Are you getting enough protein?

When I tell people I don't eat meat, pretty much the first thing that comes out of their mouths is, "Then how do you get enough protein?" It is like we are all brainwashed by the ranchers and dairy farmers that the only way anyone is going to get enough protein to survive is to eat a steak every other night, and a chicken breast on the days in between. Yet, the western diet isn't lacking in protein. In fact, most doctors would tell you that most Americans are getting way too much protein. Yes, there is such a thing.

So, now you are asking yourself, "Well, how much protein do I need?"

According to the USDA, most adults should be getting 10% to 35% of their daily calories from protein. So lets do the math, 1 gram of protein = 4 calories, based on a 2,000 calorie diet, the average adult needs 50 - 175g of protein.

Personally, I believe we really only need about 25-90 grams of protein, or about 5-8% of your daily calories. This does depend on how active you are, your age, and how healthy you are. If you feel good, and are full of energy, you are probably getting enough. If not, I would talk to your healthcare professional or nutritionist about exactly how much you should be getting.

So, now you are asking, "So, where do I get this protein from?"

Here are my Top 10 Green & Clean protein sources:

1. Beans (dried or fresh). 1 cup, cooked, has up to 20 grams. I try to incorporate as many beans in our diet as possible. I even make our own hummus and bean paste. 
2. Seed grains such as Millet and Quinoa. 1 cup, cooked, has up to 10 grams of protein. 
3. Whole Raw Nuts. 32 grams has up to 10 grams. 
4. Peas and lentils. 1 cup has 8 grams. 
5. Rice. 1 cup, cooked, has 5 grams.
6. Hemp seeds or powder. 1 cup has 4 grams of protein containing all 10 essential amino acids! Bonus, it is full of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. We take 1/8 cup daily. 
7. Avocados. 1 avacado has 4 grams. Avocados do not last long in our house. They go into salads, smoothies, wraps, and, of course, guacamole.
8. Kale, chard, and spinach. 1 cup, cooked, has 3 grams. 
9. Organic, cage-free, local eggs. 1 egg is 6 grams of protein. We tend to eat eggs for breakfast about twice a week, plus one or two used in a recipe.* 
10. Grass-fed, organic, whole pieces of meat and wild-caught seafood. Yes, I said meat. Once, or maybe twice, a week we have a nice piece of meat. It is usually lamb, which we bought from a farm near Vancouver, WA, or wild-caught salmon.*

*Animal protein (from meat, fish, dairy, eggs, etc.) should never make up more than 10% of your daily protein requirement. Consuming more than that has been shown to increase your risk of cancer. 

Your best bet for getting enough protein is to eat a wide variety of fruits, vegetables, seeds, beans, nuts, and other plant sources. You can also supplement with plant based protein powders like Hemp and Spirulina. Hopefully, this answered all your questions about protein. If not, leave a comment.

Until next time...

- Melissa

Navigating Restaurant Menus

I love to go out for dinner. I love socializing and having a great time, enjoying food I didn't have to think about or prepare. My husband barely tolerates the activity. I understand his view though, as it can be downright horrid to try to cobble something we feel we can eat from most restaurant menus. Case in point: Last night my Mother organized a family dinner. I, of course, agreed to go immediately. It has been months since I've seen everyone all together. The restaurant of choice: Red Robin. Not my favorite, for sure, but I knew it would please everyone.

So what did I do? Red Robin is a burger joint. I know that, heck, everyone knows that. Burgers = Gluten + Dairy + Meat. So how did I eat green and clean there? How do you?

1. Let go. Do the best you can, knowing you won't ever know everything that was put into each item. 
2. Do your homework. Look up their menu online, and took a look at their allergen information. You can do this for most big, chain restaurants. For smaller ones, take a look at their online menu anyway.
3. Watch for key words. For me they are: Buttery, creamy, cheesy, or the item description has ingredient that is meat, wheat, or dairy. 
4. Pick your best option. This will be different for everyone. Pick what sounds healthiest and tastiest to you. Stay away from your key words as best you can, but make it something you like to eat.
5. Order it how you want it. While you may get more than one funny look, order the item your way. Most restaurants are happy to make you happy. 

Use these 5 simple steps and you'll navigate most restaurant menus. Granted, some will be easier than others. Last night, I ended up with a Garden Fresh Hummus Plate (no bread) and a Avo-Cobb-o Salad (No meat or cheese) which I used salsa for the dressing. Yes, I ate fries, dipped in BBQ Sauce (probably not gluten-free), ketchup, salsa, balsamic dressing, or hummus (we had a whole sauce station going). Did I get some gluten, probably. Did I get some weird additives, HFCS's, and other junk, definitely. Did I have a good time, oh yes. Though next time, we are grilling in our backyard.

Until next time...

- Melissa

Coconut Oil is, well, Magical.

My mother, bless her, is always having some issue with something. I, like any good daughter, try my best to help her. This week, it was was a bruise she didn't know how she came upon. I suggested to put Coconut Oil on it. She looked at me funny, of course. So I went into detail about how I use the stuff. "It's magical", she said. That's how this post was born.

