Meat Out, Veggies In!

In February, we highlighted Meatless Mondays… now in March it's Meatout Month! Spring is the perfect time to make resolutions to eat healthier and make changes to your lifestyle for the better. Meatout is a grassroots campaign organized by a nonprofit group that promotes animal rights. Every year on or around March 20th, the Meatout Campaign coordinates or inspires others to coordinate events around the world that help introduce people to a wholesome, compassionate, plant-based diet.

At Down to Earth, we provide opportunities to sample and learn about yummy, plant-based dishes every week at our different store locations. We’re contributing to the Meatout campaign by hosting sampling events for meat substitutes. If you come by and try something you like, you can also take advantage of our Meatless Monday sale on select mock meats. Upcoming samplings fall on each Thursday in Kapolei and Honolulu; Monday, March 12th in Kailua; and Thursday, March 15th at our Maui location, all at noon. For March 19th – 21st, we have four cooking classes planned at our Pearlridge, Kahului, Kapolei and Kailua locations. Featured recipes include Tempeh with Coconut Curry, Homemade Pizza Dough Bread with Garlic Topping, Lavender Coconut Ice Cream and Strawberry Crumble. For complete details and schedules, please visit our Events page.

March is also National Nutrition Month, which is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association). According to the AND, appropriately planned vegetarian diets are “healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.” They further stress that “Well-planned vegetarian diets are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood and adolescence, and for athletes.”¹

Studies by the AND indicate that a vegetarian diet may help lower the risk of death from heart disease. A vegetarian diet is also associated with lower cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, lower rates of hypertension and type 2 diabetes, as well as lower body mass index and lower overall cancer rates. The AND links these lower rates of chronic disease to lower intakes of the saturated fat and cholesterol found in animal products and higher intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and nuts which contribute a host of necessary vitamins, minerals, fiber and cancer-fighting phytochemicals.² In conjunction with Meatout month, here are some recommendations inspired by the AND that will help move you towards a plant-based diet:

• Substitute animal proteins with plant proteins. Use beans, lentils, nuts, seeds, tofu, miso, broccoli, kale, and ready-made meat substitutes in place of animal protein. Hummus sandwiches, tofu stir-fry, veggie burgers, bean burritos, vegetarian chili, trail-mix, lentil soup, nut loaves, nut pate, hemp-protein shakes, and granola with nuts are examples of high plant protein dishes.
• Make a fun and healthy treat: top a graham cracker with frozen yogurt, add sliced banana and make a sandwich. Freeze and save for a treat.
• On the go? Throw some almond milk, frozen strawberries and a banana in the blender for thirty seconds. Add a few kale leaves for some extra nutrition.
• Make colorful veggie kabobs with tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, zucchini, onions, mushrooms, and seitan (a meat substitute made of wheat gluten). Soak in your favorite marinade and grill or broil to perfection.
• Get in the habit of adding grated, shredded or chopped vegetables like zucchini, spinach, carrots and beets to any whole grain pasta or rice dishes.

The key to success is starting small and taking baby steps in the right direction. The more you start incorporating healthy plant foods into your diet, the more you will feel the positive results. Spring is the perfect time to make these changes, as it represents a time to plant seeds that give birth to new life and new growth. At Down to Earth, we’re here to help you make those positive changes to protect your health, the health of the planet and the wellbeing of all the innocent animals.