But remember that slow and steady wins the race!  Don't overdo it or it will never stick!
• Start buying some organic meats this month if you aren't already doing so.  Price is much higher but remember that you're not eating as much of it.
• Find another meat or meat item that you can eliminate from your diet.  Think of removing all chicken or go for something easier like no more cold cuts.
• Time to taste test some recipes with natural meat substitutes.  Do not buy "vegetarian" frozen entrees because many of these contain soy protein isolate- this stuff is no bueno!  We love lentils, barley, beans and quinoa.

Month 4

• Time to experiment with your meals.  Make the change to 5 days per week of meatless meals and try making the same things you normally do, only removing the meat.  For example, Chicken Noodle Soup without the chicken.  Or Beef and Bean burritos- just the beans.  Try your hand at converting some of your favorite meals to vegetarian or vegan entrees.  Dishes like meatloaf or burgers can easily be made with lentils or beans instead. 
• Eliminate another poor fast food choice.  May I suggest getting rid of McDonald's?
• Get rid of all factory farmed frozen convenience items- like Tyson chicken nuggets or anything with the name Butterball.  While your at it- think about getting rid of all convenience and pre-packaged items, they simply are not good for you.

Month 5

• Add another meatless meal to your week for a total of 6 days per week.
• Make the switch to organic cold cuts, hot dogs and the occasional frozen chicken nuggets.  If you must have convenience foods- make better choices.  We love Applegate!
• Remove another yucky fast food option and while your at it- try to cut back on eating out.  It's bad for you any ways.
• Consider freezer cooking, meal planning and preparation so that you won't be tempted to hit the drive thru for a quick meal.
• Work on changing the way you shop.  When in the grocery store- you should keep mainly to the outer isles.  This is where the real food is-you know, the stuff that doesn't come in a box.

Month 6

• Work on adding more veggies to your diet.  It's almost impossible to eat the recommended servings, we like smoothies for added protein and much needed nutrients!
• When buying meat- you should only be purchasing high quality, organic meats.  No more factory farmed products!
• Ready to eliminate that last day and shoot for 7 days of meatless meals?  You should now be in the mindset that meat is an occasional thing.  We eat meat "occasionally" or once every couple weeks when we are at home. 
• Go Organic!

Whew!  You've reached the end.  How'd you do?  I hope you've found that making this switch and eating less meat has been worthwhile for you and your family.  I know that it has personally made a big difference in my family's health and I'm proud of the choices we've made.  Yes, we do still eat meat.  We love it, it tastes great and it's a nice break from all those beans and lentils!  However, we are much more aware of what we are eating and the effects meat has on our health.  This post is all about making better choices to live a longer, healthier life.  And if my meat loving husband can do it, so can you!

And finally- here's a video below on factory farming.  It's very touching and eye opening, I hope you'll take a moment to watch it.

An Organic Cow is a Special Cow

My Dad and many others have always made fun of me because I like to eat meat that has lived the good life.  You know- raised with love and care, fed off the land and no nasty chemicals, hormones or antibiotics.  Last Christmas- to his horror, I paid well over $50 for a turkey that had lived such a life.  Seriously, this turkey was treated like a King and then he fed my family.  Thank you turkey.  You were tasty.

But in all seriousness- it's very important to know where your meat comes from and what it's eaten, how it's
been raised, how it's been killed.  Why you ask?  Why is it so important?  Well the meat industry is the largest consumers of antibiotics.  That's right- these animals you are eating are full of them.  Yuck- poor critters.  Then of course is the fact that sanitation, factory farming and unethical treatment of animals also occurs.  Every time you make a choice not to spend your money on the cheap $1.99 ground beef at the grocery store- you are taking a stand for these animals.  Vote with your dollars folks!

Ok, now that we got that out of the way...what meat is ok to eat?  Well, for beef- we only eat organic grass fed beef.  It's expensive.  Take a deep breath because this switch is going to hit your grocery budget more then any other.  Grass fed cows are allowed to fatten up naturally on, you guessed it- grass.  It's food comes from the pasture and it's not finished up with a diet of grains, hormones & supplements.  This is a much more humane way for the cow to gain weight.  This is also healthier for the consumer because the cow's diet means it's less fatty overall and has more healthy fats- this is a good thing.  Plus we aren't eating the bi-products that this cow has consumed.  And that's not even taking into account the environmental benefits of allowing a cow to graze as nature intended.  This is simply, a Win-Win for all involved.

Now let's move on to chicken.  We are not big chicken eaters.  In fact, my husband and son really don't care for it.  However, every once in awhile I will buy a whole organic chicken or some organic chicken breasts.  Buy local if you can and always organic.  I also really try to find "free-range" organic chickens.  Free range simply means that my little chicken has been allowed to run freely outside.  He can stretch his little chicken legs and run wild with the wind flapping through his wings.  This makes me happy.  Plus it's SO much healthier for the chicken.  Remember Food Inc.?

Fish.  Try as hard as I can but I just can NOT get my husband and son to eat seafood.  Shrimp is pushing it, salmon- maybe.  But that's about it.  However, every so often I will buy some mahi mahi or halibut and do my best to get them to at least try it.  This usually ends up with my husband escaping upstairs because "ah God it stinks" and my son sitting at the dinner table with a chip clip over his nose.  So I will be honest here and say that I just don't buy it that much.  It's expensive and usually I'm the only one who ends up eating it.  But when I do buy it, I buy local, fresh & wild.  There's really no such thing as organic seafood.  Although researchers are working on it.  But they are also working on the frankenfish.  So I think I'll pass- for now.

