Satisfying Vegetable Dinner

Several years ago I heard of CSA, Community Supported Agriculture, but when I looked into it we were already half through the summer so it was kind of pointless. I guess it just sat in my brain until I started this whole food stuff.  Eating real food means most of your plate should be vegetables with a little whole grains, legumes, or even a small portion of meat alongside if you want.  Basically it's the very opposite of what your plate probably looks like.  The best way to get your vegetables so they are fresh, organic, and grown close to home (besides growing them yourself) is to get them from farmers' market or from a CSA.  I like the farmers' market for the food and the people, but I have to make sure I go and bring cash so it's not certain that I always get my fresh veggies for the week.  With the CSA, I bought a regular share in March to be delivered to my pick up spot once a week May - October (depending on the growing season).  The box has whatever is fresh on the farm that week and forces us to be more adventurous with our food.

We got our second CSA box on Wednesday which included: the sweetest little strawberries, kale, salad greens, asparagus, sweet potatoes, bok choy, and radishes.  Since I've never eaten kale or bok choy I got out the cook books and blogs looking for the best recipes.  The library has tons of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks to borrow so that's where I go for cookbooks.  My first stop for blogs are the ones listed on the right.  I found a perfect recipe for the kale, asparagus, and radishes on A Couple Cooks so I made it for dinner tonight. Even though there are a lot of components, it was very easy to make.  I especially liked her preparation of the quinoa. I liked mine with all of the ingredients (minus the radishes) mixed together in a bowl.  It was good for healthy food, you know it wasn't amazing like a piece of cheesecake or a piece of pizza, but I know my body was a whole lot happier processing it. Bryan ate it (minus the radishes and dressing) and thought it was edible but not great; he would have preferred a cheeseburger.  Anna ate a little of everything which was good because she's not always interested in things that are green; I think that's a 5 year old thing.  She especially liked the dressing.  The other benefit of healthy, vegetable heavy, real food is you easily follow one of The Food Rules: eat so you're satisfied, but not stuffed.  I felt satisfied after eating Our Daily Bowl.  So for those reasons, I would make this dish again.  This was the first time we've ever had kale, so I'm open to trying other preparations.

Good Reads and a Few Rules

Sorting through all of the real food/plant based diet/green living information I find on blogs, in books, and in food documentaries is very overwhelming. I just try to go with what is common sense and with what I can do to change things little by little.  It's hard to know where to start; personally I suggest starting with 100 Days of Real Food online, Michael Pollan's books, and Food Inc. in movie documentaries.

100 Days of Real Food

- Real food recipes

- tips on living a real food life

- eye opening info on the bad stuff we routinely put in our bodies

- lunch ideas

I've read two of Michael Pollan's books, In Defense of Food and Food Rules, and I would recommend both - but for different reasons.  

In Defense of Food

- scientific at times

- journalist writing about why our food culture is the way it is
- why we should reject a Western Diet

- good info, but very dense

- basic rules to live by when choosing food: eat food, not too much, mostly plants

Food Rules ***I suggest reading this first***

- breaks the three rules down into simple wise sayings from different cultures

- easy to read

- easy to commit favorite ideas to memory

- it's kind of funny, but then sad but true

- quick and easy read to get you in the real food mindset

My favorite rules:

1. If you're not hungry enough to eat an apple, then you're not hungry.

2. Don't eat anything with ingredients a third grader can't pronounce.

3. It's not food if it comes through your car window (ha ha)

4. Stop when you are satisfied, not stuffed.

And about 60 more.

Food Inc.

This documentary is all about the business of food.  It will gross you out and make you think twice about what types of meat you choose to eat. It didn't make me a vegan, but it does make me think about my meat and the poor fat chickens that are so super sized they can't even stand up.  Bryan fights me on how much and what types of meat we should buy (same old stuff or paying extra for pastured meat, and I give in to buying the same old stuff) so I'm trying to watch more documentaries with him so we have it in our heads and make the leafy green choice over the once living choice.



For encouragemnt: Make the changes step-by-step (oh baby).  Stay away from the teachers' lounge during Teacher Appreciation Week (ok, that one is really for me).  Keep exercising even if it seems fruitless (that one is for me too).