Whole Life Holistics

Meatless Monday: Tempeh Burgers Recipe

Whether you’re vegan, vegetarian, or a full-blown carnivore this meatless burger recipe is a delicious step towards a healthier Monday. I’ll save you from my rant, you can refer back to all the reasons why you should add MM to your life NOW!

I revamped my Chicken Burger recipe to go veggie, and it actually shocked me how well it turned out.

Meatless Burgers

INGREDIENTS:

• 12 oz. packet of GROUND vegetarian meat-substitute (I always prefer tempeh but soy is much easier to find and works well in this recipe) ** Options below
• 1/4 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 Sliced cherrie tomatoes, chopped
• Large handful fresh cilantro, chopped and stems removed
• Season it with: Basil, pepper and garlic salt/sea salt

Lightlife’s Gimme Lean Ground Beef was the best option, easily formed into burger and stayed together when cooked.

Meatless Monday

Cutting meat out of your diet, even if it’s only one day a week, can have substantial health benefits. Excess meat consumption (or ANY meat consumption according to a recent study from Harvard School of Public Health) increases mortality rate… not to mention, increases rate of chronic heart disease, type 2 diabetes, obesity, etccccc.

Then there’s the global impact… and I’ll try not to preach but there are some pretty mind-boggling facts.

• The FAO concluded that worldwide livestock farming generates 18% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions — by comparison, all the world’s cars, trains, planes and boats account for a combined 13% of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Then there’s manure — all that animal waste generates nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that has 296 times the warming effect of CO2.
• Much of livestock’s contribution to global warming come from deforestation
• Lost forest cover heats the planet, because trees absorb CO2 while they’re alive — and when they’re burned or cut down, the greenhouse gas is released back into the atmosphere.

Celebrities are flocking to get involved. Some of the tastemakers (literally) include Sir Paul McCartney (who helped to launch Meat Free Mondays in the UK), Gwyneth Paltrow (dedicated a GOOP blog to the cause), Top Chef’s Padma Lakshmi, director James Cameron (who encouraged all to go MM at an Earth Day screening of Avatar), Simon Cowell, Biggest Loser’s trainer Bob Harper, and even Oprah (who announced that Harpo Studios will offer Meatless Monday options)… just to name a few :)

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Balancing Perspective

I have come to realize the tendency we all have to see one side (which usually happens to be our side) of a situation/thought/behavior/etc. I work too much. I don’t go to the gym enough. I drink too much. I don’t spend enough time with my family. Have I hit something you can relate to yet?

I was at lunch with my incredibly motivating friend J a few weeks back and he was telling me how he wanted to be more independent when it came to going and doing what he wanted to do. Going on a hike, to a concert, or trying a new restaurant… he was sick of waiting around for a buddy to join in, and decided that he wasn’t going to let anyone stop him from crossing items off his to do list. Very commendable to say the least. I however, have found myself of the compleeeete opposite side of the spectrum, being TOO independent in my hobbies and interest. I am at a place that I need to be spending more time with friends, work on being more social. Point being… no one is right or wrong in this situation. But when you have gone to one extreme it’s hard to remember that too much of the other side exists.

Next time you start getting down on yourself for too much/little of whatever it is, remember to look at the flip side of the situation. You will never reach “perfect”. It’s not a destination. The struggle to find balance, in every area of your life, will always be there. The sooner you start to accept this the sooner you will find peace in the good, the bad, and everything in between.

♥ Namaste :)

Holy Crap

Fresh from Canada comes Holy Crap & Skinny B two DELICIOUS artisan breakfast cereals. Made from Salvia Hispanica L. (more commonly known as Chia), organic hulled hemp hearts, organic buckwheat, organic cranberries, organic raisins, organic apple bits and organic cinnamon.

With a name like Skinny B, how could you not immediately want to try this?? The only difference between the two is that Skinny B doesn’t contain the dried raisins, dried cranberries, or organic apple bits. All of which I personally can skip (dried fruit usually contains a lot of added sugar)

Both cereals are:

• gluten free
• lactose free
• sugar free
• salt free
• wheat free
• nut free
• all natural
• vegan
• raw
• high in fiber and iron
• source of calcium
• source of omega -3 and -6
• no cooking required

I like to sprinkle a little bit of this on top of my morning oatmeal for an extra crunch (and extra fiber to fill you up).

Or you can always go for a healthy sweet treat and make these healthy cookies. Mmmm :)