30 Days

For some reason I didn't even realize that today is my 30th day being a vegetarian! I thought it was tomorrow, but I was wrong... its today! Congratulations to me, I have been a vegetarian for an entire month! Hooray!!

It has been an interesting journey. I have undergone a subtle transformation. As I've mentioned previously, my skin has cleared up, and I'd say I've lost about 5 pounds. I feel "lighter," and more confident (this confidence is due to knowing that I'm eating healthy foods). I have also had numerous interesting conversations with other people since I've been awakened to the reality of the food industry in this country. I still crave some meat, mostly chicken. I just might give into this craving one day, and that will be an experiment in itself.

This has been easier than I thought it would be. I encourage everyone to try going vegetarian at some point, perhaps vow to be vegetarian for 30 days, or have Meatless Mondays in which you go vegetarian one day a week. If you are interested in instilling Meatless Mondays into you and your family's life please check our http://MeatlessMonday.com You can join the movement and even get recipes emailed to you.

If you're interested in going longer, you can pledge to be a vegetarian for 30 days. PETA has a "Pledge to go Veg" Campaign, but thats if you plan to go Vegan for 30 days (and if you can do that, I applaud you!).

The benefits of going Meatless are numerous:

• 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 plant-based diet is a great source of fiber (absent in animal products). This makes you feel full with fewer calories, ie. lower calorie intake and less overeating. Research has found that eating more plant foods and less animal products may help individuals control their weight.
• LIVE LONGER: Red and processed meat consumption is associated with modest 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 fatand total fat.

• 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.

You can do it! Just try it, its not as bad as you think it will be. Educate yourself and the realities of the food industry in this country should be enough to turn you Veg... an organic Veg... a local organic Veg!

Blue Hill at Stone Barns

For our wedding anniversary on Wednesday night, my hubby took me to Blue Hill at Stone Barns in Pocantico Hills, NY.

At first I was very intrigued because the setting is right on the farm, and when you drive into the restaurant you are driving through the farm's property. I mean, I knew it was on the farm, but it was still an exciting experience.

When we arrived, I had the valets take our picture in front of the Stone Barns. And upon entering the restaurant, I was a little taken aback because a group of waiters were lined up in the middle of the restaurant, standing very straight, with their hands behind their backs. I'm very modest, so for some reason this made me feel uncomfortable. Will the waiters be standing there the entire night watching our every move? When we were seated at our table, I was taken aback again because we were seated next to each other, as opposed to across from each other. This left a big open space towards the front of the table, assumably to present the food on.

We were shortly greeted by our server who gave us the menu and explained that the menu is simple: choose either 3, 5, or an 8 course menu and let them know of any allergies or dietary restrictions. The chef then cooks up whatever is fresh from the farm that day. I mentioned to the server that I had been a vegetarian for a little while, but was willing to try what the chef served since everything is organic, humane, local, and couldn't get any fresher... everything that I've been preaching about!

We chose the 8 course option, because heck, we only go out and do these fancy things once a year for our wedding anniversary! We were first presented with some Lemon Bomb drinks in a shot glass. Then an interesting medley of the farm's fresh vegetables that were standing up on nails on a wooden plank. The vegetables were lightly sauced with some sort of seasoning or vinaigrette. They were delicious. Next, we were given amuse bouche of Asapargus wrapped in Pancetta, with some sort of crust and sesame seeds on the outside. It was pretty good. Then we were presented with a tiny Asparagus Burger, also good. Unfortunately, I was too excited and forgot to take some pictures of the first dishes, so I'm borrowing some I found on the web.

We were then given Goat cheese wrapped in some sort of green vegetable. This was really good, because I love goat cheese.

Next, was a flaky cracker with some deli-style meat. I can't recall the names of each. I have a terrible memory for details... my apologies.

Then there was a delicious Asparagus soup, with yummy buttery brioche, and a spread of which I forget (ugh!). There was also a Salad with asparagus, broccoli rabe, almonds, and molasses. (I suppose there was a plethora of asparagus this week).

Next, was a bread basket with fresh made butter and Carrot salt... which my husband liked a lot. Another soup followed, which was fabulous... it had a farm-fresh poached egg in the center. It was super yummy, but I forgot to take a picture!

For the more substantial dishes, there was a Soft shell Crab encrusted with almonds, over spinach, and sauce. This was my first time having soft shell crab, and I was a little frightened, but it was delish! I ate most of it, except for a few legs.

We were then presented with some tender Veal medallions, with spinach in some kind of broth. Really good. There was also a small dish of Heirloom Grains in some sort of green sauce that was awesome. At this point, it was too dark too take photographs, and there is no flash photography allowed in the restaurant. So, you'll just have to imagine everything else.

For dessert, we were first given some farm fresh strawberries, with vanilla ice cream. The strawberries were so sweet and delicious. After that, there was another dessert of a Goat's Milk Cheesecake, which was so yummy! I wish I had a bigger piece! I'm going to look up a recipe for this, and attempt to make some. It was so smooth, and creamy.

That was the end of our meal. The whole dinner took nearly 4 hours!! I was so surprised to see what time it was when we finally left. We ordered 8 courses, but were presented with about 15 different dishes.

