Bittman adopted a vegan diet part of the time — he would eat vegan until 6 pm and then he enjoy whatever he liked after that.  But his shift to eliminating animal products and eating a much cleaner diet paid off – he lost 35 pounds over the course of three months.

I was drawn to this article because I’ve been toying with the idea of eating less meat for some time. And when I read it, it struck me that I pretty much practice part-time veganism too although it hasn’t been intentional. I didn’t wake up one day and say “today, I’m going to become a part-time vegan,” rather it unfolded through my weekly meal planning efforts and just felt right.

Since I do most of the cooking in the house, I plan the meals and do the grocery shopping.  I’m naturally drawn to more soups and stews in colder months and I often end up making vegan dishes that contain copious amounts of beans.  So in a very natural way, my husband and I started eating more meat less dishes at lunch time and lots of healthy snacks in the afternoon - like red pepper strips with hummus and an apple.  And since we don’t eat meat with breakfast, it’s not so hard to go through a large portion of the day without any meat at all.

Awhile back I did plan a week of no meat at all, even with dinner. Bruce reluctantly went along with the program but he wasn’t so thrilled.  Even though we don’t eat a lot of meat (usually chicken, turkey and fish), he missed the opportunity to have meat and he kept reminding me how important protein is to his weight lifting routine.  Needless to say, we got through the week but he was definitely not into my plan to extend our vegan experiment another week!  Ironically, just the other day he suggested that we have another week of no meat at all and you know I was game. That’s coming up next week and I’ll share the details of our menu planning.

I can see how being a part-time vegan is something that can work in our home.  It’s a healthier, clean eating happy medium that’s balanced by some meat later on in the day but even that doesn’t have to happen every day and can be in small amounts.  Seriously, this is so much a healthier way to eat and live and it feels like it fits both our needs better than the all or nothing approach. And I have to say that after four to five months of eating this way, Bruce has shed roughly20 pounds so he’s reaping the health benefits and feeling great about how he looks.  To me, eating this way screams, “I want to prevent chronic disease,” and we’re both committed to that.

Have you tried being a part-time vegan? What’s your experience been like and how has it helped you create a healthier, clean eating lifestyle that supports preventing chronic disease?

One of the things I like best about clean eating is that a few simple ingredients blended together can make a delicious meal that can be super easy.  I routinely like to keep it simple with the freshest ingredients. Make it a one pot meal and it’s even better – less mess in the kitchen.

The inspiration for this recipe came from Clean Eating Magazine.  Awhile back I had seen a recipe with black eyed peas and collard greens but I wasn’t so wild about the potatoes.  I actually was looking for it recently, couldn’t find it and put together what I thought sounded good, with some additions and changes.  It was absolutely delicious and it’s so basic that I can see making this pretty regularly in my meal planning routine.

You’ll love this clean eating recipe because it’s so fast, you have it made in about 30 minutes. And with greens, beans and sweet potatoes, it’s brimming with a whole host of nutrients your body needs.  I love that it features so many complex carbohydrates and it will keep your energy up for hours.

Ingredients:

1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
1 32 oz. carton low sodium vegetable broth
2 cups water
2 medium sweet potatoes, diced
1 bunch collards greens, chopped
15 ounce can black-eyed peas (I like Eden Organic)
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (I love Muir Glen, all organic)
½ tsp. dried oregano
½ tsp. dried rosemary
Sea salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Add broth, water and sweet potatoes, bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3. Add black-eyed peas, tomatoes, collards greens, oregano and rosemary and simmer until collards are tender, approximately 10-15 minutes.
4. Season with salt and pepper.

What’s your favorite way to combine beans and greens in a soup? Have other ideas for a quick and delicious soup that’s healthy? Do tell!

And nothing’s better than finding new clean eating resources that inspire me in the kitchen. This past week, I had the pleasure of attending Terry Walter’s talk on Clean Food at the New Haven Public Library. Terry, a fellow graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is the author of the recently published Clean Food cookbook, a seasonal guide to eating close to the source.

She shared about the power of preparing and eating real food for her and her family and how any of us can take baby steps in the right direction using seasonal, locally grown food. I’m always of that mind with my clean eating clients — it’s never about changing up everything in your routine at once, but about simple choices we can make everyday to step in the right direction.

Terry has a warm personality and engaging style that shone through during her talk. Along the way, she prepared some yummy dishes — a quinoa salad with fresh mango, black beans and mint, and a delicious garden salad with a lemon vinaigrette dressing — that we all had the pleasure of enjoying.

Nothing was a better follow up to the evening than noshing over a healthy meal with my good friend Jannae as we compared notes about what we were going to make from the cookbook over the weekend. 

And just as I promised myself, I got busy on Saturday and whipped up her sweet potato, corn and kale chowder.  I used Trader Joe’s frozen, fire roasted corn and loved the rich flavor.  I also tried her banana, coconut and chocolate chip cookies.  They are so easy to make and I like that the only sweetener is a 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup.  These vegan cookies were a bit hit at the dinner party we attended on Saturday night.

I really like the way Terry has divided up the cookbook by seasons.  Given that spring is officially here, I naturally gravitated to that section and am giving special focus to recipes that contain greens, one of the best springtime detoxifiers around.

If your aren’t familiar with Clean Food, you have to check it out, it’s worth every penny of the price. And it’s the perfect resource for clean eaters like me that are looking for some fresh, new recipes to build into my repertoire — it reminds me how fun it is to experiment in the kitchen as I support my health.

Have you had a chance to try out Clean Food already? What do you think? What’s your favorite recipe that you just can’t get enough of?

When I stumbled upon Raw Revolution bars recently, I was immediately intrigued.  They contain a handful of all natural ingredients and they’re kosher, dairy-free, gluten-free, completely raw and use only natural sweeteners.

To me, the best snack is something that’s not processed at all – raw fruit or veggies  – but when you get a snack attack and don’t have access to something that fresh, a healthy snack like this sure beats the heck out of a Snickers bar or other unhealthy snack you may reach for.
You can find them at most health food stores, even big box grocery stores (that’s where I discovered them — at Stop and Shop). They’re a bit pricey but worth it.

What’s your favorite packaged, healthy snack?