Weekend One Thing: Go Veg!

I was a vegetarian for 5 years. Then I occasionally ate fish for two years, a move that some like-minded friends called "pescatarian."
And then I became pregnant with my first son.
Only days before my midwife called to tell me my iron level was low, my body had already told me; I grubbed on a NY Strip. A texture shock to the system, but anemia problem solved. And yes, I was already munching on those wonderful high-iron goodies: greens, nuts, legumes. It just wasn't enough for baby and mama.


I love vegetarian food. Not only for the incredible variety of tastes, but also for health reasons. Actually, I worked in a diet office in a hospital years ago, and regularly, patients were admitted with diverticulitis. I'll spare you the gory details, but the diagnosis was so common, it prompted me to ask the dietitians What's up with that? They explained that it was the "American diet", or what I have since called "the array of white." As in, if your food has no color, you get severe intestinal problems.
I have since been an avid dietary fiber watcher. Because I was raised eating healthy food, I didn't have to make any major changes. Only now, I make sure premade food and snacks have fiber in them. And I make sure we have at least one intensely high-fiber meal per week.

Last night it was wheat berries. And a bit of eye rolling from Mark. Don't get me wrong--he loves the crazy vegetarian concoctions I come up with, either from my little brain (and tummy) or from a couple of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks. But this is a man built much differently from me. His metabolism is crazy high, and his body craves protein to work efficiently. Because he uses his body for work, it must always be in peak performance. The man needs meat.
But we don't need flesh all the time.

And here is my Weekend One Thing: Make a Vegetarian meal.
If you are already vegetarian (hi Heidi and Callie!), good for you. A huge congratulations.
If not, this may take some coaxing.

I was inspired by Michael Pollan's discussion with Terri Gross on NPR's Fresh Air (hear it). He recently wrote an op-ed for the New York Times Magazine titled "Letter to the Next Farmer in Chief", in which he discusses food as a national security issue that affects everything from healthcare to global warming to the terrorist threat.

From Michael Pollan:

Now animals are separated from farms, and that's created problems on both ends...
One is fertility deficit on the farm, because there's no longer that source of nitrogen in the manure [from animals]...which we remedy with fossil-fuel fertilizers, putting oil onto our land, in effect.
And the other is pollution problem on the feedlot, because you can't use that manure when it's so concentrated...which we don't remedy at all. We just collect it in giant lagoons, which release methane and nitrous oxide into the air, which contribute to global warming mightily.
When we eat from the industrial-food system, we are eating oil and spewing greenhouse gases.

Eating vegetarian meals, especially seasonally, is the first step in greatly reducing your carbon footprint. It's not enough that your family or mine eats locally; we must make a commitment to eat vegetarian more often, period.

Here's the other thing: unless you are cooking exotic vegetarian dishes (once in a while is way fun), eating healthy, bulk-bought vegetarian meals is much cheaper. And in today's economy, this just might save your food budget.

Like I've said, my family and I are not vegetarian. I'm giving you this challenge because I need to take it more often myself!
But I won't leave you hanging, friends. Here are some winning veg recipes.


Mark's Magnificent Veggie Lasagna
This is a bit cheese-heavy, but it's a delicious way to ease into vegetarian cooking. Carnivores love this too!
Preheat oven to 350
Ingredients:
1 package whole grain lasagna noodles
1 ½ pounds fresh spinach (2 bags, or 2 cups cooked)
4 cups pasta sauce: your favorite brand or homemade
12 ounces mozzarella, grated
15 ounces ricotta
2 T parmesan, preferably high-quality such as Parmigiano Reggiano.
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp nutmeg
¾ tsp salt
4 garlic cloves, minced

Cook the spinach until wilted. Mix with the ricotta, parmesan, garlic, and spices.
Cook the lasagna noodles until al dente: cooked almost through, but still easy to handle.
In a 9x14 casserole dish, layer in the following pattern:
Lasagna noodles (on the bottom), spinach/ricotta mixture, pasta sauce, mozzarella. Then begin again. Make sure to finish with the mozzarella.
Bake for 20 minutes.
This also freezes well. Just make sure to thaw well before cooking.


My Black Bean Dip
1 can black beans, or 1 cup cooked black beans (bulk bought is cheaper)
1 ripe avocado
½ tomato, diced
½ cup salsa. I prefer salsa from the Mexican section of the grocery store. Or, make your own.
1 bunch cilantro, minced (about ¼ cup)
Bit of fresh jalapeno (optional). Go for more if you're brave.
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cayenne
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Mush the black beans into a paste. Scoop out the avocado in cubes and lightly mush with the black beans, still leaving in small chunks, but mix well. Add the tomato, salsa, cilantro, jalapeno (if using, obviously), cumin, and salt and pepper.
A winning snack for veg-heads and meat lovers alike. Dig in with some whole-grain chips for an appetizer, or spread on bread with tomato and lettuce for a vegetarian lunch.

For more vegetarian recipes, check out my favorite vegetarian cookbooks:
Student's Vegetarian Cookbook, which offers quick, easy, tasty, and healthy recipes. Try the pizza dough recipe.
Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. My cookbook is mutilated on the pages of: Highly Spiced Black Bean Soup, Risotto Basics, and Winter Tomato-Wheat Berry and Tomato Soup (last night's dinner, which included the breastmilk-helping fennel bulb).
Vegetarian Planet. Mmm. Family favorites include Chili Verde (pumpkin seeds and tomatillos...Wow!) and Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls with Cilantro Dipping Sauce (you will never go wrong with jicama).

Read on:
Weekend America has a method of calculating your carbon footprint. It's called "Consumer Consequences", and my eating habits definitely affected my score. Check out yours!
Nature Mom's Blog explores the environmental impact of eating meat.
An excerpt from Michael Pollan's book The Omnivore's Dilemma, named one of NY Times top 10 books of 2006.
Michael Pollan will also talk food politics on NPR's Talk of the Nation: Science Friday with Ira Flatow.