Day 1: Acorn squash pancakes with whipped maple butter, Raw pepper slices and carrot sticks
Day 2: Jalapeno poppers, Roast potatoes
Day 3: Homemade pizza, Tossed salad with carrots
Day 4: Fresh ham roast, Roasted veggies with garlic thyme dressing (beets, carrots, brussels sprouts)
Day 5: Ground pork with cabbage and apples
Day 6: Scrambled eggs w/ leeks, Balsamic roasted broccoli
Day 7: Grilled skirt steak, Bok Choi salad with peanuts and garlic sesame dressing
Notes: Throwback meal plan
**I’m not able to make a new plan this week so here is a throwback post from last October. I’ve updated slightly since project drawdown now lists eating less meat as the second largest way you can reduce your personal impact on the planet (reducing food waste is now number one). Also, both the pancakes and the jalapeno poppers were new for me at that time. Both turned out awesome! You can find the pancake recipe linked above, but I haven’t added the popper recipe yet. It is simply cream cheese softened and 1 tsp garlic powder mixed together and used to fill the jalapenos cut in half with ribs/seeds removed. Top with shredded cheddar and bake in the oven at 400 degrees F for about 15 to 20 minutes until the peppers are tender.
I’ve been trying to incorporate more vegetarian and vegan meals into my plans, but in order to appease my meat-eating husband I am making more dishes this week with eggs, pork, and beef. My main reason for wanting to cut back on our meat consumption is for environmental reasons. Did you know that eating vegan is the second biggest way you can reduce your impact on our planet (reducing food waste is now number one), including more than cutting back on car or plane trips? There have been extensive studies in this area. However, we are omnivores by nature and eating meats and fat can actually be a healthy way to lose weight and maintain muscle. Veggies vs. meat is a constant debate in my household.
Anywho, I wrote an article about this a while ago and there are some solutions to meet in the middle. One is to seek out sustainable sources of meat. Farms that care for their land and animals in ways that are carbon neutral and can actually improve or restore the environment. As a result, we joined a meat share from a small farm called Mastodon Valley Farm. They take sustainability and self-sufficiency to the extreme! I mean, I’m talking “Little House on the Prairie” style. They built their small cabin from trees on their land and live off the grid. They use rainwater and carry more water up to their house from a nearby spring. They have restored oak savannas where cows, pigs, goats, chickens and more graze to maintain the natural ecosystem. This small family eats completely off the land that they manage and then sell the excess. On the one hand, I’m a little jealous of their living situation. On the other hand, I’m also okay living with my modern day conveniences and outsourcing my farming. I’m so grateful for this farm as we work to cut back our meat consumption and move away from factory farmed meat. Check them out! You can also use the USDA CSA finder tool or the Fairshare Coalition to locate a farm that sells meat shares in your area. Or just google it, you may be surprised at what you find! In the mean time, Tim and I will continue to argue the merits of animal vs. vegetable.
One last note: the squash pancakes and jalapeno poppers are new for me this week and I’ll share the recipes if they turn out well (update: they were both delicious – see above). I like to adapt several different recipes to my own taste and often cut way back on the sugar. For example, most pre-made pancake mixes and even from scratch recipes are loaded with added sugar and then my kids also like to poor a gallon of maple syrup on the top. I’m going to blend a couple of recipes and attempt to eliminate the sugar since the squash will add some sweetness. Finally, I will add a touch of maple syrup whipped into softened butter to top it off. I’m talking real maple syrup, none of that corn syrup nonsense makes it into my house. I’m drooling just thinking about eating this week!
CSA Breakdown: For those of you also using Crossroads Community Farm, this is the last week of our summer CSA farm share. I hope you enjoyed eating fresh local food as much as I did! Unfortunately I don’t have a share breakdown for you this week, but I hope you’ll join me this fall/winter for more recipe and meal planning ideas using Crossroads produce. See you next week!
