Roasted Peppers and Onions Recipe + Paternal Perfection + Noting Logical Fallacies in a Christian Defense of Animal Product Consumption
Doesn’t matter how many peppers or onions. Dice up as many as you want/have and add to a bigger sheet accordingly. :-) Aim for a thin layer so they have enough space to roast up. Overcrowding ends up giving you soggy peppers.
There was almost going to be no recipe, because the last few days evaporated in the span of a blink.
Monday brought fresh remote-learning tears; Tuesday brought Board of Education duties/meetings atop the usual fray, and ended with an embarrassing example of leadership/masculinity/respect that leaves me further gutted about America’s path; and a previous promise for peppery offerings was beyond my ability to wrangle into the morning’s lineup with any semblance of peace; and then I remembered I’d documented how we did the peppers last week, so there’ll be a simple recipe-how-to if you want to make this handy fridge staple yourself. It goes well in soooo many dishes, it’s a frequent Ian request because it’s delicious, it can be a good way to get peppers in souls who don’t want them raw and crunchy, there’s a feast of photos showing meal ideas within, and maybe someone needs to be reminded (or see for the first time) that amazing delight that there is ~317%~ of your Vitamin C in 1 cup of bells, so you can gobble up these roasted nightshades and: have food joy, support your immune system, and help your body absorb iron all at the same time.
Small silver linings in a sea of chaos, folks.
Continue for: our simple roasted peppers and onions recipe; logical fallacies in Christians excusing away animal product consumption; an example of Ian’s paternal perfection (and a good balm if you want a better showing of humanity/leadership/masculinity than we saw from our president last night); and examples of Lifestyle Medicine thriving and plant-based whole-food family feasting.
Live Kindly, Feast Kindly, Grow Forward.
Items needed: peppers, onions, oil and seasonings, and roasting pan.
Compost what you can, if you can.
Roast for 20 minutes, stir, roast for another 10-15 (pending on how roasted you want them), and voila!
Peppers are high in Vitamin A (<—93% in 1 cup) via their carotenoids (<—-Carotenoids are beneficial antioxidants that can protect you from disease and enhance your immune system.)
There is also ~317%~ of your Vitamin C in cup of peppers, so just even getting a third of that into your daily line-up will set you on your way to your RDI.
Vitamin C is needed for the growth and repair of tissues in all parts of your body. It is used to:
Form an important protein used to make skin, tendons, ligaments, and blood vessels (<—your skin is your first immune defense)
Helps encourage the production of white blood cells known as lymphocytes and phagocytes, which help protect the body against infection; these white blood cells function more effectively while protecting themselves from damage by free radicals. (<—ie helps your immune system)
Heal wounds and from scar tissue
Repair and maintain cartilage, bones, and teeth
Aid in the absorption of Iron ( <— helps to preserve many vital functions in the body: our general energy and focus, gastrointestinal processes, immune system, and regulation of body temperature. Iron deficiency is something you want no part of, so pay attention to your iron intake and the best way to absorb it.)
You need Iron to function —whether you eat animals or not— and the best way to absorb iron is to consume it with Vitamin C. Why? Because Vitamin C captures non-heme iron and stores it in a form that's more easily absorbed by your body.
What does “non-heme” mean? It means the iron you get from plants…and there are a LOT of robust, iron-dense options in the plant realm.
What is heme-iron? It’s the iron you find in animal flesh and chicken ovulation. Why would you want to avoid heme-iron? (<—If the planetary imperatives and compassionate reasons weren’t enough.) Because heme-iron is tied to cardiovascular oxidation and disease. It’ll lead you right toward that #1 cause of death in the world: cardiovascular disease.
So how does a soul get heart-healthy non-heme down their gullet, while also ensuring it’s well-paired with some Vitamin C so that they can absorb that precious mineral and carry on with their days? Get ye some seasonal peppers (<—loaded with Vitamin C) and then go find yourself any of the many plant-based sources of iron (and some more favorites listed out for those click-adversed):
BEANS (any and all)
Broccoli
Brussel Sprouts
Leafy Greens (beet greens, collard greens, kale, spinach, swiss chard, etc)
Lentils (any and all, as well)
Mushrooms
Nuts and Seeds
Olives
Quinoa
Peas
Potatoes
Squash
Tomatoes
Peppers (Vitamin C) and Iron in the form of peas, sugar-free peanut sauce, beets, olives, and fresh greens.