Overall, I'd say everything was very good, however I wasn't jumping out of my chair over anything. The price also makes it hard to swallow, but I think of it as going to a good cause, since I fully support local and organic farming. The service was impeccable, with every move carefully watched. When I went to get up to go to the restroom, there was a server there immediately to pull the table out for me. Our particular server was also very knowledgeable, professional, and friendly. But overall, I'd say service could be kind of stiff if you're not used to that type of thing. Out of 5 stars, I'd give Blue Hill at Stone Barns 4 out of 5 stars. Going once was enough for me. It was a great experience, and I'm glad there are restaurants like this that support healthy eating, local and organic farming, wholesome and humane ways of treating livestock, and wonderful culinary artistry.

Mediterranean Portobello Sandwich

Last night for dinner I tried a recipe from the web that someone tweeted on Twitter. It looked delicious so I wanted to try it since I had all of the ingredients needed. Here's the recipe: Mediterranean Portobello Sandwich

This sandwich was super good. The flavors are very strong and savory. It was also very different having the portobello on top. My husband was a bit taken aback, because when I presented the dish to him all he saw was a giant portobello mushroom. It didn't look too hopeful that he would enjoy this dish, but guess what? He did.

I served the sandwich with a side of some regular whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce.

3 Weeks

I have been a vegetarian now for 3 weeks.

This weekend, we went to visit my in-laws in upstate New York for a post-Easter dinner. We didn't get to see each other for the holiday, so we were celebrating a little late. I let them know ahead of time that I was trying to become a vegetarian, so they generously picked me up a few vegetarian things for me to eat. I did cheat a little bit and had some Salmon for our "Easter" dinner.

I was kept up most of the night with terrible gas. Since I haven't eaten any meat for 3 weeks, I guess the Salmon was having an affect on me. My stomach wasn't in any pain, but I was just extremely gaseous. Luckily, my sleeping husband didn't notice. Haha!

For breakfast the next day, they had served the usual eggs, bacon, french toast, etc. When I made my plate I accidentally took some bacon and put it onto my plate. When I realized what I had done, I was so surprised that I laughed to myself. It was such a habit to have some bacon with my eggs, that I didn't even think about it. I thought this was a very funny and interesting accident. In any case, when I realized what I had done, I moved the bacon from my plate to my husband's. And we all know he loved it.

Portobello & Spinach Lasagna

I was away this weekend which is why I haven't blogged in a few days. So I have to rewind back to Friday night, when I made Portobello & Spinach Lasagna which was the best vegetarian dish I've made yet! It was SO good.

I got the idea for this recipe from Ellie Kreiger's Portobello Rollups, but I just made it into regular layered lasagna instead. I also made small adjustments to the recipe, like using fresh spinach in the ricotta mixture. This was made similarly to my meat Lasagna, but instead of cooking up ground beef I sauteed Portobello mushrooms and then put them in some tomato sauce. I mixed in fresh Spinach into my Ricotta mixture, and then I layered the sauce, noodles, and ricotta a few times. I topped it all with mozzarella and parmesan cheese and cooked it for about 40 minutes.

The Portobello mushrooms taste similar to meat. If I didn't know it was vegetarian Lasagna, I could have easily been fooled. I think this dish will become a regular staple in this house. YUM!!!

Happy Earth Day!!!

This is sadly the first year I've really celebrated Earth Day. I never appreciated the earth as much as I do this year. This whole vegetarian journey I'm on has opened me up to be more conscious of many things, and these things are all ways of living greener.

First, it has of course opened me up to what I'm eating... which has been a vegetarian diet, and to the best of my ability an organic diet. (Supposedly, eating vegetarian saves 90 animals a year!)

I have also been made aware that I should support my local farmer's markets, & local organic farms. (For explanations why just read my previous posts).

I am looking forward to also supporting restaurants that use local & organic foods, like Blue Hill at Stone Barns.

I have planted my own vegetable garden, which will supply me & my family with homegrown delicious herbs & veggies that I will be really proud to eat.

I should really wear organic cotton clothes.

I always bring my own reusable bags when I go shopping.

All of these things were never really apparent to me as being ways of living greener until this journey awakened me to it's importance. However, I have always been conscious to reduce, reuse, and recycle and have done so. By the way, here are some quick tips for living greener: Simple Mom: 40 Tips to Go Green at Home.

How I celebrated Earth Day today:

Today was a great Earth Day. Nina and I went to a local festival at Hungry Hollow Co-op Market in Chestnut Ridge, NY. It featured local farms and food, and had wonderful music from Tom Chapin! Nina loved his music. There were a bunch of children from a local school in attendance and they were all dancing and singing.

Nina enjoyed a grass-fed organic Burger, and I had a really wonderful organic Veggie Burger from the barbeque. The veggie burger I had was called Sunshine Burger. Of course I looked up their website, where I saw the ingredients of their burgers... WOW, you couldn't get much simpler! Sun-flower seeds, carrots, brown rice, and herbs... thats it! YUM!

I also got tons of reading materials on living and eating greener which I'm excited to read later. I'm sure I'll report back.

LIVE GREEN, EAT GREEN!!

xoxo

Potato Tacos

Just wanted to update to everyone what I've been eating because I've been lazy and haven't blogged about my meals the past couple days.

Last night for dinner, I made some Potato Tacos. That's right, POTATO tacos! First, I boiled the potatoes until they were nice and tender. Then, I put them in a saute pan with some olive oil and mexican spices. I made some black beans, and fresh guacamole -with lots of cilantro (you all know I LOVE cilantro!) I topped the tacos with some diced tomatoes, and sour cream.

The Potato Tacos were actually really good!! And they received The Hubby Seal of Approval! The potatoes were a good substitute for meat, it was filling and tasty.

Tonight for dinner, we had another homemade pizza with fresh tomatoes, garlic, basil, and mozzarella. Yum!