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Vegetarian Food Myth: Not Enough Protein

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Many vegetarians can attest that the most commonly asked question about their diet is “But what about protein?” Though it may seem impossible to many carnivores, it is easy to follow a vegetarian protein and still get enough protein.

In fact, the Harvard School of Public Health says that vegetarian and meat sources of protein are equally healthful. In fact, vegetarian protein may have some advantages over animal protein sources. For example, you will get more protein in a serving of steak than in a serving of lentils, but the calorie and fat content will obviously be much higher in the steak. Depending on your point of view and your health views, eating lower calorie vegetarian protein can make a lot of sense.

Common Sources of Vegetarian and Vegan Protein:

  • Tofu – This is certainly the most well-known meat substitute, and for good reason. Tofu, a food made of mashed soy bean curd, absorbs the flavor of whatever it is cooked with. This versatility makes it perfect as an ingredient in everything from Indian food to vegetarian lasagna. One half cup contains 10 grams of protein.
  • Seitan – Seitan, otherwise known as “wheat-meat”, closely resembles meat when it is cooked. This quality makes it an ideal ingredient in non-meat burgers or barbecue. This gluten-based food has 10 grams of protein per veggie patty or 21 grams of protein per 100 grams.
  • Quinoa – The Incas called this delicious food the “mother grain”. It is considered a complete protein, which means it contains every essential amino acid. This inexpensive grain is easy to prepare and add to a plethora of recipes. One cup contains about 18 grams of protein.
  • Beans and Lentils – Besides being incredibly versatile and easy to find in every area, beans and lentils are a high-protein fiber packer. These proteins are great for cooking, and also have a well-earned place in both Indian recipes and healthy lentil recipes. A cup of beans may have about 13 grams of protein.
  • Nuts – Nuts are great on salads, in pasta recipes, or just by themselves in their natural state or made into nut butter. Though nuts aren’t usually a good choice for a primary protein, supplementing a diet with nuts is convenient and delicious. Depending on the nut, a ¼ cup will have around 5-9 grams of protein.

Using these foods as a substitution to meat and other animal products helps keep vegetarians and vegans healthy. Even meat-eaters can benefit from these healthy choices.

Source:

  • “Protein: Moving Closer to Center Stage”, Harvard School of Public Health

Better meals begin with better planning. We can help.

Easy Meal Planning: Guide to Perishable Foods and Preventing Food Waste

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No one likes to see food waste away in the fridge. As we all know, food waste is considered a huge problem in America. A study in Tompkins Country, NY, showed that 40 % of food waste occurred in the home and another study by Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab found that 93% of respondents acknowledge buying foods they never use. Books have been written about it, research has been procured, and plans to convert our enormous amounts of wasted food into energy have been initiated–yet still, the average American wastes much of their food.

While letting food go to waste may be bad for the environment, it’s also bad for our wallets. When we throw a head of lettuce or some rotten apples in the garbage, we’re really throwing our money right into the dumpster. Instead of letting food rot in the fridge, gauge your easy meal planning based on the shelf-life or fridge-life of fruits and veggies. This will allow you to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to your grocery shopping and, most importantly, adequately meal plan. If you buy an extremely perishable vegetable, for example, you should put it in your meals at the beginning of the week, whereas veggies with more longevity can be eaten on the weekend.

Fruits and Veggies that You Should Eat First

These produce items are healthy and wonderful buys, but you should plan to put them in meals that occur at the beginning of the week. If you’re doing your grocery shopping on the weekend, for example, plan on serving or eating these fruits in the beginning of the week. Plan to eat these fruits and veggies straight out of the grocery cart, as they’ll perish in a heartbeat:

  • Artichokes: Great for making artichoke dips or even eating with a drizzle of olive oil straight off the grill, they’ll start tasting a bit funky after about five days.
  • Asparagus: Raw asparagus is best used within two to three days for maximum freshness.
  • Avocados: If you’ve already cut an avocado, take out the pit and rub the surface generously with lemon juice to prevent browning. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap. The avocado probably won’t last any longer than 36 hours.
  • Bananas: Buy your bananas a bit green at the grocery story if you plan on using them later in the week. Don’t throw out your old bananas! Overripe bananas can be used to make banana breads, muffins, or even banana ice cream.
  • Basil: Wrap the ends of basil in a wet paper towel to keep them moist. Even with proper refrigeration and storage, basil won’t last any longer than 4-5 days.
  • Green beans: This versatile veggie with probably only last in your fridge for several days without getting a rather off-putting sticky film. Not attractive. Plan to make your green bean casserole at the beginning of the week to avoid this refrigerator mess.
  • Mushrooms: Mushrooms, like green beans, are going to get a bit slimy if they’re bad. Make your mushroom-cream sauces or throw sautéed mushrooms into an omelet but don’t keep ‘em past five days.
  • Strawberries: Alas, this vitamin C-filled treasure is extremely perishable, only lasting us about 6 days, at best. Make strawberries into ice cream to preserve them, whip up some strawberry jam, or just throw the bulk of them into a fruit smoothie before they go bad.

Fruits and Veggies with Longevity for Easy Meal Planning

Plan to use these fruits and veggies at the end of the week. They’ll taste just as good as when you bought them!

