Be Good To The Earth And Yourself

April is Earth month, four weeks where we not only celebrate Spring, Easter and Passover but the Earth herself. It's a time when beaches are cleaned and, carbon foot prints are reduced as we all become a bit more  eco-conscious. What can you contribute? Change the way you eat. Make it good for you and our planet.

That's what New York Times Science section contributor, Jane Brody urged today in her Personal Health column. She writes that for more than a century Americans have been living high off the hog -literally. In 1900 most of the American diet was plant based. Eighty -five years later two thirds of the country were eating more protein, namely in the form of  beef. The cattle that gives us the steaks and filets we crave is also contributing to the destruction of the planet we live on. It takes eight pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. Then there's the problem of cows releasing tons of greenhouses gases a year. An editorial in Britain's top medical periodical, The Lancet proclaimed "that intensive meat production is on an unstoppable trajectory comprising the single greatest contributor to climate change." This is scary. Not only are we going to suffer the consequences of our greedy eating habits but our planet is  suffering too. The Lancet suggests  that we don't go vegan or vegetarian, just cut down on our bad eating habits.

What do we do? Limit our amount of red meat such as beef and lamb. Have it every two weeks. Eat more chicken , pork and fish. Ms. Brody , who has written several books on nutrition suggests going one step further. Have a diet that is mostly , if not all plant based, It's easy to do these days. She gives us her recipe  of roasting two cups of butternut squash and one cup of coarsely chopped onion with a tablespoon of olive oil. It's then popped into a 450 degree F oven for twenty minutes.This is an easy cook and can be altered to include other veggies such as peppers  and yams. Ms. Brody suggests adding a can of drained chickpeas. also roasted covered with curry powder and salt. The limit also applies to dairy too. This is then the time to explore dairy alternatives.  Think about switching to either soy, rice, oat or almond milks and their byproducts. Soy Delicious has  so many different products such as ice cream and coffee creamer. The trade off is a good one. You get to still have tasty treats such a soy cheese pizza or a fudgy soy ice cream bar while saving the planet. Also baking  and cooking with soy or almond milk is no different than cooking with milk or cream. I have made vegan cakes with almond milk and have used it in icings. The last turns out perfectly creamy frostings that hold up and don't run off the cake.

Be good to your planet and self by changing your diet. Eat more plant based foods. It's a plus for your health and our planet Earth.