BlogHers ACT Canada

Day One: Dear Diary, pass the Beano

posted by motherbumper

This morning, over in my little corner of the 'sphere, I bragged to the reader, scratch that world that I was going to be all organized like and tackle NoMeatPoWeek with zeal.  Yet here I am, having to go the grocery store tomorrow because I forgot about tomorrow night (and the night after that).  I just dove in, with ingredients for one meal and forgot the meaning of "Week" in NoMeatPoWeek.

NoMeatPoWeek

We've been eating one meatless meal per week through the month of January, and now it's time for the ultimate meatless meal challenge!

Bloghers ACT Canada is teaming up with two blog forces to be reckoned with, the League of Maternal Justice and Green Mom Finds, to bring you (drumroll please...)

Naomi's Veggie-Focussed Meal Plan

Contributed to BlogHers ACT Canada by Naomi of Urbanmummy

Going (almost) meatless isn't that difficult, but it does take a little planning. Eating lower on the food chain is one very easy way to lower your environmental footprint and make a difference.

If you are used to eating meals focussed around the meat, it can be daunting to cut it out completely.If you are not ready to give it up however, try lessening the focus of your meal from the meat to the other dishes.  Including one or more meatless meals each week will help.  For the meals where you do include meat, try reducing the amount. Aim for 1/3 meat, 1/3 vegetable, 1/3 grain. Choosing whole grains and brightly coloured vegetables will add some variety to your meals, as well as increasing the nutritional value.

Grilled Veggie Sandwich...plus some exciting news!

So how is everyone doing with their meatless meals?  I found this week a struggle, I’ll admit.  I planned out our meals for the week, as usual, but then realized I had forgotten to build in a meatless night.  Well, I’m here to tell you this week, that if you normally eat meat with your lunch or breakfast, omitting meat from these meals counts, too!

Endocrine Disruptors: Documentary Needs You!

Here at BlogHers ACT Canada, we've spent a good deal of our efforts participating in the effort to ban Bisphenol A from the Canadian marketplace.  It probably won't come as a surprise to you that there are more synthetic chemicals affecting women, children and men out there.

Eco-fabulous Living

There's a terrific new blog out there that will be of interest to readers of BlogHers ACT Canada.  It's called "Green Mom Finds" and features the writings of super blogging moms Izzy, Cristina, Amy, Debbie, Elizabeth and Kris.

The site is an excellent resource for environmental news, product information, and even features a contests and giveaway section.

Click on the logo below to check them out!

Meatless Meals Week 2: Bring on the Beans

As usual, I spent some time this Sunday afternoon planning out our meals for the week ahead.  There are a few things I need to consider, like whether there will be evenings I won't be home, rendering my husband virtually dinnerless or whether we have plans to have dinner out with friends or family.  As usual (but especially this month), I was sure to throw a meatless night into the mix.  In fact, I think we deserve some bonus points this week...without even planning to, we ate meatless Sunday, too, which means we'll have TWO meatless meals under our belts this week.  See how easy it is?

Now, if you're having a little trouble wrapping your head around reducing your intake of meat, consider this sentence that I recently read in my university Nutrition text book: "Vegetarians have been shown to have lower risks for obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure , and some types of cancer."

Makes you think twice, doesn't it?

Eating beans of a variety other than your garden variety green beans was an acquired taste for me, but now I eat them a couple of times a week.  There is such a wide variety of beans available in most grocery stores, that ensuring enough protein and fiber is added to your diet in lieu of the meat you're sacrificing should be a snap (kidney beans, black beans, pinto beans are just a few).  (Incidentally, I noticed that Kalyn Denny has written a great article about beans over at BlogHer.  Go!  Read!)

This week I'll be making one of my favourite recipes, Spicy Black Bean Soup. This particular soup is usually quite thick when it's finished, which I like.  Sometimes I plop a dollop of sour cream or guacamole on top.  If you like your soup a little thinner, you can certainly remedy the thickness by adding some additional stock, water or even wine to thin it out to your liking.  I usually serve the soup with a dish of multi-grain tortilla chips, not that this dinner needs additional fiber.

