Green Options

If you are thinking about going vegetarian, here is a list of things that should help you to actually do it,… and to stick to it once you’ve started.

We have all heard that to lose weight and build muscle we should eat more protein. The Atkins diet had huge success with this concept for many years, until the founder died a few years ago. He reportedly had a heart attack, congestive heart failure and hypertension at the time of his death. Interesting. Typically, when we are told to eat more protein, we often turn to animal protein sources, like beef, chicken and eggs. In fact, most of our diets contain way too much animal and not enough plant based protein sources like vegetables, nuts, grains and legumes.

Protein is one of the three major nutrients the body needs. It helps keep our cells and tissues strong. However, diets high in only animal protein have been linked to cancer, heart disease, kidney problems and intestinal disorders. So how can you get enough protein for your body without getting it all from animal sources?

Mopane worms are critical to nutrition and income generation for most households in those rural areas in Africa where the mopane tree grows. However, climate change and over harvesting of the worms as one of the few income generating opportunities in rural areas are threatening the species’ survival.

Mopane worms are the caterpillar stage of the Emperor Moth, Gonimbrasia belina, which feed almost exclusively on the mopane tree Colophospermum mopane. The mopane worm harvest in South Africa is estimated at $40 million a year, of which approximately 40 percent goes to producers who are primarily poor rural women. In addition to the income generated dried mopane worms can contribute significantly to rural household nutrition mainly through their 53.3 percent dry weight digestible protein content.

A well-known biofuels researcher at Harvard has developed a synthetic ribosome — one of the fundamental building blocks for creating artificial life — which, initially, could have major implications for the creation of designer enzymes to make cheaper and more energy efficient cellulosic ethanol.

Dr. George Church, co-founder of the next generation biofuels company LS9, made the stunning announcement in a telephone call with reporters.

“If you are going to make synthetic life that is anything like current life … you have got to have this … biological machine,” Dr. Church said in comments to Reuters.

Dr. Miracle of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Washington has developed a method of detecting brain injuries in salmon caused by dams by comparing amounts of intact protein to amounts of breakdown protein products in cell walls.

This information is useful for redesigning hydroelectric dams to minimize damage to fish or campaigning for dam removal. According to the New [...]

Stress… it’s something we deal with on a daily basis.  Some of us take it all in stride, others let it build up to the breaking point.

When we experience stress too often, our autonomic nervous system rarely has a chance to activate the relaxation response.  This can eventually lead to physical or emotional illnesses such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia, and depression to name just a few.

Making simple diet changes can help reduce stress, here are a few tips to get you started:

(Remember to always use organically grown foods when possible, it’s healthier for you and for the planet.)

A team of researchers have developed a color-coded bacteria that will make it much easier to detect oil-spills and other forms of environmental pollution.

During a recent sea expedition the team successfully used the bacteria, which contains a protein that glows blue when viewed though a simple light-detecting device, to detect oil.

We eat a lot of organic brown rice in our family, which sometimes gets boring. That’s when we remember quinoa!  Quinoa is a “sacred, super crop“:  sacred to the Incas, super crop to the United Nations for its high protein content.  My family likes its nutty flavor, as well as its quick cooking time.  It accompanies almost any meal, and it provides a complete protein containing all nine essential amino acids, which is important to a vegetarian family. Quinoa contains the amino acid lysine and is a good source of manganese, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorous.

Quinoa is actually not a grain, but is related to beets, chard, and spinach. Quinoa is the seed from chenopodium quinoa, and I love it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It is good in porridge, served in soup, or by itself as a side dish.  We buy it in bulk and eat it weekly.

Cooking Instructions for Organic Quinoa

To make three cups of cooked quinoa:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 1/2 cups water

I have to give a lot of respect to Jews that keep Kosher, because I know how difficult it can be to stick with a restricted diet. During Passover especially, that diet becomes so limited, that some of my Jewish friends recently asked me if I thought it was possible to stay vegan during Passover. At first I thought, “No leavened bread? No problem!” but then I realized that some keep rules far more strict than that.

I learned that Ashkenazi Jews also avoid a group of foods categorized as kitiniyot which includes rice, peas, lentils, beans, and corn. (Now I know what Meredith was referring to in her recent Passover foods post, when she mentioned becoming aware of so many corn additives!) So no legumes, eh? No soy products… no grains… Ok, that does in fact rule out a major chunk of my vegan diet.

But I wasn’t ready to back down from this challenge just yet…

Editor’s note: As we mentioned yesterday, in addition to featuring a weekly tip from Vital Juice Daily’s email tips, we’ll also be featuring their "Ask VJD" column on Wednesdays. Here’s the first one, which was originally published on August 15, 2007.

Dear Vital Juice Daily,