That brings me to pork.  I don't buy it because we pretty much don't eat it.  I personally haven't had it in over 15 years.  I made the choice way back in junior high school that I didn't want to eat the cute little piggies.  I still don't.  When my husband married me, I warned him there would be no pork sausage, no "real" bacon, no pork roasts etc prepared at our house.  So the only time he really gets pork is if he orders a bacon burger.  My Dad also makes a mean ham for Easter and both my boys love it.  This is pretty much the extent of our pork consumption.

I buy our beef from a fairly local farm, Blue Valley Meats.  Our poultry comes from a local grocery chain, PCC.  Even my Christmas turkey who lived like a King, came from a somewhat local turkey farm, The Diestel Family Turkey Ranch and was delivered to PCC with my name on it.  Yep- that's Chrissie's happy Christmas turkey.

For things like hot dogs, lunch meats, pepperoni and other processed meats- I love Applegate Farms.  It tastes good, it's not too expensive and their products are free of processed junk, plus it's organic.  We don't eat processed meats frequently but when we do, this is the brand I usually buy.

Now- as far as the grocery budget goes, this switch to organic meats has hurt my grocery budget the most.  Compare the price of $1.99/lb for regular ground beef  to organic, grass fed beef at $6.99/lb this is almost 4 times the price.  4 times!  Yikes!  So my answer to keeping myself somewhat in budget was to simply buy less meat.  I just can't afford to feed my family meat at every meal and it's really a lot healthier for you if you don't.  So learn how to cook healthy meat free meals and incorporate meat into your diet perhaps once or twice per week instead of daily.  The easiest way to do this is to simply start by making Mondays meatless.  That's right, Meatless Monday.  Yay!

And the last step- please watch the documentary Forks Over Knives.  Like Food Inc., it will be life changing for you.  I promise.  Here's a clip of the trailer below.  The premise behind Forks Over Knives is that we can prevent and reverse common diseases by simply eating a plant based diet.  That's amazing.  And I must confess that it's my deepest desire to convert my family to veganism.  I'm working on it.  I hope you'll think about it too!

It's Meatless Monday! Lentil Chili Time!

That's right folks- it's Meatless Monday up in this hizzouse!!  Hmm...is that even how you spell it? Clearly I am lacking in the slang department.  But you all understand what I'm laying down for you, right?  It's Monday.  It's Meatless.  It's Meatless Monday!

Years ago we started our journey to better eating, by simply making Monday's meatless.  This has evolved into a mostly vegetarian diet for the Homeschooled Housewife- much to my husband's irritation.  Oh well- you'll live longer to gripe at me.  Get over it.

For those of you considering going meatless- may I suggest you start with lentils?  If you've got a meat & potatoes loving husband like I do- lentils are a very good substitute.  I've even made lentil meatloaf & he had no idea there wasn't any meat in it.  No Idea!  Now that's amazing.  Lentils- you get my vote!  So let's start with lentils then, shall we.  One of my all time favorite recipes is Lentil Chili.  It's easy, filling, tastes good, cheap to make & can easily be frozen.  All the things I love out of a recipe!

The original recipe can be found by clicking here, although my altered version is much better.  So why bother?

Here's my recipe for Lentil Chili-

Almost done! 

6 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 1/2 cups rinsed lentils (not cooked)
1 15oz can tomato sauce
1 32 oz can diced tomatoes
3 15 oz cans kidney beans
1/2 small can diced green chilis
1 large onion, cut up
3 Tablespoons chili powder
2 1/2-3 teaspoons cumin
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
splash tabasco

Basically you dump all of the ingredients but 1 can of kidney beans & lentils into a large pot & bring to a boil.  Then turn down to low- no reason to scald the poor pot. Once you've boiled it long enough, get out your immersion blender.  Your what?  Immersion blender- you need one, trust me.  Click here to see what mine looks like.  Ok- so now you've whipped out your immersion blender- so blend baby, blend!  I like to leave a few chunks for texture & the hubby says he likes to see what he's eating.  Bwahhaha- like he has a clue!

Now add your leftover can of kidney beans & the lentils to the pot. Cook this on low for at least an hour- the longer, the better.  You may want to adjust the seasonings depending on your spice tolerance.  I'm a wimp, so we keep it light. You can totally add some green peppers, garlic, other types of beans, carrots, etc- this recipe is so easily adaptable.  However, it's one of my go-to "easy meals".  You know the ones folks- you dump & run.  So really, the less prep work, the better!

Lentil Chili-serve w/cheese & sour cream.

And there you have it.  Lentil Chili.  I serve it with a little shredded cheddar cheese & a scoop of sour cream.  I also use only organic ingredients because well....it's just better for you.  Look up GMO's.  Better yet, read my post the March against Monsanto- GMO's if you are scratching your head in confusion.

Now- if you're a step ahead, like I pretend to be sometimes- you'll double this batch & freeze half.  My tip for freezing meals is to put it in the fridge overnight, then in the morning, fill up a large storage sized ziploc bag & label, label, label.  For goodness sakes- label it!  You'll thank me later.

Enjoy!