Peppers (Vitamin C) and Iron in the form of beets, olives, fresh greens, black rice, quick-pickled cabbage, furikake, with Q’s Sesame Dressing.
Peppers (Vitamin C) and Iron in the form of lentil loaf shawarma wraps with quick-pickled cabbage, seared mushrooms, fresh greens, and Crystal’s Plant-Based Whole-Food tzatziki.
Peppers (Vitamin C) and Iron in the form of black bean tacos with quick-pickled radish, seared mushrooms, fresh greens, hot sauce, and I wasn’t making it then but you should always make this queso with tacos. <3
(New Favorite) Peppers (Vitamin C) and Iron in the form of black rice stuffed pepper casserole made with the peppers above and Crystal’s Plant-Based Whole-Food cheese sauce, served with baked (with balsamic tomatoes) black beans, fresh greens, tomatoes, and a balsamic drizzle.
We Are The Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer
Animal agriculture is harming this earth more than the entire transportation sector combined. You could disengage with a system that is harming the earth, causing needless suffering & mass extinctions, and filling you with disease; and with a United-Nations-urged Plant-Based Diet you’d still be able to eat every single one of the mouth-watering options above AND you’d be bettering your health to boot.
You have nothing to lose but harmful habits. You have so much to gain.
Where were you when you made your decision?
Plant-Based Breakfast: last of the homemade arepa, date powder, cinnamon, and an apple.
I rushed through writing early on Sunday so we could then go for a family hike at the Rand Tract.
Exercise is essential for overall health and it is important to make sure your kiddos see you doing it and/or do it with you. It instills healthy habits in them, and it’s a good bonding experience when you can do it together.
<3
<3
Co-Sleeping: frowned upon by some, but to us it’s our heart’s delight. Someday he’s going to be gone and we’re going to dearly miss his hibernating bear snorts and the way he laughs in his sleep. <3
The highlight of Q’s morning is when his bestfriend Cal logs on to the class’ virtual session. He clicks on his screen and then zooms in like a love-filled creeper and bellows, “HI, CAL! GOOD MORNING! NICE TO SEE YOUR FACE!!”
Q is about 5 months older than Cal and was watched by Cal’s mother from 6wks-2.5 years, so these two are like little oldmen bothers who have not seen eachother in person since March!
When you have sensory issues to bad music and can’t stand the Jack Hartman songs, but want to be able to hear your teacher, so you wear noise-cancelling headphones to somehow alleviate the discomfort. (<—I recommended he just turn it down, but this is what the stubborn soul insists on.)
When you find out you are going to be in a private reading group with Cal: oldman best-brother-friend.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Lunch: mixed CSA greens, ruby kraut, kalamata olives, sunflower seeds, and a balsamic drizzle; served with garlic roasted potatoes.
Dessert: berry bread, almond butter, and maple syrup.
A loved one sent me an article that explained in articulate yet misguided ways why Catholics should feel comfortable eating animals. I relayed the below points back and they were well/respectfully received, and in case any of y’all compassionate Catholic/Christian souls are feeling contended in your choices I offer the following thoughts.
If man is asked to not cause suffering "needlessly" and it is proven that is better for our bodies and better for the earth for us to NOT consume animals, then the soul consuming an animal is indeed causing needless suffering.
If the catechism states that animals are "by nature destined for the common good of past, present, and future" and we know that animal agriculture is ruining the environment (our present and future) and ruining our health (in present, in future), then those animals are not being subjected to any good or just existence.
If one is to put weight in the beauty and importance of this earth (and our roles as stewards of it!) then one must work to protect this precious creation in our care. Animal agriculture is ruining the environment, our drinking water, causing vast species loss, and filling our (and our children’s) bodies with disease.
So if we truly follow logic, we should be eating a Plant-Based diet because it is best for this earth, best for our bodies, and compassionate to the species all around us.
We have the ability (infact, it's environmentally imperative we do so) to grow beyond our culturally comfortable past of being selfish sowers of destruction, disease, and needless suffering. We could be stewards of this earth, our bodies, and the creatures all around us, and STILL find joy in a feast of foods to sustain us.
And again, eating this way can be amazing and simple.
Here seen: quickly whipped up mashed potatoes (with added paprika) and a vegetable red curry.
Plant-Based Whole-Food Family Feasting: mashed potatoes topped with a red vegetable curry of all those vegetables I roasted up Saturday (roasted eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini) plus broccoli.
