Q. What’s the NUMBER ONE question vegans are asked?
A. “Where do you get your protein from?”
I believe, after about 5 or so years of getting my nutrition from foods other than animals, that I get enough of most all my nutrients, pretty easily. The past few weeks, I have been revisiting some bean salads that I make on Sunday and have for most of the week. There truly is NO recipe for this. Since I always keep canned beans in the house, I just open a few different kinds, rinse them well and throw them in a big bowl with some olive oil and balsamic vinegar. I generally use a combination of northern beans, garbanzos, black beans and whatever else I might have handy. I usually add some diced red onions and a little salt and pepper. Yesterday, I added some diced hot and sweet peppers out of a jar. It can be eaten right away, but gets better as it sits in the fridge. It can be eaten alone or thrown on top of a garden salad. While just 1/2 cup of beans are a nice bang of protein (about 8 grams) the even better part is that same half cup gives you about 8 grams of fiber!! Where else can you find that much fiber in small serving? It helps keep your digestive system healthy, and definitely helps keep you full, a big bonus if you are looking to lose some weight. Since canned beans are so inexpensive you can whip up a salad like this for about 5 bucks and it will make enough for many servings! If I happen to have a ripe mango, I like to dice it up and throw it on top of this salad for some sweetness. Be creative and let me know what you come up with.
If you are still in the ab challenge….100/150/58/90seconds and tomorrow we rest. PHEW!
I will be at the gym for my 2 regularly scheduled classes and will be subbing for Ellen at 10. She will be back to work tomorrow. What a beautiful job her family did memorializing Ellen’s dad. I will keep in mind the quote that the oldest grandchild, Justin, opened and closed his speech with and pass it on to you:
