An Easy Way to Improve Your Health - Meatless Monday!

As much as I love a sizzling steak now and then, I do try to be conscious of how much meat that we eat and make efforts to add more meatless options to our menu. At first I had difficulty with finding meals that were satisfying and filling, but over time I have accumulated a rather extensive collection of recipes that have become new favorites.

Meatless Monday is a great public health campaign that has been gaining momentum for years. The premise of Meatless Monday is to reduce your meat consumption by not eating meats on Mondays. By participating weekly you reduce your meat intake by 15% which has huge effects on your personal health and the health of the planet.

Below are a few health benefits of going meatless once a week as suggested on the Meatless Monday website:

- Limit Cancer Risk: Diets rich in fruits and vegetables have been found to reduce cancer risks. Diets high in meats has been found to be associated with some cancers.
- Reduce Heart Disease: Replacing saturated fat-rich foods (meat and high dairy fat) with foods that are rich in polyunsaturated fats (veggie oils, seeds, and nuts) can reduce heart disease risk by 19%.
- Fight Diabetes: High consumption of red and processed meats can potentially increase the risk of Type 2 Diabetes.
- Curb Obesity: Studies have shown that people with low meat intake or vegans have lower body mass indices and lower body weight.
- Live Longer: Red and processed meat consumption is linked to higher mortality rates, cardiovascular disease and cancer mortality.
- Improve Your Diet: Consuming more beans results in a higher intake of fiber, protein and other nutrients. Increase in vegetable and fruit consumption ("eat the rainbow") will also add more nutrients and have lower calorie per density than meats.

Source: Mom Favorites

Meat has the largest impact on the environment that any other food that we eat. Livestock consume a large amount of food and water, while also using immense amounts of land and energy to raise and transport.

Below is what goes into just one quarter pound of ground beef:

Source: NPR.org 

For even more information check out this infographic (click to see larger):

Do you participate in Meatless Mondays? 

My plan for the next few months is to photo and post some of my favorites meatless meals to share. Hopefully some of you will find them helpful. I'd love to hear about some of your favorite meatless meals too so please share your favorites! 

Join my #SummerOfBliss team and challenge!

The other day I came across a social workout challenge that I thought would be really fun to do with a group of people. All of the goals are attainable and having the extra support from other people may make it a bit easier when people are struggling. I know that I am one of those people that needs someone to hold me accountable for goals because it keeps me on track and in line. The goals of the challenge are:

1. Limit the drinking of sugary beverages. No more than four sugar sweetened drinks a week. Check out this infographic to see some of the disastrous effects of sugar on the body.
2. Log your happiness, or "level of bliss" at least once a day. Record your level at least once a day and contemplate what factors make you blissful and which make you bliss-less. This activity can help you make changed to a more positive outlook and life and help you weed out those things that drain your happiness away. 
3. Meditation: Take 5 minutes a day. Take 5 minutes a day to disconnect and reflect. Take those 5 minutes for yourself to center yourself and get in some deep breathing exercises.
4. Welcome in summertime by eating at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Substitute your not-so-savory or healthy snacks with some fresh produce. Step out of the box and try something new. You may find a new favorite. Eating Well has some great info for what a fruit serving size consists of.
5. Log 5 workouts a week. Aim for at least 30 minutes a day for maximum health effects (assuming you've been cleared by your doctor). With summertime cruising in there are many options even if you don't have a gym membership: Run, bike, swim, hike, row a boat...anything that gets your heart pumping.
6. Plank pose: 1 minute per day. Core strength is key and this exercise will engage all those muscles. There are variations so do the one that is best for you. Check out Tina Reale's site for 22 different variations.

The challenge starts this upcoming Monday, June 11th and ends July 8th. Four weeks towards living a healthier life and establishing new habits. 

Also..you could possibly win prizes too from Bestowed.com so it's an extra bonus.

Be sure to sign up for the team HERE.  

The team name is: Love, Laugh, Live Well Body Rocker's. Once you've joined the team click on Summer Of Bliss and join the challenge from there. Starting Monday you'll begin logging your progress. If anyone has any questions be sure to let me know and we'll figure it out!

Perfect For a Chilly Morning...

There is nothing more that I love than having the weekend off, especially those days where nothing is planned.  I forgot what it was like to actually have time for yourself after working myself to the bone for the past 2 years.  I’m still busy as ever, but have made it a priority to always make sure to save time for myself & those I love. 

But I digress…

I get bored with most recipes pretty quickly, so I’m always on the search for new recipes to try.  I kept reading about amazing egg breakfast dishes so I decided to finally give quiche a try.  This recipe is simple, hearty & full of veggies.  It was a freezing morning here as well (it got down to -15 that night) so I was looking for any excuse to use the stove and warm the house up.

Veggie Quiche


Ingredients:

• Pastry pie shell
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion diced
• 3/4 cup broccoli heads (fresh)
• Handful of fresh spinach
• 1/4 cup of sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 4 eggs beaten
• Liquid egg whites
• 1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions:


Preheat oven to 375.  Also be sure that your pie crust is completely defrosted.

In small skillet, sauté the onion, broccoli, spinach and tomatoes with 1 Tbsp. of olive oil.  Sauté until the onions are slightly transparent. 

Once sautéed, place the veggies into the bottom of the pie crust.


Doesn’t this look amazing already?

Sprinkle with half of the cheddar cheese.

Beat 4 eggs well and mix in the rest of the cheese to the beaten eggs.

Pour egg and cheese mix over the veggies.


Add egg whites until pie shell is nearly full.  I would estimate it would be about a half cup of egg whites, but it varies depending on the amount of vegetables you use.

Place in oven & let bake for 30-35 minutes, until it is golden, puffed out and no longer wiggly in the middle.

We ate soon after it cooled and then nestled back into bed to catch up on reading and enjoy some movies on a freezing day.

The condensation on the windows made it so dark and gloomy in our kitchen.  It certainly makes it much harder to take pictures that aren't blurry or dark.

Winter wonderland out there!

What’s your favorite cool morning breakfast recipe? Have you had quiche before?  How do you like to spend your weekend mornings?