Vegging Out
Intentions, not resolutions: Green smoothies & local foods lead the way to ahealthier new year
Try a green smoothie
Eat more colorful food
Fresh fruits are good for youPhoto by Shelby Hodge
I know this is cliché, but truly, time flies when you are either having fun or not really paying attention. 2010 had a little of both: Fun times, trying times and surely, times when reckless daydreaming made days, well, weeks, disappear like President Obama’s popularity.
New Year’s celebrations and rituals do not really hit home until the wrapping paper, tissue and ribbon settles from the Christmas and related gift-giving holidays. We are left with the realization that although we have finally mastered check writing with the correct year, another has passed.
It’s all about new beginnings. As we get old (older) and look back at the times of yesteryear, we long to regain footing and promise ourselves to be better, whatever that means for each of us. Resolutions, like promises are meant to be broken mainly because our approach to verbalize them is rather dictatorial.
By emphasizing on the end product rather than on the process, we set ourselves up for failure. We fail once and we give it up all together.
And with obesity at an all time high, there will surely be an increase of people telling themselves that 2011 is the year we get skinny, myself included.
Rewind.
So rather than having the end result in focus, let’s concentrate on making the journey to the destination a pleasant, fun and most importantly, an achievable one. Aim to be healthy from the outside in, starting with food, your body’s energy source.
Abstaining from animal products isn’t as difficult as most perceive. After doing the vegan dance for a little over three years, I got it down to a subliminal veggie science. But being healthy goes beyond vegan good eats.
To those that claim that a vegan or vegetarian diet assures weight loss, let me reassure you, it does not. You can easily live off simple carbs, fried foods and nutritionally devoid foods just as easily as those including meats, maybe even more so. Fries with that?
Perhaps we avoid the cholesterol, but unhealthy foods come in all sorts of shapes and sizes.
So what to do? Let’s rename resolutions to something less scary and more manageable. How does “intentions” sound? And what if they were positive, encouraging good choices rather than castigating bad ones? Rather than implementing them all at once, how about trying to become comfortable with one before attempting another?
Let’s not be so militant. Here are five suggestions for 2011:
Eat more fruits and vegetables
Whether you are a full fledge vegan, vegetarian, pescaterian, flexaterian or omnivore, this just makes sense. Mark Bittman said it best when he explained that eating more fruits and vegetables while avoiding other stuff means a longer lifespan. Skip your boxed and bagged snacks and head for the produce bins, filling your cart first with fresh staples prior to the prepared aisles.
Start with your favorites and expand your produce repertoire. Try exotic choices like the sinful cherimoya, maybe a mini red banana or passion fruit. Have fun discovering new tastes and textures.
Eat more colorful foods
It’s true. We eat with our eyes. If you need help doing so, try Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's new cookbook Color Me Vegan. It’s beautifully organized in color chapters allowing you to create visually stunning dishes.
What is the science behind color? By eating the whole color spectrum you are sure to stay nutritionally balanced as some micronutrients are typically found in certain colored foods. Symptoms of nutritional deficiency can disguise themselves as hunger, not unlike thirst.
Eat more whole foods
Examples? Opt for the apple, not for the applesauce. Choose the banana and skip on the banana cream pie. Pick the fresh berries instead of the sugar loaded raspberry jam. Head to the bulk aisle and scoop out some fiber-happy brown rice instead of the nutrient deficient rice-in-a-box.
Try new nutrient powerhouse foods like quinoa and amaranth. Replace white flours with whole-wheat varieties.
Think about it also from a green perspective. Whole foods generally are devoid of unnecessary additional packaging.
Eat more seasonal and local foods
Aside from the socially responsible act of supporting your local economy, seasonal and local foods just taste better. Head to your local farmers market and see what is new and exciting.
Need help figuring out what to do with your newly acquired bounty? I have always found the vendors at the markets more than happy to share their culinary secrets.
Eat more raw foods
Think about it. We are the only species that actually takes the time to cook food. It is only sensible to consider eating more of our fruits and vegetables as nature intended them. Avoiding cooking retains more of their nutrients, live enzymes and fiber content.
Need a hand to get started? Although raw cuisine sometimes calls for unique kitchen appliances and tools, concentrate on increasing your salad intake and definition. Ever tried a green smoothie? Blend 60 percent sweet fruits with green leafy vegetables like kale, lettuce and spinach and go to town.
Concentrate on baby steps, gradual change and enjoy the pilgrimage, stopping here and there to smell the roses.
