Grasping at Straws

Yesterday I had a discussion with my husband about an article I read regarding eating right for hypothyroidism, which is something I have dealt with for about ten years.

The article titled, "Is Your Thyroid Making You Fat?" , contains a list of goitrogens, foods that hinder the absorption of thyroid medications.  This list includes: soy (which is in everything), strawberries, pears, peaches, broccoli and cauliflower, among a long list of others - all usual visitors in my weekly digestive tract.  I am supposed to avoid these otherwise healthy foods, because they apparently tax my already tired thyroid gland.

Come on!!  I already eat a vegetarian diet (have for years), practice yoga daily, use natural products on my skin, hair nails and teeth, floss daily, don't drink coffee, grow an organic garden, volunteer as a court advocate for a child, am a mother of five and run my own business.   Wah!!

This latest news of so many of my favorite foods being goitrogens has brought out my inner whiner and knocked me for a loop.  What the heck?  I try so hard.  Is this the reason that my weight stays the same, like it's embedded in concrete?  Is food so important to me that I obsess over these details?

Yesterday I was feeling rebellious and mostly sorry for myself, so I decided to eat the most delicious meal I could think of that is vegetarian (not vegan, which I mostly do).   Let me tell you, those chile relleno, salad, black beans and glass of cabernet never tasted so good.

Please feel free to join my pity party.  We'll be sure to have non-goitrogen veggies and dip - with plenty of wine.

Once Upon a Meatless Monday

About five years ago, our family started celebrating Meatless Monday. None of us were vegetarians, none of us had heard of the campaigns started by Paul McCartney or John Hopkins University.  We only wanted to improve our diets and health.

For the first two years we planned weekly for our one meatless day - breakfast lunch and dinner - may no flesh cross our lips.  We had roasted veggie lasagna, portobello mushroom burgers and asparagus tarts.  Best of all?  No one complained.  No one missed a beefy Monday.  The result was healthy weight, blood pressure and improved energy across the board.  And, less after-dinner bloat.

However, different from the rest of the family, this experience affecting me more strongly.  I increased my yoga practice from two-three days a week practice to daily Kundalini Yoga and meditation.  Around this time, I also read (and took the online classes) A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle.  I suddenly got very sick - and it lasted for two weeks.   I am not  a doctor, but my gut tells me that I was detoxing.  I couldn't possibly consider eating any flesh of any kind.  I completely lost all desire for it.

Since that two weeks of presumed detox, I have not partaken in consuming anything that had a face or a mother.  No fish, no fowl, no four-leggers cross my plate or palate.

And you know what?  My family did not join me.  They have been content in the weekly Meatless Monday celebration and living the life of an omnivore.  And that's okay.  They know that if I am cooking, chicken is NOT for dinner.  In lieu of having to cook for themselves, they typically end up eating the vegetarian dinner I prepare.  Since I always make enough for everyone, as sharing fresh fruits and veggies is a joy - that is cool with me, too.

We are living proof that herbivores and omnivores can co-exist peacefully.

Things I Didn't Know About Being a Vegetarian Until I Became a Vegetarian

I just stopped.  That was it.  I had a mouthful of clam chowder in my mouth and I had to spit it out.  I had no desire to chew it, smell it, let alone swallow it.  So I didn't.  From that point on - no more flesh.  It was that easy and I have never turned back.  No thinking about it - I just did it.  I became a vegetarian.

When you just drop flesh cold-tofurkey like that, there are things that you learn after the fact.  I am here to share some of those things with you.:

1. Restaurants are really nice about accommodating their menus for vegetarians. I used to miss fish tacos at one of our old favorites, and I expressed that to the server.  He said, no problem, they would substitute zucchini for the fish and now I get my tacos - only way more delicious and less stinky!

2. If you need a quick, prepared meal, there's some great choices at your corner supermarket.  I am so hooked on Amy's Samosas (potato and peas) that I should start a 12-step program for them.  You don't have to go to a specialty grocer to get some great, quick, vegetarian fare.

3. I can do most of my shopping at the farmer's market.  I gather my recyclable bag, and walk around the market until I have so much stuff my shoulder is burning.  It's fun!  (Really)  And so very healthy to eat seasonally and locally.

