When you first found out that lean protein builds muscle and keeps you in good
health, you probably thought skinless chicken breast was the best thing for
you. Me, too. Well, my days of weight lifting and cardio on the hamster wheel, aka the treadmill,
while mindlessly watching CNN are long gone. So are my old ways of shopping the
way the tv commercials tell me to. Meat is not 'what's for dinner' at the
Fewel household anymore. (Thanks to Netflix for putting "Forks over
Knives" in my queue, so I just can't ignore where my food comes from any
longer.) Everyone needs protein to build healthy cells. Your muscles, organs, and immune system
are made up of mostly protein. And eating less meat, whether an ethical or personal
choice, means you have to find tasty protein sources elsewhere.
After 8 years of eating meat, I recently made the switch back to eating vegetarian.
My husband, Jeff, went totally vegan. I agree with the yogi masses that whether
or not one is vegetarian is a personal matter, but as BKS Iyengar wrote in
"Light on Yoga", one of the greatest books ever written on the
subject of yoga, "in course of time, the practicioner of yoga has to adopt a
vegetarian diet, in order to attain one-pointed attention and spiritual
evolution...But merely because a man is a vegetarian, it does not necessarily
follow that he is non-violent by temperament or that he is a yogi, though a
vegetarian diet is a necessity for the practice of yoga."
So, whether or not you are vegetarian, there are excellent sources of plant-based
proteins to keep your cells healthy and keep you headed in the right direction
towards a plant-based diet. Here are my top four accessible and tasty
vegetarian sources of protein available at Trader Joes, Sprouts, and other
health food stores in our area.
1. Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah")- 11g protein/cup. This is a good high
protein grain replacement for rice or pasta as a bed for steamed vegetables or
sauces. As a breakfast, it has a similar consistency to oatmeal topped with
almond milk and berries. Yum!
2. Tempeh- 24g protein/4 oz. A soy-based food great as a burger (think heathy
cheeseburger here) on a squishy, whole grain bun with all the fixins. Tempeh
can also be balled up like a meatball and put in a spaghetti sauce or served
over brown rice and vegetables.
3. Black beans, kidney beans, or pinto beans- 12g protein/cup. Best soaked and
slow cooked at home, but canned is okay, too. Put these in your warm chili or
soup or served cold over a green, multi-veg salad for some color and texture.
Get this great vegetarian chili recipe here.
4. Non-dairy "milk"- 7g/cup. Cows milk is for baby cows and is not good
for the digestive tract of humans. Plainly, it makes me bloated. For
others, it can cause systemic inflamation with countless allergic responses. If
you clear your mind of what "milk" is supposed to taste like, almond
or rice milk is an excellent replacement for cereal, tea, or for drinking
alone.

Notice I didn't mention tofu? :) Happy Meatless Monday to you!

Kristen

P.S. Do you know someone who could benefit from this information? Send it along
with our thanks for referring others to yoga and a healthier lifestyle.

You know someone who may be on the edge of a health crisis. They take on too much. They are stressed out and aren’t taking care of themselves. Their prolonged stress is making them irritable, they have nagging pains, their health is declining, and now they’ve begun to take pills as a way to get through the day.     You are concerned and have very good reason to be, because pills just cover the symptom for awhile without relieving the cause of the problem.  More prescriptions, shots, or maybe surgery will be required in the future if they don’t get a handle on it.   You’ve known for a long time that prolonged stress contributes to many health problems such as backache, insomnia, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, ulcers, fertility problems, heart disease, and a plethora of emotional and sexual dysfunctions.  Some of these disorders show up as early as 40 years of age!   So you’ve been telling your friend for a while now that they need to take better care of themselves— but they just won’t listen.  Maybe they don’t know HOW to change?  What can you do to help?   1. Be an example. Be an example of good health.  Eat in moderation.  Set aside a little time to meditate and to practice something you learned in yoga class, even for a few minutes. Get in good company with other healthy people.   2. Share your experience.  This is the yogic principle of satya: being honest about yourself and your truth. Be clear about the primary things that you do to stay healthy and invite them to do it with you.  Invite your friend on a walk or share a healthy meal. Reinforce your own healthy habits by talking about what drew you to yoga and how you feel as a result. Ask them to join you at your favorite yoga class. They will likely feel better that day and you will, too, for helping someone in need.   3. Be encouraging, not pushy. Everyone has to find their own way through hard times, but you know that peace of mind is found through three simple daily actions: proper breathing, moving your body, and meditation.  Encourage your friend to take two minutes every day to just breathe.  The simple act of breathing encourages mindfulness which calms the nervous system in just minutes. This is the foundation for your yoga practice.   4. Be patient and kind.  Loving-kindness toward all beings is the yogic principle of ahimsa. We can feel frustrated when someone we care about is blind to the source of their own suffering, but we don’t want to make them feel worse by lecturing them.  When your friend decided to take a prescription to deal with stress related pain, perhaps they were ignorant of the snowball of side effects, or didn’t know they had a better choice. Lifestyle changes aren’t made overnight, and it will take the patience of a caring friend who can make a big difference in their life with small acts of kindness.   You can help someone in need by introducing them to Full Circle Yoga.  We have a variety of mind-body fitness classes that will help them breathe easier from their very first visit. Call the studio at 714-404-2576 or visit our website at fcyoga.com for more information.