Someone please tell me how it got to be October 3rd already! It blows my mind that we only have November and December left until the semester is over. Time really flies. A lot of bloggers do monthly goals and while I never really got on board with it, I’m going to take a stab at it starting this month. One reason for that is that last week Jason and I watched the film Forks Over Knives, a documentary about food and health that really made me want to work harder at changing our dietary habits.

I had been wanting to see the film for so long, and I was so excited when it came from Netflix. Forks Over Knives focuses on the impact that animal products and processed foods have on cancer, heart disease, and other health problems. While the film didn’t convince either of us that a strictly vegetarian or vegan diet is right for us right now, it was definitely another wake-up call that we really need to take what we eat seriously. One thing I learned from the film is how quickly a plant-based diet can effect your cholesterol and blood sugar levels. When we started the detox I shared with you guys that my husband’s cholesterol has gotten much higher within the past year. I can’t help but feel partially to blame, since I have been the sole source of his food for the past year. I always assumed that undoing that damage would take at least 6 months or so, but the film showed people that saw dramatic changes in their cholesterol after weeks on a plant-based diet. So we’re going to attempt to eat less of this

And more of this…

We’ve already improved a lot, and buying a CSA share was definitely a good move towards eating a more plant-based diet, but I think setting some goals each month will help even more. So here it goes!

October Goals:

1. Go meatless one day a week- While we don’t intend to become vegetarians, eating less meat will definitely be beneficial for us. Having one veg day a week will help us to expand our horizons and focus more on other food groups that are actually good for us.

2. Focus on eating seasonally– The CSA share mostly takes care of this because it stocks us up on local, in season produce. But it’s still tempting to grab those California berries and peaches even when we know they’ve traveled thousands of miles and aren’t at their best. Fall in Virginia doesn’t mean berries, it means beautiful apples and pumpkins and other goodies.

3. Try new ways of preparing veggies– Jason made the insightful point that one of the reasons veggies aren’t the center of the SAD (Standard American Diet) is because most of us don’t know good ways of preparing them. It’s either steamed with a little salt or sauteed in a boatload of olive oil (or roasted if you’re very lucky). This month I want to try more exciting and creative ways of eating vegetables!

I think that’s it for now! Three goals seems like a good number to start with. I’ll check back in at the end of the month to see how we did.

Thanks for reading!

-Lauren

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My post on Triple Chocolate Mini Bundt Cakes with Peanut Butter Glaze was featured on Yummly–check it out! I’m now “certified Yummly”! 🙂