Meatless Mondays!

Whether you're the type of person has has lots of meatless days of the week or the type that orders their steaks at a restaurant "still mooing" (y.i.k.e.s.) the concept of "Meatless Mondays" can still rock! I think I originally heard of this concept as more of a health based suggestion. It's true, reducing the amount of meat you consume weekly can be extremely healthy for you! 

Check out this list from www.meatlessmonday.com -

• LIMIT CANCER RISK: Hundreds of studies suggest that diets high in fruits and vegetables may reduce cancer risk. Both red and processed meat consumption are associated with colon cancer.
• REDUCE HEART DISEASE: Recent data from a Harvard University study found that replacing saturated fat-rich foods (for example, meat and full fat dairy) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fat (for example, vegetable oils, nuts and seeds) reduces the risk of heart disease by 19%
• FIGHT DIABETES: Research suggests that higher consumption of red and processed meat increase the risk of type 2 diabetes.
• CURB OBESITY: People on low-meat or vegetarian diets have significantly lower body weights and body mass indices. A recent study from Imperial College London also found that reducing overall meat consumption can prevent long-term weight gain.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with increases in total mortality, cancer mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality.
• IMPROVE YOUR DIET. Consuming beans or peas results in higher intakes of fiber, protein, folate, zinc, iron and magnesium with lower intakes of saturated fat and total fat. 

 I don't know about you, but for me the words mixed up in the bullet points above are some of the scariest one's I've ever come across. Cancer?! Diabetes?! Obesity?! and of course LIVING LONGER - that's a big one! Might be worth throwing in some "Meatless Mondays". 

For me "Meatless Mondays" mean even more to me than just the benefits we've already talked about. I really (really really really really) love animals. I really am struggling lately with how ridiculously cruel our nation is to animals. I think I was made so much more aware of this while I was in Australia and there was no concerns of pregnant pigs being so caged up they will never in their LIFE do anything other than lay down or stand up - literally MILLIONS of them, forced into a constant state of pregnancy, injections and hormones. SO SO sad and quite frankly down right disgusting. That fact - I learned from a site I subscribe to, and their investigations of Tyson industries. (you may want to steer clear of all things Tyson ever day of the week!) 

All around environmentally though, here are some benefits to "Meatless Mondays":

• REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization estimates the meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of the man-made greenhouse gas emissions that are accelerating climate change worldwide . . . far more than transportation. And annual worldwide demand for meat continues to grow. Reining in meat consumption once a week can help slow this trend.
• MINIMIZE WATER USAGE. The water needs of livestock are tremendous, far above those of vegetables or grains. An estimated 1,800 to 2,500 gallons of water go into a single pound of beef. Soy tofu produced in California requires 220 gallons of water per pound.
• HELP REDUCE FOSSIL FUEL DEPENDENCE. On average, about 40 calories of fossil fuel energy go into every calorie of feed lot beef in the U.S. Compare this to the 2.2 calories of fossil fuel energy needed to produce one calorie of plant-based protein. Moderating meat consumption is a great way to cut fossil fuel demand.

                          

I've reduced my meat intake a lot more than just on Mondays at this point - but you have to start somewhere and I think "Meatless Monday" is a great place for a beginning. I'm going to start posting what we had each week on Monday for dinner! 

Last night we tried this: 

Trader Joe's Mushroom Ravioli with mushroom truffle sauce. It was delicious and took about 7 minutes to make. We also had a salad to start. We ended the night with a very yummy blended fruit shake for dessert!

If you have a "Meatless Monday" recipe I'd love to see it!

Au....Natural.

Next up is Natural foods. This is where it gets tricky in my opinion. 
Wikipedia says: "Natural foods" are often assumed to be foods that are minimally processed and do not contain any hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors, or flavorings that were not originally in the food.
I own an advertising agency (www.itsahappymedium.com). I usually say things like "advertising is everything" and when I say things like that it's because I'm trying to explain to a client the high value in advertising. In the case of natural foods though I've come to find the same "advertising is everything" mantra stands, just in a different way. Finding natural foods that are the best and healthiest option for you seems to be all about paying attention not to the advertising, but to the nutrition facts. The advertising can be extremely deceptive in natural foods. Here's why:
The USDA defines "Natural Foods" as a product containing no artificial ingredient or added color and is only minimally processed. Minimal processing means that the product was processed in a manner that does not fundamentally alter the product. The label must include a statement explaining the meaning of the term natural (such as "no artificial ingredients; minimally processed").
This all sounds good, however the snafu that is not being regulated are the companies putting "made with natural ingredients" on their packaging. If you just read that on it's own fast you could easily assume all of the components of that product were "natural". Not the case, that statement could actually just mean that even only one component of that product actually qualifies as the USDA "Natural Foods" definition, the rest of the components in the product could be absolute crap - really yucky crap. 
Basically when looking for natural food options make sure you're actually checking the ingredients on the back of the package - if you can't read the words - put the package down. Also, make sure your items are 100% natural, not just "natural". I promise once you start looking you'll become all too aware of the differences- they are everywhere!

GOOD NATURAL

BAD NATURAL

Green Challenge: find a "natural" item and a 100% natural item the next time you go to the store!

What's USDA certified - and why do I care?

After I figured out the milk situation, everything snowballed from there. The googling could not (would not) cease.

The first thing I started to figure out was the difference between USDA certified organic, natural and locally grown.

USDA Organic approved food is defined by the USDA as: Organic is a labeling term that indicates that the food or other agricultural product has been produced through approved methods that integrate cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.

USDA Organic Farmers must adhere to: Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations.  Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones.  Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.  Before a product can be labeled ‘organic,’ a Government-approved certifier inspects the farm where the food is grown to make sure the farmer is following all the rules necessary to meet USDA organic standards.  Companies that handle or process organic food before it gets to your local supermarket or restaurant must be certified, too.” Consumer Brochure, USDA National Organic Program 

  

If you’re like me you just read all of that and said WHAT?!

After I read all this I took a trip to Trader Joes to see what this was all about. If you’ve ever been to Trader Joes, have you noticed everything that is 100% organic has yellow tags and the rest of their shelf tags are blue? I found several foods that had that USDA Organic logo on the front. Who knew? Sometimes the label is smaller but it will always been on the front (at least in my experience so far).

What I have figured out so far is the USDA Organic label is VERY difficult for companies to obtain. (to grasp the full depth check out this site: http://afsic.nal.usda.gov/organic-production) Knowing these farmers and producers have to go far above and beyond just to get these labels makes me feel a lot better about putting their products into my body.


(Natural and Locally Grown - up next)

Green Challenge: look for foods that have the USDA Organic label on them the next time you are at the store – bonus points if you buy it rather than the non-organic version!

We Heart the Earth

Welcome to our earth friendly blog. What is "earth friendly" you ask? Well that is a question I don't feel our family completely knows the answer to (if anybody even does?) but I'm determined to at least have us start down a "more" earth friendly path. 
I can't really say when I became a LOT more aware of my actions and their repurcussions on the earth and it's inhabitants but I know it's increased quite a bit over the past year and a half or so. Although I can say we're doing a lot more to become more "green" - I think there is SO much more we can be doing.
So thats it - this blog is our families quest to make sure we leave the earth just as beautiful as we found it (if not better!) We hope you learn something or a lot of somethings to also show the earth some lovin! 
I guess we have already made it through one step because this blog is online - and NOT being mailed to you on paper that used ink and used gas to be put in a mailbox near you! Ta da!!! Do you have any tips for starters? 


Here's a picture my husband and I took on our honeymoon - we really do heart the earth! :)