  • Apples: Apples last weeks and weeks. Store your apples in a crisper drawer of your fridge to retain maximum freshness. When they’re getting a little testy, slice them and make them into applesauce.
  • Oranges: Oranges will last you about 4 weeks, whether you store them at room temperature or in the fridge.
  • Blueberries: When you’re blueberries are getting to the point of questionability, you can freeze them on a cookie sheet, then put them into a Ziploc bag. Use your frozen blueberries as ice cubes for lemonade in the summers–they’ll last for six months or so. Fresh berries should be eaten within about 9 days.
  • Grapefruit: Grapefruit keeps for about 2-3 weeks in the fridge. Eat with plain sugar, throw it in a fruit salad, or make a grapefruit cocktail.
  • Lemons: The basic rule of thumb for lemons is that they’re fine until they don’t look fine (shriveled, moldy, or brown). Throw leftover lemons in your drinks for a kick of vitamin C. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade!
  • Pears: Pears are great until they’re a bit yellow or soft. You’ll know that a pear is still good to eat when it has a great aroma and it’s barely tender.

Keep in mind that you can always get frozen veggies or canned fruits for your extremely perishable goods. When you’re drafting out your easy meal planning, make sure that you keep perishable produce in mind and plan from there. Knowing your food timelines will make easy meal planning easier than ever!

 

Family Meals on a Budget: Meatless Mondays

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A vegetarian diet can be beneficial for everyone, including omnivores. Not only is eating vegetarian better for the environment, but there are a number of studies that claim that eating less meat could reduce cancer risk. In fact, large studies in England and Germany showed that vegetarians were about 40% less likely to develop cancer compared to meat eaters.

While the health and environmental perks are great, having a vegetarian meal every once in a while can also help you cut a pretty penny out of your meal budget fast. Without the need for pricey meats, your grocery store budget will plummet. Even if you only partake in something like “Meatless Mondays,” you could end up saving a ton in the long run. Here are some great ideas for vegetarian family meals on a budget:

  • Vegetarian chili: Vegetarian chili is inexpensive and delicious. Make it in bulk and have some friends over to help you enjoy it. All you need is kidney beans (or black beans and chickpeas) as a base and dried chili peppers, corn, onions and tomatoes.
  • Ravioli with Arugula: You can “jazz up” ravioli with minced garlic, shallots, and arugula. Ravioli is a great budget-friendly vegetarian meal that is perfect for when you really don’t feel like cooking.
  • Stir Fry: Rice is extremely inexpensive, as are bagged frozen vegetables and both ingredients can be used to make a great stir fry. Buy the generic brand of frozen veggies and stock up when they’re on sale to whip up a great stir fry. Use peanuts as a base for your sauce to give your stir fry a bit of protein. Get your nuts wholesale at a warehouse club for the best buy.
  • Bean Burgers: Instead of having meaty burgers, cook up some bean burgers, which can be garnished to taste just as good with some guacamole and a buttered hamburger bun. Bean burgers, made with quinoa, pinto beans, and cornmeal, can be made for $3 or less.
  • Sweet Potato Fritters: Get creative with your veggies by making them into crispy fritters. You can make sweet potato, zucchini, or even cauliflower fritters.

Eating vegetarian meals isn’t just great for your health, it’s great for your budget, as well! Try planning a “Meatless Monday” where you can prepare vegetarian family meals on a budget.

Tips for Preparing and Selecting Family Dinner Menus for a Family Event

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Kids who eat meals with the family are more likely to do well in school, delay sexual activity, eat their vegetables, and even speak articulately. Mealtime socialization helps children learn family values and even more so, “A meal is about civilizing children, It’s about teaching them to be a member of their culture,” says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey. However it’s not only family time that’s important. General socialization, especially with familiar and helpful adults that may or may not assume a “mentor” position is critical to children’s development of language and social skills.

To really immerse your children in a happy, healthy, social environment, try throwing a backyard barbecue or dinner party every once in a while. If you really want to bring the family together and have your kids feel closer with their family, why not get the whole everyone? Invite brothers, sisters, grandma, grandpa, mom, dad, and various aunts, uncles and cousins over for a dinner party at your place. Dinner parties are not just beneficial to your child’s development, they promote family bonding, allow everyone to catch up, and can be the perfect opportunity to smooth over any conflicts within the family. All you have to do is plan a menu and your dinner event will be well on its way.

Tips for Planning Your Family Event

All you need to do is consider family dinner menus, and pick which ones are best for your family. Here are some tips to decide on a family dinner menu:

  • Try to have something available the second your guest comes in. You don’t want people grasping their stomachs as they wait for the meal to be finished. Try something simple, like crostinis, garlic bread, deviled eggs, or chips and dip for your family dinner menu.
  • Decide whether you want to have a sit-down or buffet style dinner when planning the menu. Buffets offer a variety of foods, so you may have to do a lot more cooking, however with buffet style the host or hostess doesn’t have to serve every guest individually.
  • If you do decide on a sit-down dinner, try to follow the general meal structure of salads, entrees, then desserts when making your family dinner menus. Salads will add some greenery before the meal and desserts will make the family dinner menu feel that much more festive and decadent.
  • Make sure to include salads, greens, and other healthy options for dieters on your family dinner menu. Those who are watching their figures and health will be grateful for your consideration.
  • Also help vegetarians in mind, if you have any vegetarians in the family. For example, if you’re serving sirloin steaks have a stir fry or veggie-based dish to satisfy your vegetarian or vegan guests.
  • Make your family dinner menus ahead of time and plan in advance. You may want to prepare a week-long plan so that you don’t get overwhelmed the day before and the day of the party.
  • Make space for food in your refrigerator before you even start planning out your family dinner menus. Clean out the food in the fridge and ice beverages in an ice chest to make room in the fridge.
  • Remember that you can also use an ice chest to keep things hot if you’re in need of extra storage when you’re preparing the meal.
  • Most importantly: consider your guests! Even if you’re throwing an intimate, family dinner party, be cordial and consider what dishes they would like over your own tastes.

With the help of this guide, hopefully you’ll have no trouble at all pondering family dinner menus and picking the best one for your needs. It’s time to celebrate the whole family coming together. Cheers!