Not all breakfasts are beautiful. :-) Sometimes it’s scraps of berry bread mixed in with some oatmeal, and he drizzles peanut butter all over it to make it look like worms. As long as he’s getting heart-healthy fiber, protein, minerals, and vitamins, I’m good. :-)
When the whole district’s internet crashes during afternoon Zoom sessions.
The dual side to remote-learning is getting to cook via stitched together background moments. Here seen: black beans two ways.
Black Bean Brownies and a big platter of Balsamic Tomato Baked Beans.
Shortly after taking that photo I was launched into a Policy Meeting, shoveled a bowl of those beans (and some rice and ten-minute tomatillo) into my mouth in a flurry before heading down to our Board of Education meeting, and I was there until after 9.
By the time I came home, Ian was already in bed because he has super early mornings (hence what you’ll see below in a moment), so it was without a proper discussion of the night’s unfolding that he wrote a perfectly kismet morning message to Q today (Wednesday). Usually I like to keep the days concretely separate, but given that I won’t be back on here until Sunday and this is tangentially apt to last night’s horrendous showing of tone/demeanor by President Trump (<—none of which is a surprise yet is every day more gutting), I felt I’d share.
What’s the most impactful thing you can do as an individual to help your kin, community, millions of species, and planet? Transition as plant-based as possible.🌎♥️
Why? Plant-Based foods are environmentally imperative 🌎. They also promote ideal health💪 (which takes stress off our overburdened health care system), are inexpensive🙌, delicious🤤, & compassionate. 💕
Why imperative, though? 🤔We’re approaching (& have crossed) climate tipping points that will doom our kin & millions of other species. 😱📣Reducing/eliminating animal products is the *most impactful thing an individual can do* to prevent worse. 🌎🔥
Why? Animal Agriculture creates more emissions than the entire transportation sector combined, it’s tied to water waste/loss/pollution (<-- freshwater is our most precious resource💧), land loss/deforestation (<-- exacerbates climate change by reducing our ability to sequester carbon🔥🌎), ocean acidification (<-- FYI 50-85% of earth’s oxygen originates from oceanic plankton🌊) & vast species loss/extinction/suffering💔📣🌎
Plus, consuming animal products is tied to increased risk of cardiovascular disease❤️🩹, diabetes👎, cancer👎, and chronic disease👎; whereas Plant-Based feasting is linked to preventing/reversing some of our most common diseases (<— like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer); plus it promotes ideal health & robust strength (ie Olympians, Weightlifters, Endurance Athletes are thriving via PBWFs too). 🎉🙌♥️
What organizations are promoting plant-based diets for best health and environmental stability? National Institutes of Health, Mayo Clinic, Yale, the United Nations, Harvard School of Health, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, American Cancer Society, American Diabetes Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, National Kidney Foundation, even the Parkinson’s Foundation.
We’re all overwhelmed in one way or another, but for the sake of our kin (and the millions of species we share this planet with) we need to start pivoting forward. As someone who once rarely ate green things & used to eat animal products at every meal, I can assure you that is possible, affordable, enjoyable, & purposeful to pivot Plant-Based. In fact, our whole family is now healthier/stronger than ever. 🙌♥️
Anecdotally, our son had failure-to-thrive, was also plagued with perpetual ear-infections/sinus-infections, and had an omnipresent runny nose. What was he eating? Grass-fed milk, organic/antibiotic-free/grass-fed/local meats, eggs from organic-fed/well-loved chickens from a neighbor, every meal came with vegetables, and we limited junkfood. He was healed via a plant-based diet: he’s launched out of that diagnosis and the last time he had a sinus-infection (or was sick at all) was in 2019 when he had some cheese at a school Christmas party. Before shifting to PBWF’s he was sick every month, and how he’s a robust, vital, thriving kiddo. 🙌🎉♥️
If you think any of the above sounds over-reached/absurd/impossible, please go read the links above. I understand the inclination to hackle-raise (<—because I was once totally there) but the science is clear: any step we make forward is imperative (<—and again “STEPS” is the focus. Don’t leap, just start making steps!). It’s as simple as starting with one meal a week and growing from there.💕
We have the ability (deliciously, healthfully, kindly, inexpensively) to *preserve/protect* the planet we share with millions of species & our kin. How are we going to use that power today?✌️🤟🖖
