Meatless Muscle

Here it is, Vegan Feast Thursday, and I am still reflecting on Saturday’s gardening, cooking and eating experience at Dolores and Ted’s.  I remain inspired and hopeful that someday I can have just a fraction of the garden that Ted built!

Mitch always tells me I like to be trendy, and apparently plant-based diets are the trend.  Derek, who has been a vegan for about 10 years, is a trend setter.  I am always grateful for all I have learned about this, (and many other things) through him.  I find children to be the best teachers!  Anyway, because it is trendy (so was Pilates, but it is here to stay) it is much more visible.  One example was the segment at Bob Harper’s home on BL this week.  That same night I picked up a copy of Natural Muscle Magazine at the gym, and there was an article called Meatless MUSCLE? The author, Marzia Prince, points out that in the world of fitness and body-building, eating animal products 5-6 times a day is the standard diet.  As I have been in that world for the past 29 years, I have been outside the box as a vegetarian for most of them, and more recently as a vegan.  If I had a dime for every person that asked me how I get enough protein, clearly I would have a lot of dimes!!!  According to both the World Health Organization and the Dietic Association “a vegan or vegetarian on a well planned, balanced diet, has no trouble meeting their protein requirements.”  Prince makes a great point when she asks “how many people do you know that are protein deficient?”  She has never met one and neither have I!  As a matter of fact, if you get too much protein, just like any other food group, you will store it as fat.

Great sources of non-animal protein include beans, nuts, seeds, seitan, tofu and soy products, vegetables-yes, vegetables (especially the leafy green ones) and grains such as brown rice, buckwheat and quinoa.  Here is a salad recipe that I have not tried yet, but I certainly will be soon….maybe even tonight with grilled veggie subs, a garden salad, baked fries and a pot of soup.  It is, after all, a feast!

Black Bean Quinoa Salad

2 teaspoons grated lime zest

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa

1 (14-15 ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained)

1 medium tomato diced or 15 baby tomatoes cut in half

3 chopped scallions

1/4 cup fresh cilantro

Mix all together and enjoy!

And at the very bottom of the article is a picture of one of the most well known vegan body-builders, Robert Cheeke.  He is an avid animal rights activist and has won MANY body-building championships living on an entirely plant-based diet since 2005.  He wrote the book on Vegan Bodybuilding and you can visit his website at www.veganbodybuilding.com

LOOKING GOOD TO ME, ROBERT