Diet for a Hot Planet

Thirty-nine years ago, Frances Moore Lappe published Diet for a Small Planet (I still have my grandmother's copy). Now her daughter, and co-founder of the Small Planet Institute, Anna Lappe, has published Diet for a Hot Planet, updating the world on the need to make sustainable food choices.

I highly recommend reading the book, but some of the things we can all do are to eat less meat and to make sustainable meat choices. Yes, grass-fed, local beef may be more expensive, but if you have to pay more and therefore eat less, you kind of get a diet at the same time--and you get higher quality meat that hasn't been feed antibiotics, even to healthy animals as Katie Couric explains on CBS, and also contains the right omega-6 to omega-3 ratio, which is crucial for brain health among other functions like reducing depression.

And here's the kicker: whole, healthy food like this satisfies you. Wouldn't you agree that you'd rather have a filet than a flank steak? Well, eating grass-fed beef is like getting filet all the time--and when you look at it that way, it's cheap.

The best grocery store in Charleston to buy local, quality meat is Earth Fare. Healthy Home Foods also offers customized meat service with local and organic meats and seafood. Restaurants like Cypress (and its sister restaurants Blossom and Magnolia), McCrady's, Hominy Grill, and High Cotton (and all Maverick Southern Kitchen restaurants) frequently if not exclusively purchase local beef, pork, chicken, and seafood, and Guerilla Cuisine, Charleston's underground dining experience, makes its focus local and sustainable food, whether meat or vegetables.

The other part of this "involuntary" diet is to cut back on junk food, which "may prove even more destructive than S.U.Vs." But we'll talk about that later.

Planet Green

A friend recently turned me on to Emeril Green hosted by Planet Green. I don't have cable, but the Web site offers Emeril articles, episode guides, and a recipe archive. There's also a lot of information about other green initiatives, including greening your kitchen.

I see green living and preventive eating as going hand in hand. We take in an appalling number of pollutants from our environments regardless of how we eat. Toxins enter our skin through shower water as well as what we drink; I've read recent articles about antidepressant and birth control pill residue passed through human waste that are not removed by current filtration systems and infiltrate the general water supply (Google "antidepressants in drinking water). We breathe in exhaust fumes, secondhand cigarette smoke, and of course pesticides every day.

Eating with awareness and prevention in mind, as well as doing a small part towards environmental repair. Try eating less meat, the farming of which not only uses vast amounts of water but contributes 18 percent towards greenhouse gas emissions--more than transportation! This doesn't mean you have to be a vegetarian, but a diet of less red meat not only can contribute towards lower cholesterol, weight loss, and a reduced chance of heart disease, but it increases your chances of trying a variety of veggie alternatives with a host of benefits, such as intestine-cleansing fiber and free-radical-busting antioxidants.

Here are some of my favorite vegetarian recipes that guarantee you won't be missing meat for long. And try using organic vegetables for these recipes specifically, even if your budget doesn't support an all-organic diet.

Grilled Portobello Steaks--Try these on a George Foreman grill or broiled in unsalted veggie broth with a drizzle of olive oil to cut the fat in this recipe.

Roasted Veggie Lasagna--Don't be afraid of eggplant! Choose a small one or opt for the baby variety, and slice thin for flavor without bitterness or toughness. Or try this Noodle-Free Lasagna recipe from Self.com's database.

Beet Salad--Again from Self.com, a great low-calorie recipe site that stays away from artificial sweeteners, packaged soup fillers, and , this fabulous salad is surprisingly filling and great for those dog days of summer. Beets are easy to prepare--simply rinse, roast in-skin, and then easily peel the cooled veggies. They're also bursting with sweet flavor and antioxidants.

Vegetable Soup--As fall approaches, soup becomes one of the best ways to enjoy vegetables and fill up. This is my mother's tried and true base:
Saute onion, garlic, and a chopped celery stalk in 1 tsp olive oil. When veggies begin to brown, add no-salt-added vegetable broth and a can of no-salt-added diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and add chopped carrots and potatoes or butternut squash. Once these have simmered about 5 minutes, then you can add these quicker-cooking vegetables that are fresh, frozen, or canned: green beans, broccoli, cabbage, corn, kale or chard, zucchini, yellow squash, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and other canned beans or pasta. Add water, salt and pepper as needed, and top with any fresh herb: parsely, thyme, sage, oregano, chives, or dill. You can also do a rice base instead of potatoes for this soup; I like brown basmati rice, which cooks more quickly than regular brown rice and adds a nuttier, sweeter flavor.