The China Study

Brian has been reading this book called "The China Study." In short the book is about an ongoing research study that shows that if you change your diet you can reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Basically he has learned that products from animal protiens contribute to these diseases and if you can reduce the amount of animal proteins you eat you can help fight and prevent these diseases.

Sooooo....my meat loving husband is working to not eat as much meat or other animal products. He is striving to eat more vegan by cutting out meat, drinking soy milk, eating less processed foods, and increasing his vegetable intake. Now Brian has always been a much healthier eater than I, so he was on board with this pretty quickly. I am slowly making some changes. I have been searching for more meat lacking meals to make in an effort to be a "supportive wife.''

So here is a picture of our meal tonight. I know you are probably wondering why we took a picutre, but I was very proud of my efforts and it was mighty tasty. So I included the recipe below.

Bow-Ties with Spinach and Cherry Tomatoes
Total Time: 25 minutes

INGREDIENTS

12 oz bow-tie (farfalle) pasta
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 bag (10 oz) spinach, tough stems removed, leaves torn bite-size
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1 pt cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan

PREPARATION

1. Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbsp oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add half the garlic; cook 30 seconds. Add half the spinach and 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper; sauté 1 minute, or until spinach wilts. Add remaining spinach and cook until wilted. Transfer to bowl with pasta.

3. Add remaining 2 Tbsp oil and rest of garlic to skillet. Cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and remaining 1/4 tsp salt and pepper. Cook 1 to 2 minutes, or until tomatoes release their juices. Add to bowl with pasta.

4. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and toss to combine.

We also grilled some squash, red peppers, and red onion on the grill. I tossed these in extra virgin olive oil with salt and pepper in a zip lock bag. I tossed some bread sticks in the oven too. It was pretty quick and delicious. This wasn't totally vegan due to the cheese but met our goal of reducing animal proteins.

Now off to have some ice cream. Not sure if I can part with this animal protein product. Tee Hee