SWIHA Blog

The Vegetarian Way of Eating: Easy Recipe Included

Posted by Melanie Albert on 9/17/14 12:07 AM

Plus an easy recipe: Experience Nutrition™ Roots & Greens Stir-fry

What Does a ‘Vegetarian Diet’ Look Like?

Vegetarian DietsLast week we focused on the ‘Vegan Way of Eating’ a Whole Foods Diet, this week, it’s ‘Vegetarian’. Vegetarians primarily eat fresh produce, grains, legumes, and nuts and seeds. Vegetarians, for the most part, do not eat meat, fish or poultry, but however may consume dairy and eggs. They enjoy their food both cooked and raw.

33% of Americans Eat Vegetarian Meals

According to a 2011 study conducted for The Vegetarian Resource Group by Harris Interactive®, seventeen percent of Americans indicated that they “don’t eat meat, fish, seafood, fish or poultry at many of their meals (but less than half the time)” and sixteen percent don’t eat these foods at more than half their meals. Thus, one-third of Americans are eating vegetarian meals a significant amount of time.

Vegetarians are Not Predictable

Vegetarians are not as predictable in their beliefs as vegans, because in general their primary motivation for becoming vegetarian is not due to an altruistic belief. Sometimes vegetarians base their decision to eat vegetarian due to moral issues (eg. factory farming of animals) and, at other times, it is health related (e.g., reduce risk of heart disease or food allergies or intolerances).


Top Vegetarian Diets

  • Lacto-vegetarians: Consume Dairy
  • Ovo-vegetarians: Consume Eggs
  • Ovo-lacto-vegetarians: Consume Eggs & Dairy
  • Pesca-tarian: Consume Fish and Shellfish
  • Pollo-tarian: Consume birds, but no other animals
  • Flexi-tarian: Eat Vegetarian Sometimes

Whole Food S.O.U.L. Food Wednesday Action:
Eat Vegatarian For 2 Days

With our Whole Food S.O.U.L. Blog we invite you to take action with your whole foods eating behavior.

Our Challenge for you this week is to choose one of the vegetarian diets and eat that way at least 2 days and notice how you feel. To get started, the Experience Nutrition™ Roots & Greens Stir-fry recipe is a simple, delicious way to enjoy your veggies. Please consider sharing your creations with us on Facebook.

Our Whole Food / S.O.U.L Food Wednesday Recipe for the Week

Experience Nutrition™ Roots & Greens Stir-fry

A simple stir-fry with organic greens and root vegetables is tasty every time you make it. Try it with different roots and greens that are local and in season when available. Use this simple recipe as a foundation for your stir-fry and enjoy roots and greens a few times each week.

Experience Nutrition™ Roots & Greens Stir-fryIngredients

  • Roots: 3-5 roots such as carrots, celery root, golden beets, onions, radishes, sweet potatoes, turnip
  • Greens: 1-3 greens such as bok choy, broccoli, collards, dandelion greens, kale
  • Fresh garlic cloves
  • Onions: Scallions, red or white
  • Organic extra virgin olive oil
  • Sea salt
  • Black pepper
  • Herbs: Basil, cilantro or lemon balm
  • Extra: Bragg’s Amino Acids

Simple Steps

Prep veggies

    1. Scrub veggies
    2. Keep skin on the roots for nutrients
    3. Keep skin on the roots for nutrients
    4. Chop into about equal-size chunks for rustic dish

Stir-fry Steps Stir-fry Steps

  1. Pre-heat wok or saute pan on medium-high for about 10 minutes
  2. Add olive oil to pan
  3. Add aromatics: garlic and onions
  4. Stir-fry for a few minutes
  5. Add most dense roots (like carrots and beets) and stir-fry for about 5 minutes
  6. Add other roots (like sweet potatoes and radishes) and stir-fry for about 5 minutes
  7. Add water to steam and cover
  8. Plate it
  9. Add protein-rich, Bragg’s Amino Acids
  10. Enjoy!
Experience Nutrition™ Roots & Greens Stir-fry prepared by students in Whole Foods Cooking at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts

Enjoy.

Share your vegetarian stir-fry creations on Facebook:

www.facebook.com/SWIHA and www.facebook.com/9Ways90Days


whole-foods-cooking-authorAbout the Author Melanie Albert

Melanie Albert, nutrition and food expert, author and speaker, has been active in the integrative medicine and nutrition fields for over a decade. She is the founder & CEO of Experience Nutrition Group, LLC, whose mission is to improve the lives health and nutrition of the sports community, kids and corporations through food and lifestyle education.

Melanie is an instructor in Whole Foods Cooking, Holistic Nutrition (Conscious Eating) and Entrepreneurship at the Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) in Tempe, AZ. She also teaches Intuitive Eating at Spirit of Yoga in Tempe, AZ. Melanie walks her talk and you can always find her at farmers' markets, in the kitchen experimenting, and practicing yoga.

You can get more recipes, nutrition and food tips from Melanie.
Visit her blog: www.9Ways90Days.wordpress.com
Visit her Facebook: www.facebook.com/9Ways90Days

Topics: Vegetarian, Melanie Albert, Whole Foods Wednesday, Blog, Recipe of the Week, Whole Foods, Urban Farming, Nutrition

About the Author Melanie Albert

Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker, has been active in wellness, integrative medicine, and nutrition for over 15 years and has worked with former NFL players, Super Bowl events, holistic practitioners, kids, and seniors. She is the founder of Experience Nutrition Group, LLC in Phoenix, and author of “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods" and companion 55-card deck. Melanie is a 2007 graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, 2001 Integrative Medicine Fellow and 2003 Intuition Fellow of the Kaiser Institute, former marketing consultant for Weil Lifestyle, LLC / Andrew Weil, MD, Holistic Nutrition Instructor of Whole Foods Cooking and Conscious Eating at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts in Tempe, Arizona, and 200-hour Registered Yoga Teacher. She received culinary training with the Rouxbe Cooking School Plant-Based Professional Certification. Her company, Experience Nutrition was an Official Health & Wellness Partner of the NFL Alumni Association in 2011. Melanie lives in Phoenix, Arizona. You can always find her shopping at farmers’ markets, experimenting in the kitchen, and practicing yoga.

Melanie Albert

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