4. I can grow so many of our favorite veggies and herbs myself.  I have become all about fresh herbs - the legal kind, of course. Artichokes, tomatoes, lettuce, basil, rosemary, chives and anything I can keep away from our Newfie, Cousteau, who also love veggies. (Chive thief!)

5. That I would never, ever crave flesh.  Ever... 

6. That I would not be bothered with other people's choices around me.  I don't ever try to impose my choices on my family - and they don't try to impose theirs on me.  My husband and kids are all omnivores.  However, they do know that if this herbivore cooks, that we are having a vegetarian meal.  They have yet to complain.

7. That I would have more energy than ever.  I get up every morning around 5am, do yoga and don't quit until 5pm. It's awesome to have so much energy.

8. Apparently my life insurance premiums will be cheaper.  I have read this in a number of places, but have yet to confirm it.  Sounds like something I need to address.

9. "Fake Meat" as my kids call it, tastes great in chili or spaghetti red sauce.  Fake cheese is still nasty to me.  I have tried them all and will keep on trying until this desire is fulfilled.  If you have found any fake cheese winners, please pass them on.

10. B-12 and iron need to be supplemented.  I have read several studies on this (some agree and some disagree)  and know what works best for me.  B-12 supplements I take daily, iron - only during a heavy menstrual cycle.

11.A dairy cow's life is nearly as miserable as a beef cows.  So very sad news, but I rarely now touch dairy as a result.

12. I am not only living, I am thriving on a plant-based diet.  This has made me think, this is how I was always meant to be.

Please check out this very valuable resource book titled, "Yoga and Vegetarianism", by Sharon Gannon.

Meatless Mondays

Every Monday, for the past few years, my family and I have gone Meatless on Mondays. It was an easy tihng to do as a family and little did I know it would have such an impact on the ways that we would all eat in the future.

As a result, I just kept going meatless... it was for me. I laugh when I think about how selfish I felt when I initially began eating this way. Wouldn't I be ruining family dinners? What about Thanksgiving? Christmas Eve? Dinner at friends and families homes? You know what, it's no big deal. It was silly that it was holding me back, until one day, I just couldn't eat any flesh anymore. A delicious and warm clam chowder literally made me gag and I ended up throwing it away.

Today, I never, ever eat meat of any sort - beef, pork, lamb, poultry, seafood - all of it is totally safe around me, cuz it's not going to end up on my plate.

The result? Maintaining a healthy weight (not my perfect weight, but it's close), having more energy and feeling more like I am just being ME... that's the best of all.

Please join us on Meatless Monday and see how it affects your life. It will not only benefit your family, but also your pocketbook and health.

Celebrating Meatless Monday Boosts Savings

New reasons to celebrate Meatless Monday may lie in your pocketbook. Here's an excerpt from the website, MeatlessMonday.com that gives us some very real reasons to make the commitment to give up meat once a week.:

Tough times call for bold measures. Sometimes, though, the most innovative solutions are the easiest ones to implement. People looking to save money during this recessionary period need look no further than what they place on their plate. By cutting meat just one day a week, we can put more green in our pockets!

Here at the Meatless Monday office we did an informal survey of how much our families save a month by going meatless on Monday. By substituting beans, legumes, eggs, nuts and seeds for meat, the numbers add up. $80-100 a month, according to our little survey.

Medical nutritionist Lory Hayon of The Fertility Center of Las Vegas completed a cost analysis of a steak dinner for four versus vegetarian chili stuffed potatoes, which ran only $6.29. He concluded “‘if the average family of four spent $20 per meat-containing meal, seven days per week, they could reduce their grocery bill on average by $30 per week, or $1500 per year, by making three meals per week meatless.”

These numbers speak for themselves...

Read the entire article here.: http://www.meatlessmonday.com/cutting-meat-boosts-cash/

Support Meat Free Monday. Eat less meat for a better planet

What is Meatfree Monday?

It's a food campaign to encourage the nation to help slow climate change by reducing their meat consumption by having at least one meat free day a week.

Having a MEAT FREE day every week is a simple way to start making a real difference in the world. The more people who join in, the more difference we can make.

How to help Support Meat Free Monday Eat less meat for a better planet