Things are Getting Crunchier Around Here...

Just when you thought we were a pretty stinkin' natural-liking, granola crunchy, organic-loving, weird family...


Things just got crunchier.


As of this week, we are officially trying to go vegetarian.
WHAT?
The goal is really to eventually go as vegan as possible, but for now, vegitarian is a start.
I know.  You're full of questions.  And yes, Neil is allowing this.
For those that don't understand just how incredible of a change this is... when Neil and I first got married (like, within the first few weeks), I cooked something without meat for dinner - I think it was Ravioli with zucchini and walnuts or something.  His response:  "Where's the meat?"  Apparently, if something didn't have meat, it was "just a snack."  seriously.  So, we have had meat every night for dinner for the past 6 years.  yes.  every night.  Unless it's Sunday - then we definitely have meat for lunch - and dinner is lighter - but still may have meat on a sandwich.  yeah.  lots of meat.


The truth of the matter is that this switch is for Neil's health.  Yes, he's perfectly healthy right now.
This is the deal:
Both Neil's mom and brother have been diagnosed with (taking a quote from my sis-in-law's blog, Heart Healthy Family)"Prinzmetal's Angina.  This heart condition, which is hereditary, causes the body to lack the nitric oxide needed to dilate the coronary arteries in the heart.  Instead of a plaque build up or blockage, the heart has a "spasm" and clamps shut.  The same releases found during a heart attack are found during one of these "episodes."


Neil's mom had her first episode at around age 30.  His brother Kyle was 27.


The research that is out there shows that the risk of having an episode is drastically reduced by increasing leafy greens (and veggies in general) and by eliminating animal fats as much as possible.
If you haven't seen the documentary, Forks Over Knives, it's a good eye-opening one.  It actually touched on Angina a bit, and it's good for knowledge for anyone as well.


The number one concern that people have about vegetarian, and especially vegan, diets is getting enough protein.  Neil did some research on this by asking the question "can I be a vegetarian and not eat beans?"  That's funny right there. Ha.
He found the website www.nutritiondata.com that breaks down every food that you can think of and gives loads of information on it.  One thing it does is shows the quality of protein (how many of the 9 amino acids it has) and the nutrient balance completeness score.  Search some stuff and you'd be surprised.  For example, everyone seems to be raving about Kale - how it's a super-food.  But compare it to spinach, and you'll see that Spinach is actually better.  But the cool thing is that you take something like kale, and it says it would be more complete if added with something else, then it gives suggestions on what to match it up with to give complete nutrition.  Great resource because it helps us know things like how much protein(and other nutrients) we each (based on gender, height, weight, and activity level) need each day, how much protein and other nutrients are in the foods we eat, if they are lacking in nutritional value and we need to match it up with something better, and even what the rating is as far as fullness factor (just FYI, spinach has a higher fullness rating than chicken).


Anyway, back to protein - it's entirely possible if you have a good combination of fruits, veggies, nuts, bread and pasta, etc.  (did you know that a cup of almonds has like 30g of protein??)


So we're going pretty much meatless for dinners.  I got some crab meat to make crab cakes - other than that, no meat for dinner.  We're hoping to phase out a lot of stuff as time goes on- replacing animal-based things for plant-based things.  We'll see how it all goes.  Just taking it a step at a time...


So far this week:  Minestrone Soup with Salad and yummy bread.  I even got Neil to eat Garbanzo Beans - and he LIKED it!!


Coming up: Crab Cakes with oven-baked Ratatouille, salad, and bread. 
                   7-vegetable medley with couscous, salad, and bread.


Hopefully I'll be able to get more creative as far as sides.  For now, I'm just using what I've got as far as recipes.


Recipes, cookbooks, or other helpful resources would be greatly appreciated!!