Veg versus Meat

I just finished watching this documentary and I'm astounded by some of the results published by the four doctors featured in this film.

Yes, the film promotes veganism, but it never says no animal products.  It strongly suggests that a solely plant based diet is the best, however diets low in meats and dairy are good too.  I love meat and cheese, but lately I've been eating less red meat and more fish and chicken.  My body seems to have a hard time processing the red meat so I save it for special occasions.  As a devout omnivore I resonate with many of the ideas put into my head from the Department of Agriculture, such as "Where do we get calcium?"
Well, duh.  From milk.  Studies in this film show that too much milk other than non-fat is actually detrimental to bone structure and leads to brittle bones.  The other question that got me was "Where do we get protein?"  From meat.  Western diets are heavy on the meat, and American diet most of all.  It wasn't until my family when on the South Beach Diet that I began to realise there is protein in so many other foods!  Legumes are amazing!

So what this film has taught me is that I really ought to up my fruits, veggies, and whole grains and continue how I am.  It's not bad.  I could throw in more exercise but that's another blog post.

Watch this with and open mind and let me know what you think!

xoxo,
Anna

University District Farmer's Market

One sunny Saturday, a few weeks ago, I finally ventured up to our Farmer's Market here in the U-District.  Every Saturday from 9 -2 you can find a plethora of vendors (and yummy food!) at the community center at 50th and The Ave.

I was specifically looking for vendors that sold grass fed beef (See my King Corn post) and how much that might cost.  Turns out there were at least two stands that had ground beef for around $5 a pound, by the pound.

Samish Bay is where I purchased my beef this time, they also make utterly delightful cheeses that you can purchase by the wheel, half, or nibble.

Olsen Farms will have to be tried next time, but they also looked tasty!  Man, did they have a lot of potatoes!  I've never seen so many varieties.  I wanted to buy one of each just to have a potato-tasting party. (Do people do that?)  

Ginger Beer...yum!  Not actually alcoholic, but fermented in the brewing process, these lovely ladies make a spritzy, delicious ginger beer that I'm going to have to get next time I go.

Blackberries!  Have I told you about how much I love blackberries?  Probably.  I have made a personal vow to ALWAYS lick my plate CLEAN whenever blackberries are involved.  So far, I have kept this promise and still kept my decorum amongst society.  Still.  Blackberries=love.

I came home with a flat of blackberries (baked into a pie) carrots (yum!), Spring Blossom Honey, and a bottle of Rockridge Orchards Cobblestone Hard Apple Cider.  Seriously the best hard apple cider I've ever had, yet.  

There are so many more vendors at this market, it can get a little dizzying, and so many things I have yet to try.  I found it to be reasonable for my student budget and many of the vendors do take debit/credit cards.  Just ask.  Also, if you miss some of them here in the U-district, many of the vendors sell at the West Seattle Farmer's Market on Sunday.  

Happy discoveries!