Climate change and Food Choices

What I have been reading and thinking about

view this email in your browser Food choices in a warming world I'm back at my desk after 10 days camping in Northwestern Wyoming. While we were in Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks, two of the most pristine, wild, remote and untouched places in our great country, I was reminded continually about climate change happening all around us. This photo above, of the Teton mountains, shows how obscured the views were by smoke from the western wildfires in Oregon and California. In Grand Teton National Park, two of the three marinas in Jackson Lake were already dry. The Snake River, which flows out of Jackson Lake and into Idaho, was being flooded by draining the lake. The water downstream is used for agricultural purposes (for cattle and irrigation for potatoes) even though that meant the lake would soon be nearly empty. Additionally, the river flowing through Jackson Hole valley was so unnaturally high and fast for this time of year that it was completely unfishable.  Being out there, and wishing that someday my grandkids would be able to see such a wondrous place, and wondering if that would ever be possible was disturbing to the core. It was a wake-up call about climate change affecting even those places we think of as "untouchable." This week we were all greeted with the news that the UN has released a report finding that the globe is warming at an even faster rate than previously believed!  This brings us to an obvious question: What can we as individuals do to make a difference? Actually, a lot! For example, did you know that even making a small dietary change can make a difference? According to a World Resources Institute analysis, if the average American replaced a third of the beef he or she eats with pork, poultry or legumes, his or her food-related emissions would fall by around 13 percent.   I asked you all in the reader survey, and 93% of you said that you are interested in incorporating more vegetables into your diet and over 65% of you said that you would be interested in learning about how to cook more vegetarian meals. Friends, I am totally with you! That is where my head is at too!  If you are interested in finding ways to eat less red meat and learn more about incorporating more plant-based meals into your weekly menu, I will be sharing more about what I am experimenting with in my own kitchen here in my newsletter and on Instagram.  You can also find hundreds of existing vegetarian recipes on Healthy Seasonal Recipes by going to this link. I know this is somewhat heavy, compared to the usual cheery emails that I send each week, but I feel that I owe you this letter in full disclosure. You honor me to be in your email inbox every week, so I owe this to you. Thank you so much for reading. If you have thoughts you would like to share about navigating this difficult landscape of personal decisions, please email me by hitting reply to this email.  Happy Cooking! ~Katie SEARCH ALL VEGETARIAN RECIPES Here is a tasty Farro Salad made with apples, walnuts, sautéed leeks and sweet-tart orange and walnut oil dressing. This is great served warm or at room temperature, so it makes a great recipe to make ahead or enjoy for lunch. GET THE RECIPE HERE... Low-Carb Grilled Summer Squash Boats are an awesome grain-free vegetarian grilling recipe! Just in time to help you use up some of those yellow summer squash that are bursting out of the garden right now. GET THE RECIPE HERE... With just 10 minutes of prep and only 5 ingredients you can transform earthy beets into tangy tender slices of absolute goodness. These Simple Pickled Beets are gluten-free, paleo-friendly and vegetarian and one of my absolute favorite summer side dishes!  GET THE RECIPE HERE... Let's Connect On Instagram! Copyright © 2021 healthy seasonal recipes, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in at www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com Our mailing address is: healthy seasonal recipes PO Box 546 Richmond, Vermont 05477 Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.