Spicy Black Bean Soup (Source: Kitchen Life, by Art Smith, p. 113)

2 tbsp. olive oil
1 med. onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds discarded, chopped
1 jalapeno, ribs and seeds discarded, chopped (I leave them in for a bit of extra heat)
2 garlic cloves, minced
3, 15- to 19-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 quart reduced-sodium chicken broth (substitute vegetable broth if you like)
1/3 cup dry sherry, optional salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Salsa, sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro for garnish, optional

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Add the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 3 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir until it gives off its aroma, about 1 minute.

2. Stir in the beans and broth.  Bring to a simmer over high heat.  Reduce the heat to medium-low and partially cover the pot.  Simmer for 30 minutes.  During the last 5 minutes, stir in the sherry, if using.

3. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and process until smooth.  Poor the pureed soup into a large bowl.  (If you have an immersible hand blender, you can puree the soup right in the pot.)  Season the soup with salt and pepper.

4.  Serve the soup hot.  Pass bowls of salsa, sour cream, and cilantro so each person can add whatever toppings he or she likes.

Makes 6 servings.

(Edited to add:  I calculated the nutritional values for this recipe using No Name Black Beans and Chicken Broth and by substituting a lower-fat No Name Vegetable Oil for olive oil.  1 serving=244 kcal, 3 g fat, 951 mg sodium, 73 mg potassium, 42 g carbohydrate, 12 g fiber, 15 g protein.  Not too shabby!)

A couple of my favourite web resources that are good sources of vegetarian dishes worth trying:

Simply Recipes' Vegetarian Recipe Archive

Farmgirl Fare (scroll down to see a list containing many great and often beautifully photographed vegetarian dishes)

 

January's Challenge: Meatless Meals!

If you’re anything like me, the concept of becoming a vegetarian seems like a very good idea...in theory. With benefits like helping to reduce cruelty to animals, improving your health and helping the environment, it seems like a no-brainer.   However, it's a transition that is very difficult for meat-lovers to make. 

My husband and I aren’t ready to take the 100% vegetarianism plunge quite yet, but we have been making a legitimate effort to eat less meat in our household, and to eat organically grown meat whenever possible.

There are more and more families who are becoming “part-time vegetarians”, choosing to opt out of meaty meals one or several times per week. As a single woman becoming a vegetarian seemed like a much more attainable goal, but I married a man who loves his steak. We only eat red meat once in awhile, and I don’t know how we’d survive Saturday mornings without our bacon...so I reduce the amount of meat we eat by cooking and serving meatless meals at least once per week, and usually more.  Several of our very favourite dishes are meatless these days.

Trying to rid yourself of those extra holiday pounds? Going meatless is a great way to reduce the fat intake in your diet, and could help you attain your weight loss goal more quickly.  If reducing the amount of protein in your diet is a concern for you, consider replacing meat with other high-protein food items such as beans and tofu.  Your colon will thank you!

January’s challenge at BlogHers ACT Canada is to eat one meatless meal per week.  Throw out the meat and potatoes and bring on the beans and greens!  If you’re not a full-time vegetarian, going meatless on occasion is a good alternative.  Do you go meatless? Share some of your favourite vegetarian meals here in the comments section throughout the month of January.

This week’s meatless meal in our household is Moroccan Chick Pea Soup.  My husband and I eat this about once a month, it’s just that good.  Don’t let the word “Moroccan” in the title scare you off...I have written about this recipe on my own blog before, and I offer up the recipe to any friend who will listen.  The recipe calls for chicken stock, but to really go meatless, you could substitute it for vegetable stock.  I first saw this dish cooked on FoodTV Canada, and found it later online.  The printout is soggy and messy now, I’ve used it so many times.  It’s high in protein, an excellent source of folate, lycopene (a heart disease and cancer fighter) and antioxidants and I promise, the smell of garlic, cinnamon, cumin and paprika simmering away on your stove is simply irresistible.  Give it a try and let me know how you like it!