Lately, I've been trying to be my own sneaky mom. I've been throwing handfuls of broccoli slaw into pasta dishes, making sure that beans and rice make a feature, freezing grapes and opting for fruit over candy for snacks. Basically upping my fiber and veggie content whenever possible. And buying fresh veggies to fill up my crisper and fruit bowls - leaving things in plain sight. So that the first thing I see when I open my fridge is salsa and carrot sticks. Not salami. But that leaves a small issue.
Snacks.
Veggies are great snacks but require some work. First of all, you have to either purchase them precut or spend a lot of time cutting them yourself. Then then is the slightly flavorless aspect - unless said veggie contains sugar (carrots, red peppers, sugar snap peas) - so then there comes the dilemma of dip. Lastly, I'm a nightime snacker. 3-5 hrs. after dinner (and yes, if dinner is at 6, then at 11 I will be hungry) I start to get tummy grumblies.
Another issue with eating that late at night? Acid Reflux my friend. Which I guess you can argue would originate with any foods. Acid Reflux is esp. bad with fruits and other items with excessive sugar which can start the fermentation process leading to reflux. And then there is THIS video from NYC food critic Jeffrey Steingarten.
Other than that - vegetarianism and veganism have been shown to increase metabolism, resolve health issues and natch reduce body weight. There are no longer term physical effects as long as you supplement enough. I've been thinking about doing a 40-60 split - with 60% of my intake being mostly vegan/vegetarian and the other 40% including meat/dairy products. This means (with an average of 21 meals a week) that about 8 of them include meat, and that 13 of them don't. Vegetarian breakfasts are the easiest. Friday and Saturday night dinners and brunch the hardest. This also means that I can eat at least one meal a day that has meat so I don't feel deprived.
I've been using lePinterest to pin vegetarian meals - so here's to hoping!
No comments:
Post a Comment