Coconut Oil is magical. It is Anti-inflammatory, Antimicrobial, Antifungal, Antiviral, and Improves nutrient absorption. You can use it for just about anything. To see hundreds of uses for Coconut Oil click here.

We use it to pan fry fish, as it doesn't change even in high heat, and in our oatmeal. We use it in baking, and next week I'm going to try it out in a pie crust. It pretty much replaces butter and oil. It is vegan and gluten-free.

Besides cooking, I use it for as a facial moisturizer, hair conditioner, and lotion. It is also great on cuts, scraps, and burns to help condition skin and prevent infection. My husband uses it to prevent nose bleeds. I love it for the occasional zit to take out any redness or infection and prevent scaring.

We use Dr. Bronner's Magic Certified Fair Trade & Organic Fresh Pressed Virgin Whole Kernel Coconut Oil. You can find it at New Seasons, Fred Meyer's, Thriftway, Whole Foods, Food Front, and even on Amazon.com. So, I'd suggest going out and buying a jar, or two, today.

Until next time...

- Melissa

Top 3

Okay, this one is just for fun.

My Top 3 Reasons I could never go 100% Vegan:
1. Seafood
2. Parmesan
3. Eggs

My Top 3 Kitchen Essentials:
1. Microplane Zester
2. Zyliss Garlic Press
3. Victorinox 4.5" Steak Knife

My Top 3 Recipes (right now):
1. Taco Salad
2. Oatmeal
3. Veggie Spaghetti
(recipes to come)

My Top 3 Food Blogs:
1. My New Roots
2. Sketch-Free Vegan Eating
3. Enlightened Cooking

My Top 3 Favorite Things (You can find in the Kitchen):
1. Swiss Chocolate (Frey in Switzerland, Rapunzel in the US)
2. Dried Pineapple
3. Stash Teas

My Top 3 Biggest Food Fears:
1. GMO Ingredients (Soy, Corn, Canola) and scary additives
2. Processed Foods taking over the Western Diet
3. The public being lied to by Industry Giants on how to feed themselves

Until next time...

- Melissa

Breakfast

This morning just so happened to be Oatmeal morning. (These happen every Monday and Thursday). Which is my husband and my favorite morning. It's quick, easy, healthy, and just plain tasty. Now, let me be honest, I used to hate oatmeal with a passion. I would go out of my way to avoid eating it. So how did it become my favorite you ask. One word: Muesli.

Wikipedia has this to say about Muesli: ('mju:zlɪ/ or /'mu:zlɪ/; Swiss German: Müesli [ˈmyəz̥li], Standard German: Müsli) is a popular breakfast meal based on uncooked rolled oats, fruit and nuts.

If you ever read my "Cooking Swiss" blog, you'll know that up until a year ago we pretty much lived for our version of this dish. It was yogurt with fresh fruit mixed in, topped with granola. In Switzerland, it was flavored yogurt, fruit and granola. Once I got back home, it was plain, whole yogurt with jam, fruit and granola. Then we moved to Non-fat, yogurt. Then we started making our own jam and granola. Then we omitted most dairy from our life. I swore our Muesli days were over for good.

Not so. After getting tired of smoothies and salads for breakfast (yes, you heard me, salads). I did the unthinkable. I asked my husband to make oatmeal. I ate it, but even with all the honey in the world, I wasn't in love. Then, one morning, epiphany! I placed a spoonful of wonderful, seasonal, fresh fruit salad on top. Love was born. Here is the result:

Muesli Oatmeal
Serves 2

1 cup water
2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (we use Gluten-Free)
2 tsps cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsps raisins
1 tsps coconut oil (Raw is best)

2-3 cups seasonal, fresh fruit salad
(Shown above is 1 banana, 1 kiwi, 1/4 cantaloupe, 3 strawberries)

Preparation
1. Bring water to a boil in a small sauce pan. Add in oats, cinnamon and salt, and reduce heat. After a minute stir in raisins.
2. Cook uncovered for 5 minutes, or until done, stirring occasionally. Turn off the heat and stir in the oil.
3. Serve and top with fruit salad.

Until next time...

- Melissa

Hello World

This is my first post on Eating Green, Eating Clean. So let me introduce the blog and myself. This blog is dedicated to eating good, local, in season, healthy food, put together with love. If I can do it, pretty much anyone can.

I am a working graphic designer with a busy house to keep together. A year ago I found out that I had gallstones. I had a choice to make, either take out my gallbladder or change my diet. Hmmm ... surgery or a lifestyle change. I picked the lifestyle change. This meant cutting out dairy, pork, and saturated animal fats pretty much right away. As time went on I started cutting out gluten, cutting back on salt and refined sugars. It also meant a lot of research, which I'm hoping to share with you, along with a lot of recipes and tips.

If you are reading this, I want to say one thing: Getting to a healthy place takes one step at a time. I'm still taking each one as it comes. The thing you can start doing today is start reading labels. If it looks like a short story, or like it is written in Latin, very slowly put it down and walk away. It is just that simple, and just that hard.

Life is all about the journey. Let's take one of healthy eating together.

Until next time...

- Melissa