1 organic free range chicken (3-3 and 1/2 pounds) rinsed and giblets removed

4 garlic cloves, peeled

6 fresh rosemary sprigs (plus extra for garnish)

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400.  Pull the fat from inside the chicken and discard.  Set the chicken in a small roasting pan and put the whole garlic cloves under the skin in the meatiest part of the chicken.  Stuff the chicken with 3 rosemary sprigs.  Pour the oil over the chicken and sprinkle it with the salt and pepper to taste.  Rub the oil and seasonings into the chicken.  Tuck 3 rosemary sprigs under the chicken. 

Roast the chicken, uncovered, basting occsionally, about 1 hour, or until the juices run clear.  Remove the rosemary from the chicken and from the pan.  Carve the chicken and put the pieces on a platter.  Garnish with fresh rosemary sprigs.  Skim the excess fat from the roasting juices and add salt and pepper to taste.  When serving spoon a little of the pan juices over the chicken.

For those people who do still include animal protein we’re here for you also.  We do encourage you to find out all you can about factory farming, the truth about how much protein we really need (far less than you probably were led to believe) and to choose the highest quality protein sources available to you. 

There are many excellent non-meat sources of protein.  Nuts, grains, seeds, geen leafy vegetables, tofu, and legumes are all plant proteins that your body will digest far more easily than it can the flesh of animals.

And eliminating meat leaves more room on your plate for the fun foods…colorful tasty fruits, veggies and grains !  

Lower your cholesterol and introduce antioxidant nutrients while enjoying delicious foods. 

We can help you transition to a diet that includes more whole foods to have you feeling your BEST in 2012 !

Here’s an interesting article discussing the trend…and giving a shout out to Marilu.com !!

http://www.vegancooking.com/random-stuff/are-meatless-mondays-for-you-2/

There’s some great information in there to help you make a decision about what’s right for you.

If you’re already involved in giving back let us know that. 

And stay connected to find out more in the coming days about how our coaches walk the walk !

http://www.vegnews.com/web/veg/jobs.do

http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFS1E78B1YM20110912

 You might want to use this promotion to stretch yourself and see how you feel about a vegetarian lifestyle.  In the Total Health Makeover, you’ll find recipes that do include lean animal protein and eggs.  You’ll also find many recipes that do not.  There are plenty to choose from so if you want to join the fun and dip a toe into vegetarianism you won’t be feeling deprived.

Whenever you’re trying out something new be sure to do it in a HEALTHY way.  Don’t replace the animal product with a loaded baked potato, cheese fries and onion rings. 

We believe that compassion for animals should also extend to the human animal….be kind to yourself and fill your plate with whole foods.

It makes you wonder how that affects your own reaction to antibiotics when you’re ingesting them through your late night snack or your Sunday brunch. 

We’re all responsible for our own decisions. Read the full article and have a little more knowledge on which to base yours.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/health-topics/animal-agriculture-us-regulation-antimicrobials

One of the people supporting this effort is chef Mario Batali.

My restaurants were already very vegetable heavy, but I came to realize that vegetables did not have to be only a condiment or a side dish, and we’ve added more veg-centric entrée-type options. I wanted to make it easier for other people to cut back on meat, so we began promoting Meatless Monday and offering alternating veggie specials every week!

This issue is particularly important to me because it so profoundly affects children. Studies have found that young kids are eating triple the currently recommended amount of protein, mostly from meat, yet few eat enough fruits and vegetables. If we don’t take action now and teach our kids how to eat less meat, more and more of them could face serious health conditions such as heart disease, stroke and even some types of cancer as they get older.

You can help your family eat healthier by serving them a tasty meatless meal once a week. And if we all do it together — cutting down on the chemical fertilizers, fuel, pesticides and toxic chemicals that harm the environment — we’ll make a huge difference!

~ Mario Batali, on Facebook

Check our blog each Monday for a meatless recipe – Marilu.com fully supports Meatless Monday (and other meatless days, too, as you find more meatless meals you love).

Americans’ appetite for meat and dairy – billions of pounds a year from billions of animals – takes a toll on our health, the environment, climate and animal welfare. Producing all this meat and dairy requires large amounts of pesticides, chemical fertilizer, fuel, feed and water. It also generates greenhouse gases and large amounts of toxic manure and wastewater that pollute groundwater, rivers, streams and, ultimately, the ocean. In addition, eating large quantities of beef and processed meats increases your exposure to toxins and is linked to higher rates of health problems, including heart disease, cancer and obesity.

[...]

Eating and wasting less meat (especially red meat) and cheese can simultaneously improve our health and reduce the climate and environmental impact of food. Choosing grass-fed, free-range, pasture-raised and/or organic products also helps to expand market demand. As the market grows, more farmers and ranchers will choose more sustainable and humane production methods, which in turn will make these products more affordable and available.

Choosing healthier, greener food is important, but significantly cutting the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change will also require governmental action. We all need to get engaged to push for comprehensive public policies that put the nation on a path to greener energy. Reducing meat production’s negative impacts on soil, air and water will take stronger regulatory enforcement and better policies – in addition to significant changes in meat consumption habits.

~ Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, Environmental Working Group

The report is a goldmine of information on the impact of how we eat. Even if you’re a meat or dairy consumer, you’ll learn a few ways to make smarter choices for the planet.

Try the quiz (as a pre-test or post-test for the rest of the report), and check out the excellent graphics. Then be a smarter, healthier consumer.

Coaches Jan and Kyra will welcome you and get you caught up. We spent day 1 on some basics, and day 2 on vegan breakfast. Today it’s all about vegan appetizers – and that includes recipes! Plus, Jan is giving us videos each day, and Kyra is sharing her favorite vegan cookbooks!

You don’t have to be a vegan to take this class!
Honestly, this is a great place to learn and experiment without any fear of being chastised for not being vegan (lots of members are “vegan-ish” (close to vegan) or are dairy-free and red-meat-free), or for not quite getting it. It’s a great time to practice being vegan and see what your own challenges will be. It’s a great place to jump right in with enthusiasm, because you’ll get support for that, too.

Jan happens to be gluten-free, too, so if you need help with vegan GF meals, this is the place to be.

Classes at Marilu.com are available free to all members. Just check your inbox for your daily email, log in to Marilu.com and get to class on the message boards. There’s even a handy class page with all the resources and links you’ll need for class.

Not a member? Sign up now and get a free class (sometimes two!) every month.